White County Horticulture Published Irregularly April 2019 Vol. 6 No.4

Master Gardener Scholarship Awarded

Easton Reaper was named the recipient of the White County Master Gardener Scholarship in the amount of $1000.00.

Easton is the son of Jenny and Trey Reaper of Searcy. Easton is a senior at Pangburn High School and is a leader on the Pangburn Tiger baseball team and active in FFA and the Future Business Leaders of America.

He will be attending the University of Arkansas where he will major in Agriculture Business.

Congratulations to Easton!

Sherri Sanders County Extension Agriculture - Agent

The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Persons with disabilities, who require alternative means of communication for program information (large print, audiotapes, etc.), should notify the White County Extension office as soon as possible, prior to the activity.

Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is Greenbrier or Sawbrier control taking steps to address mental health in rural communities. Greenbrier or sawbrier is a perennial vine. The young leaves may be bronze to purple. Mature Brittney Schrick, assistant professor of family leaves have a waxy coating. There are life for the Division of Agriculture, said her prickles along the stem. A large underground department is implementing two new tuber is present. programs to discuss the rising rate of suicide among agriculturalists.

“In response to the CDC report, our team became aware of a program developed at North Dakota State University intended to address stress and promote wellness with a rural audience in mind,” she said. “Mental health awareness is important in order to help county agents address the problem of rural stress from a fully informed perspective and to generally increase their knowledge of mental health.”

Managing Stress and Pursuing Wellness in Times of Tight Margins, or “Farm Stress” for Control: Greenbrier control is difficult short, is a one-hour program facilitated by regardless of the county Family and Consumer Science agents methods or herbicides used. Treat in late April and geared toward farmers and other or early agriculture workers. May with a 5% solution of a glyphosate product containing at least 41% active “The aim of the Farm Stress program is ingredient when the increasing awareness of rural stress issues leaves are immature and pale green. The and warning signs of stress challenges, immature leaves lack a waxy coating and identifying ways to communicate about and absorb herbicides more cope with stress, and identifying local readily. Another method is inserting a florist’s resources and sources of support,” Schrick water tube filled with undiluted glyphosate said. “This program offers participants over the cut end of information about stress management, the stem. The cut should be fresh. depression and suicide, as well as wellness promotion.” Photo Credit: John Boyd The second program, Mental Health First Aid Division of Agriculture takes action to training, is an eight-hour, evidence-based address mental health, suicide in rural course that will be offered to Cooperative communities Extension Service agents with the goal of equipping them to help someone who is By Sarah Cato developing a mental health problem or U of A System Division of Agriculture experiencing a mental health crisis. The program builds mental health literacy and LITTLE ROCK – Statistics from the U.S. helps participants identify, understand and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention respond to signs of mental illness. have shown that American workers in the farming, fishing and forestry industries have Mental Health First Aid will be offered to some of the highest suicide rates of any agents in regional training sessions beginning professional group. The University of in May. There are currently three trainings scheduled, open to both county and state canning kitchen. Most people buying table staff. tomatoes at a farmers market are looking for juicy heirlooms, but that doesn’t mean there’s The Farm Stress program has already begun, not a lot of excellent canning heirlooms as agents publicize it at county production available for the home grower. So what’s a girl meetings and other venues. Schrick’s team or guy to do? How do you choose which has supplied county agents with materials to to grow? conduct the program in their home counties. This will be available statewide upon request Whole Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce? to local county agents. Keep in mind that low moisture is only important when canning tomato sauce and “County agents are very excited about the paste. Low moisture Roma type tomatoes Farm Stress program,” Schrick said. “We have make the best sauce, but they come up had very positive feedback and lots of lacking in flavor when canned as whole materials requests from agents who are tomatoes. There are a number of big name publicizing and scheduling programs in their heirloom tomatoes that are ideal for canning counties.” whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes and tomato juice. Schrick said the spread of mental health awareness has the potential to help many in a Considerations for a Sauce Tomatoes: demographic that is often seen as Taste, Low Moisture, Small Seed Cavities, independent and self-sufficient. High Yielding, Dependable Yields & Disease Resistance, 6. Ripening Timetable (spaced “My hope is to see improvement in wellness out over the season or all at once) across Arkansas’ agriculture workers and families, and decreased rates of suicide and Considerations for Whole or Juice depression in this population,” she said. Tomatoes: Taste after processing, Firmness “Removing the stigma around stress and after processing (for whole tomatoes), Sized mental health can have lasting and wide- to Fit Jars (for whole tomatoes), High reaching impact.” Yielding, Dependable Yields & Disease Resistance, Ripening Timetable (spaced out For more information on these programs, visit over the season or all at once) www.uaex.edu or contact your local county agent. Best Varieties for Canning:

Which Tomatoes are Best for Canning? Roma type tomatoes have been selected to have small seed cavities and low The canning of home grown produce moisture, meaning that they require less cook has been popular for many years. Tomatoes time to create a thick sauce. Roma varieties are the most widely canned product in the also tend to be high yielding, and a tough but United States and also one of the most easily removable skin combined with low commonly spoiled products. Let’s face it, moisture means that they’ll keep at room almost everybody likes to see tomatoes on the temperature for longer than most other table, in the garden or on the pantry shelf in a varieties of tomatoes, allowing you to Ball or Mason jar. After repeated requests and accumulate extensive research, I’ve assembled a list of your harvest for some choices for the best tomatoes to use several weeks when canning. These days, they come in all before canning. the colors of the rainbow and every shape and All around, size imaginable. A lot of what makes those Roma style varieties so tasty is their juice, which is perfect tomatoes will to add moisture and flavor to a salad or produce the sandwich but will add work and frustration in a highest yield of sauce in the least amount of time. If you’re looking to can tomato sauce in bulk or make Best Beefsteak and Slicing Tomatoes for your own tomato paste, Roma tomatoes are Canning your best bet. Large slicing heirlooms and highly productive The best Roma tomatoes for canning include: greenhouse hybrids tend to contain a high percentage of moisture, which will need to be San Marzano – Known for their sweet flavor, cooked off before your sauce reaches the dense flesh and small seed cavities, San appropriate texture. They also tend to contain Marzano tomatoes are a traditional Italian large seed cavities, which will need to be favorite. They’re especially low acid, so be removed as seeds will make the final sauce sure to add some kind of acid such as bitter. balsamic vinegar or lemon juice to your sauce before canning (or pressure can the There are four good reasons to use sauce). San Marzano are an excellent choice beefsteak and slicing tomatoes for the for sun-dried tomatoes. sauce:

Amish Paste – This thick-walled, meaty Price – When in peak season, local farms will heirloom variety from Wisconsin produces practically give these away by the case lot. flavorful 8 to 12-ounce fruits. Yields are high, When the full harvest comes in, it’s usually and since it’s low moisture, much of that yield dramatically more than local markets can will come through in the final sauce. The absorb. problem is that this beauty hails from Wisconsin and I cannot find anyone who Availability – Cosmetically challenged fruits recommends it for Arkansas’ growing have little chance of selling, as consumers conditions. have their pick of the perfect specimens. Home canners can take advantage of this my Big Mama – A modern hybrid tomato that contacting local farmers and buying them in produces gigantic 5” long and up to 3” wide lots as small as 20 pounds to as large as paste tomatoes that peel easily. It’s low several hundred pounds for mere pennies on moisture and small seed cavities mean heavy the dollar. sauce yields plus it has a cool name! Taste – Certain heirlooms also impart Golden Mama – This hybrid tomato was bred distinctive flavors and colors to a sauce that for striking yellow flesh, as well as mild and cannot be accomplished with the low sweet taste. It yields heavily, allowing you to moisture Roma’s on the market today. make large batches of unique yellow sauce from just a few plants. Color – tomatoes can make a unique green sauce for example, and gold or Viva Italia - This hybrid variety of the old orange variants can also make an especially fashioned 'Roma' produces that same dramatic presentation. vigorous plants and uniform, meaty, red plum fruit, but they develop a few days faster with Here are some of the best beefsteak more disease resistance and larger, 4 to 8 tomato varieties for canning: oz. tomatoes. Ace 55 – These thick-walled tomatoes are Plum Dandy - Early maturing plant produces about the size of a tennis ball and stay firm high yields of red plum shaped tomatoes. even when cooked, making them a perfect They are firm, very sweet, and very flavorful. choice for canning whole. They’re low acid, This is a quality paste and salad tomato that so be sure to add plenty of lemon juice for grows in clusters and is resistant to Early water bath canning. I’m unsure if these can Blight. It’s an excellent choice for home be grown easily in Arkansas. gardens and market growers. – This Russian heirloom Sungold – Sungolds are produces large yields of unique blackish- exceptionally sweet, golden purple tomatoes with a rich flavor. Plants orange tomatoes around one inch in size. grow very large, be prepared with extra The hearty, indeterminate plants start yielding supports. Note: sometimes it’s difficult to early and bear right through the season, and grow heirloom tomatoes in Arkansas with our are recommended for staking or caging as climatic conditions. this cultivar has been known to grow to great heights. The sweet orange fruits make a – Developed by the USDA to be distinctive sauce. one of the first disease resistant tomatoes in the early 1900’s and treasured as a home Yellow Pear Cherry Tomato – This heirloom canning tomato ever since. Plants yield produces large crops of bright yellow, pear- heavily, and the fruits ripen all at once, shaped cherry tomatoes. They’re very low making them ideal for large batch canning. moisture for cherry tomatoes, making them Plants are also known for making a ideal for a sauce. The “neck” of the pear is all particularly flavorful juice. flesh, and the seed cavities are relatively small. That means larger yields of flavorful Rutgers Original Tomato – Flavorful, yellow sauce. medium sized 4 to 6-ounce fruits hold up well to canning. Originally bred from the Marglobe Juliet - Juliet bears delicious, sweet fruit on tomato. indeterminate vines. Some gardeners refer to it as a mini Roma because of the shape. The Best Cherry Tomatoes for Canning wonderfully sweet fruit are crack resistant and remain in good condition on the vine While cherry tomatoes may seem an longer than most cherry tomatoes. odd choice for sauce, given that they’re tiny Hopefully this list will give you something to seed bombs, and seeds in a sauce isn’t a good think about if you grow your own or shop at idea. However, they’re highly productive and roadside stands or farmer markets. For the contain a high sugar content as well as a correct processing times and procedures of distinctive pleasant flavor. canning tomatoes consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation or your local If you have a food mill or chinois sieve County Extension office. that can readily separate out the skin and seeds, trying out a small batch of cherry tomato sauce is worth it for novelty value Common Yellow Woodsorrel alone. While even a dozen high yielding plants will not give you enough to make gallons at a time, a few pints with the fresh sweet zing of a cherry tomato will liven up any sauce. Since cherry tomatoes are especially hard to peel and seed, use a food strainer to easily remove the peels and seeds from the pulp.

Here are some of the best cherry tomato varieties for canning:

Supersweet 100 – Named for its huge clusters of fruit, with as many as 100 tomatoes on a single fruiting cluster. Extremely high yields mean that you’ll be able to collect enough tomatoes from a few plants to make a sauce.

Common yellow woodsorrel is a small lovely blooms. They grow best in acidic soils perennial, 3 to 9 inches tall, often forming (pH 5.0-6.0). They prefer well drained, loamy, small rhizomes. The rhizomes give rise to moist, rich soils. nearby plants. The leaves are divided into three leaflets. Magnolias are best grown in part shade to full Leaflets are heart-shaped, partly folded and sun. They have large water requirements, have a needing 40-80 inches of water a year. They definite sour taste. don’t do well however in heavy soggy soils. Many of the leaves that we see here at the

Flowers are bright yellow with five petals (inset). Forms okra-like fruit. Stalks turn down and the okra-like fruit remains erect, forming an elbow just beneath the fruit.

Control: Prevention and sanitation are keys in preventing the establishment and spread of this weed. Do not let it go to seed. In landscape beds, either pendimethalin or prodiamine applied in March will control woodsorrel preemergence from seed.Gallery® (isoxaben) is also effective. Photo credit: John Boyd

office are simply older leaves that the tree is shedding or preparing to shed.

Although evergreen, Southern Magnolia begin dropping leaves in the fall through early spring as they replace their leaves a few at a time. The degree of leaf drop depends on genetic and physiological factors affecting the tree. Some will lose most of their leaves before new foliage comes out. This is unsightly and often frightens homeowners who feel their tree has a serious problem. Generally speaking, Lawn care tasks magnolias don’t suffer from many serious diseases. They can get fungal leaf spots which Are you wondering what you need to be doing usually don’t do much damage. Insects such in your lawn right now? We’ve got the perfect as magnolia scale can be a problem. “to-do list for your bermuda grass lawn. See Blackening of the leaves with sooty mold is a the insert in this newsletter. If you need a lawn good indication of scale infestation. Fine calendar for another type of turf, let me know. horticultural oil applied early in the season will We can help with that too. usually suppress scale. One serious disease problem is Verticillium Wilt caused by the Magnolia fungus Verticillium albo-atrum or Verticllium dahlia. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is a staple in the southern landscape. It’s grown for its stately size, glossy evergreen leaves, and Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne disease with a huge host range. The fungus invades through the roots and blocks the water conducting vessels of the plant. Symptoms are chlorosis, branch by branch decline and an overall thinning of the canopy. Eventually death occurs. When twigs or branches are cut in cross section, streaking may be seen in the wood. In magnolia the sapwood is a general brown color, not as obvious as the green to dark brown streaking found in other species of trees. Environmental stresses make trees more vulnerable. There is no cure for Verticillium wilt. The fungus exists for a long Hot off the presses! We have a new time in the soil. Therefore, when choosing a publication on our website for honey bee replacement tree or shrub, choose a resistant enthusiasts. Check out MP547 (Honey Bee species. Health) on our www.uaex.edu website. We also have about 40 pocket guides of the Resistant hosts: same publication here at our office at no cost. Come and get 'em while supplies Manzanita last. Birch Box Hornbeam Katsura tree White rock rose Sage-leaf rock rose Rock rose Orange, lemon, grapefruit, others Dogwood Hawthorn Eucalyptus Beech Fig Locust Honey locust Holly Walnut Liquidambar, sweet gum Apple, flowering crabapples Mulberry Oleander Western sycamore Plane tree Pyracantha, firethorn Pear Oak Willow European mountain ash California laurel Linden