Briefly . . .


New Program Creating Opportunities for Kansas' Children


Tips Make Meeting People Easier


Wrapping Thin-Barked Trees Thwarts Winter Perils


Too Late to Cut Alfalfa?

New Program Creating Opportunities for Kansas' Children

MANHATTAN, Kan. – This October, Kansas 4-H is introducing 4-H Cloverbuds, a new educational program for children ages 5 and 6.

The program has been developed specifically for Kansas 4-H. Rather than traditional projects, 4-H Cloverbuds focuses on age-appropriate activities, said Pam Van Horn, the Kansas State University Research and Extension 4-H specialist who worked to establish the new approach.

"The educational program is research-based and designed to help children learn and grow mentally, physically and socially," she said.

The 4-H Cloverbuds curriculum emphasizes:

            * Skills in self-understanding that initiate independence and self-direction;

            * Social skills, such as ways to get along with others;

            * Skills in making decisions and positive choices;

            * Learning skills, including how to learn; and

            * Physical activity, including learning to enjoy creative – and constructive – play.

While 4-H Cloverbuds members can share what they’ve learned via show-and-tells or displays at school or in the community, the activity-based program is non-competitive.

“At this age,” Van Horn said, “children need the freedom to learn without pressures from competition.”

4-H Cloverbuds meetings will typically last an hour and include an interactive educational activity selected from the program curriculum, as well as some fellowship and the opportunity to make new friends, Van Horn said.

To be eligible to join, a child must have celebrated his or her 5th or 6th birthday before Jan. 1 of the current year.

The program is being led by trained 4-H volunteers and implemented by county and district K-State Research and Extension offices. More information about 4-H Cloverbuds is available at those Extension offices and on the Kansas 4-H Web site: www.Kansas4-H.org.

Tips Make Meeting People Easier 

MINNEAPOLIS, Kan. – Managing work, family and community responsibilities doesn’t always leave much time for meeting new people or for nurturing friendships or a relationship, said Peg Condray, a Kansas State University Research and Extension agent in the Central Kansas Extension district.

As a family and consumer sciences agent, Condray is witness to the frantic lifestyles that today’s singles, couples and families are coping with.

Still, she said, traditional meeting places, such as church, school and community events, provide opportunities for meeting others with similar values and interests. Hiking or biking regularly, scheduling time at a health club, and volunteering at a library or food pantry can offer similar possibilities.

“Parents who are helping children settle into a new school can also meet other parents who may be new to the community, too,”said Condray, who offered these additional tips for getting acquainted: 

* Volunteer at work and in the community, to meet others interested in sharing their time and talents.

* Look for opportunities to explore hobbies and interests. Doing something you enjoy can offer a setting to meet others with similar interests.

* Be friendly and open to meeting others. Greet others who may be walking their dog at the same time you are or who end up sitting next to you at a concert, lecture or sporting event.

* Strike up a conversation: Ask about interests, using questions like: How old is your dog? What prompted you to get tickets for the play? Do you like basketball? 

* Don't rush to divulge personal information. While some have met a potential life partner on social networking sites, you need to be cautious. Let friendships evolve.

More information on building and managing successful relationships is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on the Extension Web site: www.ksre.ksu.edu.

Wrapping Thin-Barked Trees Thwarts Winter Perils

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Winter is hazardous for newly planted trees, even “mighty oak” saplings. Sometimes it remains dangerous for trees that stay fairly smooth and thin-barked as they grow -- including ashes, honeylocusts, lindens, maples, willows and most fruit trees.

The cold weather’s perils are twofold (although drought can add a third). Winter’s freeze-thaw cycles can cause sunscald and bark cracks. Foraging rabbits are able to be just as damaging, said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

“In the central United States, many of the samplings will recover, if you provide some TLC later. But, the injury can still affect the tree’s strength and appearance for life,” he said. “Fortunately, you don’t have to take heroic measures to reduce the risk for either type of damage. Think of it as wrapping presents during October or November -- in time for Thanksgiving, perhaps.”

In most years, rabbit damage is likely to occur first, Upham said. The gnawing hoppers enjoy many fruit trees’ bark, but seem particularly fond of the tender tissues on newly planted trees and shrubs.

“That’s damaging enough. But, if they nibble all of the way around a trunk, it could die,” he warned.

The simplest barrier to rabbit damage is a 2-feet-tall, trunk-protecting cylinder of 1-inch wire mesh, chicken wire or the like, Upham said. Plastic tree wrap is another alternative, as is regularly sprayed liquid rabbit repellent on vulnerable plants.

Sunscald and bark cracks usually develop on the south or southwest side of trees, typically during late winter. To develop, they need warm winter days -- which research has found can heat sunward bark up to 40 degrees warmer than a tree’s shady side. This warmth can cause bark cells to break dormancy, lose cold hardiness. So, the active cells are susceptible to lethal freezing when temperatures drop at night.

“A bark crack can be a few inches long or be so bad it looks like a lightning strike,” Upham said. “Sunscalded bark becomes sunken and discolored in late spring and eventually cracks and sloughs off.

“But, to prevent that, you just apply tree wrap in fall from the ground to the start of the first branches.”

Too Late to Cut Alfalfa?

MANHATTAN, Kan -- If producers haven’t done so already, they may have missed the best timing for the year’s last cutting of alfalfa, according to Kansas State University agronomist Jim Shroyer

“Depending on the weather in October, producers can be tempted to make one last cutting in fall before the first killing freeze. Often, though, that’s not a good idea. The timing of the last cutting can have a long-lasting impact on the productivity of the stand,” said Shroyer, who is a crop production specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

At this stage of the growing season, alfalfa plants need to store enough carbohydrates to survive the winter, Shroyer explained. So, even if significant growth has occurred, a last cutting in mid-October could reduce root reserves during a critical time

If root reserves are not replenished adequately before fall’s first killing freeze (24 to 26 degrees), the stand will be more susceptible than usual to winter damage, he said. That, in turn, could result in slower greenup and early growth next spring.

Shroyer recommends timing the last cutting before fall dormancy so the crop has 4 to 6 weeks of growth time (i.e., for 8 to 12 inches of foliage) before the average first killing-freeze date. That should allow adequate time for restoring root reserves.

“About the worst thing that could happen to an alfalfa stand that’s cut in mid-October would be for the plants to regrow about 3 to 6 inches and then get a killing frost. In that scenario, the root carbohydrate reserves would be at a low point, and that certainly could hamper greenup next spring,” Shroyer said.

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