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Planting trees in the fall--last callBy Richard C. Snell Barton County Extension Agent--Agriculture Still want to plant some trees this fall? You had better get with it. There are only a few days left in the fall ordering season of our tree distribution program through the Kansas State Forest Service. We are sold out of everything except for eastern redcedar, ponderosa pine, Austrian pine, southwestern white pine, and lacebark elm. We still have the non-plant items available as well, such as weed barrier fabric, marking flags and rabbit protective tubes. We still have about three weeks left in our fall distribution and the planting season still appears to be a good one. You order at our office, but trees are shipped directly to your home. We usually think of planting trees in the spring rather than the fall. But there may be advantages to fall planting. During the spring, soils are cold and may be so wet that low oxygen levels inhibit root growth. The warm and moist soils associated with fall encourage root growth. Fall root growth means the tree becomes established well before a spring-planted tree and is better able to withstand summer stresses. Certain trees do not produce significant root growth during the fall months and are better planted in the spring. These include beech, birch, redbud, magnolia, tulip poplar, willow oak, scarlet oak, black oak, willows and dogwood. Fall-planted trees require some special care. Remember that roots are actively growing even though the top is dormant. Make sure the soil stays moist but not soggy. This may require watering not only in the fall but also during the winter months if we experience warm spells that dry the soil. Mulch also is helpful because it minimizes moisture loss and slows the freezing of the soil so root growth continues as long as possible. Evergreens should be moved earlier in the fall than deciduous plants. They need at least six weeks before the ground freezes for the roots to become established. Fall harvest yields generally abundant I have already heard some fabulous yields on crops this year, especially on the non-irrigated stuff. I also realize you don't have to go very far to the southwest and that changes in a hurry. If you watch the weather on television you will see that Wichita is something like 12 to 15" above normal for annual rainfall this year. If you go to Elkhart, home of the grasslands, they have had about 50 percent of their normal rainfall and are about 8" below normal for the year. Dodge City is about 6" behind their normal with something like 70 percent of the average. Some of this I am getting from Mary Knapp, our state climatologist at K-State in Manhattan. In Ellinwood, where I live, we are at about 6" above the norm and this is about on par with Great Bend and Medicine Lodge. We probably had the best weather of all in central Kansas and maybe up through the northeast part of the state. Like nearly everyone, we are starting to get a little dry. It was wet the early part of September and then very dry the last half. The western third has been dry all year. The eastern part of the state has been wet most of the year and had some planting delays this spring. So they still need some of the warm weather we had last week. Believe it or not, even with the warm weather last week, we were about 3 degrees below normal state-wide in September. Back to the yields, we are seeing some (not most of it) of the dryland corn and sorghum hit 150 bushels per acre and soybeans above 60 bushels per acre. The irrigated has been only slightly above that on corn and maybe slightly below that on soybeans. Eventually we will need a freeze to finish drying down the milo. But, for now it would be good to get a nice rain and then follow that with about two weeks of warm weather to give double-cropped fields time to mature.
Fall lawn fertilization--an optional round Fall fertilization is critical to the successful growth of cool-season turf. It can be even more important for newly established areas. The most important time to fertilize is mid-to late September, when conditions favor turf growth. The second most important time is around late November. This supplies the soil with nutrients to last over the winter and into spring. Fertilizing once in between is optional, but may also be desirable. An October application may help bring our cool-season grasses out of the summer doldrums. If you established new turf this year, this application may provide immediate nutrition to the seedlings that are emerging and starting to grow rapidly. If you decide to fertilize now, do it before Halloween to allow plenty of time before the late November application. Use a similar quick-release material, but apply half as much nitrogen as you would in either September or November to avoid using too much fertilizer. An intermediate, application at a lower rate, will prepare cool-season grasses for better success down the road.
Did you know... --Come on the Great NW Ag Tour, Nov. 20 and 21 to Kansas City. Sign-up today. --An Ag Lenders Conference will be held in Manhattan on Oct. 8 --K-State will be holding Commercial Pesticide Applicator Training in Topeka, Oct. 6 to 8 and in Garden City, Oct. 9 and 10. --K-State is holding the first Wildcat Steer Futurity. The deadline to enter is Oct. 17. Beef cattle producers will put five steers in the test. We have the brochure with details. 10/20/08 Date: 10/16/08 Advertisement
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