– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

The logo of the Ohio Bat Working Group

Twenty percent of all mammal species worldwide are bats. Ohio is home to ten different types of bats. These creatures fulfill important roles in our ecosystems.

A single bat can consume its body weight in insects each night. Bats are found everywhere on Earth aside from the extreme desert and polar regions. Some are even responsible for pollinating popular crops.

The perfect pairing for a Halloween celebration is National Bat Week, which is held from October 24 to October 31.

Noble County OSU Extension will be celebrating bat week on social media all next week. Bat facts paired with pumpkin carving, building a bat box, and perspective to aide understanding threats to bat habitats and colonies will be shared on the Extension Office Facebook page every day at Noon. Follow the Facebook page online at https://www.facebook.com/osuenoble.

Bat Conservation International has stated that:

“Worldwide, about 24% of bats are considered critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. Bat numbers in the United States and Canada have declined dramatically as a new disease, White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), has killed over six million bats in just eight years. This, coupled with impact from wind energy, habitat alteration, and roost disturbances, has caused serious decline in bat populations in North America as well as around the world.”

Resources to plan your participation in National Bat Week are available online from Bat Conservation International at https://batweek.org/ and the Ohio Bat Working Group at https://u.osu.edu/obwg/.

Join us in the celebration!

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Oyster mushrooms are one of the easiest to cultivate in a small space. Photo: Penn State

Mushrooms are a food crop that is rarely grown on a commercial scale in the United States. The leading producer of mushrooms worldwide is China. Although controlled environment mushroom production has been a practice for many years, a small number of large producers supply our grocery stores with mushrooms for culinary purposes. Specialty mushrooms used in international cuisine are often difficult to find in rural communities like ours.

With a limited shelf life and an often pricey tag, it would be nice to have more local sources of fresh mushrooms that are safe for consumption year-round to keep your food dollar local. A growing taste for more diverse menus and an emphasis on local foods have spurred the Continue reading Growing Mushrooms at Home →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, OSU Extension

Peak color may arrive a little early this year!

One fall semester long, long ago, I took a tree identification course at OSU ATI in Wooster. My teacher was Dr. Laura Deeter. Class consisted primarily of tree walks across campus stopping at trees to examine every part of them we could reach. The bark, the buds, the leaves, the leaf scars, fruits, nuts, and even the crotch angles, which refer to how the branches off the main trunk are angled out. When the semester started in September it was my favorite class, but by the final exam it haunted my nightmares.

As you are probably aware, deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves in the fall) look quite different in December than they do in September. The class grew exponentially harder by the time we took the final exam. With almost 200 trees to potentially identify by common and scientific name, with no leaves, the pressure was on. By the end of the semester, tree I.D. was far from my best class, but it was still one of my favorites.

Every October I think of that class fondly as I continue to struggle identifying trees in the landscape. Peak fall color will surround us within a few weeks. The air will turn Continue reading October, a time to enjoy and identify trees! →

Interested in fall and winter gardening suggestions? If so, plan to attend Gardening with Dr. Timothy McDermott, Franklin County Extension Educator, for two upcoming programs to be broadcast via ZOOM.  They will begin promptly at noon each of the upcoming second Thursdays of the next two months. Get registered today!

September 10 – End of Season Gardening
Register: osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Apwt3esoTh6STj_hE4hF4g

October 8 – Winter Gardening
Register: osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_os69xh5SQLefnhQgrONzOg

In the brief and to the point videos embedded below, Dr. Zane Raudenbush, former turf grass scientist at The Ohio State University, gives a five step presentation on lawn renovation. If you are considering a renovation of your lawn, it needs to begin in august and be completed by mid-September.

Assessing the current situation and getting started

Non Selective Herbicide Apps

Seedbed preparation

Turfgrass Selection and Seeding

The need and strategy for irrigation when seeding the new lawn

Lawn Renovation,The Final Step: Mowing and Summary

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, OSU Extension

After harvest, only rinse produce with clean water and dry with a clean cloth. Photo: Terese Houle

With harvest heavily underway in most home gardens and kitchens full of produce to process, home produce gardeners may be wondering if some of their produce is safe to eat. Shoppers in the grocery store may have similar questions. Today we’ll talk about some common concerns with home grown produce and how to care for harvested produce once it is in your kitchen.

As a rule, only rinse produce with clean water and dry with a clean cloth. You can do more harm than good attempting to cleanse produce with soaps or disinfectants. Produce is porous and can absorb cleaning solutions that are not intended to be consumed. If the produce cannot be cleansed for storage, cooking, or fresh eating with just a water rinse and a gentle scrub brush, discard it. Always wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling your produce. Also, do not Continue reading Is my garden harvest safe to eat? →

For over 20 years the pumpkin field day held at the Western Ag Research Station in South Charleston has hosted growers from around the state giving them a wide array of production and pest management research, demonstration, tips and tricks. Instead of driving over to the research station, participate virtually from your home, business or favorite coffee house / brewery!

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we won’t be able to hold a field day in person this year, but we are working hard to bring you the results of several demonstration and research projects via a pre-recorded video stream that will air on the OSU IPM YouTube channel on August 27 at 6 PM.

Registration for the virtual event will be necessary so we can send out the viewing links between August 26-27 for the roughly hour long field day. Please register at the link below by Continue reading Annual Pumpkin Field Day Goes Virtual! →

– Garth Ruff, OSU Extension, Henry County

Cucumbers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Photo: Terese Houle

Cucumbers are a warm weather crop that are easy to grow in full sun and in fertile, moist soil. They prefer a soil pH between 6 and 6.5 or slightly acidic. Cucumbers do not like cold weather so direct sow seeds when soil temperatures are above 70F and evening air temperatures do not dip below 60F. Plant seeds 1 – 1.5″ deep, spaced 2″ apart and provide 5 – 6′ between rows so the vines can spread. If seeds are started indoors, take care not to disturb the taproot when transplanting. To thin cucumbers, cut or pinch rather than pulling seedlings which can damage the roots of other plants.

Once in the ground, cucumbers are heavy feeders and the addition of Continue reading Cucumbers! →

– Garth Ruff, OSU Extension, Henry County

Photo: Terese Houle

While I am not much of a gardener, I really enjoy this time of the year with all of the fresh local produce and there is a growing selection at the farmers markets. If you have a garden and want more vegetables, it can be as easy as picking more often. Vegetables such as zucchini, cucumbers and snap beans will continue to produce if they are harvested at peak ripeness and not left to over mature. If the vegetables are left on, plant hormones are produced that slow down the production of new blossoms. The plant will direct its energy to producing seeds inside the mature vegetable. Plants such as zucchini, summer squash and snap beans can be Continue reading Keep picking, or planting, and your garden will keep producing! →

– Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County

Blossom end rot. Photo: University of WI fact sheet

This is the time of year when we hear about the bottom of tomatoes rotting, this is actually called blossom-end rot. This is not a disease but a disorder which affects tomato, pepper, squash, and eggplant, and occurs when soil moisture is uneven. It is easily recognized by the flat, leathery, discolored area on the blossom end of the fruit.

Blossom-end rot occurs when there is a calcium deficiency in the blossom-end of the fruit. If demand for calcium exceeds the supply during rapid fruit development, deprived tissues break down, leaving the leathery-looking blossom end to the fruit.  It may be due to lack of calcium in the soil; however, this is not usually the case. The real culprit is usually Continue reading Tis the season for blossom-end rot →