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K-State Turf and Landscape Blog

Category: Educational resources

Celebrating Pollinators Year Around

By Brooke Garcia

It was Pollinator Week June 21-27, 2021! How did you take part during Pollinator Week? Perhaps you had an encounter with a buzzy friend in the garden or planted some native perennials that attract pollinators in the landscape.

Celebrating pollinators does not need to be confined to one week only. You can do this in so many unique ways in your personal garden or landscapes you manage or oversee.

Photo taken in David Traylor Zoo of Emporia, KS by Brooke Garcia.

Here are some creative ideas to help attract and celebrate pollinators in our favorite landscapes:

  • Plant native flower beds, gardens, or local grasses to your landscape area
  • Add pollinator plants to flower pots
  • Incoporate native bee houses into the landscape
  • Host a pollinator plant sale or pollinator festival/event
  • Host an educational event with K-State
  • Choose a mixture of plants that flower during spring, summer, and fall
  • Reduce or eliminate pesticides in certain areas of your landscape if possible
  • Incorporate plants that encourage beneficial insects
  • Reach out to others and educate! Informing clients and friends is a great way to encourage change.

Here are some more ideas featured in the Extension Entomology Newsletter.

These are just a few ways to help support pollinators all year around! Have any pollinator topics you’d like us to feature? Email us at gardenhour@ksu.edu.

K-State’s Sodcast: Interview with Loren Breedlove, former superintendent at Kansas City Country Club

 

 

 

 

 

The is the second edition of “K-State’s Sodcast,” which is a short interview with an individual to hear information about their involvement in the turf profession.  Several of these will be put together each year.  In this interview, Loren Breedlove, former golf course superintendent at Kansas City Country Club, talks about the 42 years he spent employed at one golf course. These interviews are done to highlight professionals who have been supportive of K-State, not to advertise their accomplishments or their business.  I’d like to acknowledge the help of Gerry Snyder with K-State’s Division of Information Technology for helping put this together.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH (about 15 minutes)

 

Update on K-State Turf and Landscape Social Media and Websites

By Brooke Garcia and Dr. Jack Fry

If you are reading this post, you have arrived to the K-State Turf and Landscape Blog. We are so glad you are here! New information is posted every couple of weeks. You can also opt-in to recieve email notifications of new blog posts by entering your email in the “box” located on the blog….subscribe now! 

If you want to receive frequent updates on K-State Turf and Landscape research and extension, consider following our other social media pages too!

Our Twitter handle is back! Follow and you’ll receive tweets from members of the K-State turf and landscape team:

  • K-State Turf and Landscape Management Team Twitter: @KSUTURF

We also encourage you to “like” and “follow” each of our K-State Facebook pages to stay up-to-date with turf and landscape research and extension, department updates, program updates, pesticide safety, and integrated pest management!

Additionally, there is the Kansas Turfgrass Foundation which is affiliated with, and works in cooperation with, the Kansas State University turfgrass program. The primary objectives are to support turfgrass research and education for the benefit of the turfgrass industry in Kansas. It is a nonprofit organization and the fees are used to finance turfgrass research projects, educational conferences, field days, and expenses associated with the organization. Members of the Kansas Turfgrass Foundation also recieve an exclusive newsletter called TurfNews.

Want to join KTF? Click here: www.kansasturfgrassfoundation.com

As always, you can also find extension publications, research reports, etc. on the K-State Turf and Landscape Website: k-state.edu/turf

Thank you for your support!

Turfgrass Field Day Series

By Dr. Jack Fry and Alex Bach

Turfgrass Field Day would have been on August 6th, 2020, had we been able to have an in-person event this summer. This is certainly a first! For that reason, we’re offering a few short video summaries of research projects being conducted by K-State faculty and researchers.  In this video by Alex Bach, M.S. student in Horticulture, he discusses subsurface irrigation and how it impacts establishment of turfgrass from seed.

2020 Turfgrass Field Day Series Video 5 – Subsurface Irrigation by Alex Bach (Link Here)

Turfgrass Field Day Series

By Dr. Jack Fry, featuring video by Mu Hong

Turfgrass Field Day would have been on August 6th, 2020, had we been able to have an in-person event this summer. This is certainly a first! For that reason, we’re offering a few short video summaries of research projects being conducted by K-State faculty and researchers. Videos don’t exceed 5 minuets, and the forth video in the series, by Mu Hong, current Ph.D. student in Horticulture, is featured below. Mu discusses minimum water requires that are required for Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue to survive long drought periods.

2020 Field Day Video Series Video 4 Part 1 – Mu Hong (Link Here)

2020 Field Day Video Series Video 4 Part 2 – Mu Hong (Link Here)

For more details on related research conducted on zoysiagrass by Mu and Dr. Dale Bremer, click on the link below to see an article in the 2020 K-State Turfgrass Research Report:  https://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr/vol6/iss7/2/

New Podcast by Kansas Forest Service

By Brooke Garcia

Tim McDonnell, Community Forestry Coordinator for Kansas Forest Service, and Gary Farris, Arborist for the City of Wichita, recently recorded a podcast that highlights the importance of community forests. They discuss how Kansas also faces challenges in regards to protecting urban forests.

Listen to the podcast here: https://kansasforestservice.libsyn.com/more-than-beautification

Upcoming #KStateGardenHour Topics – REGISTER NOW!!!

By Brooke M. Garcia

The K-State Garden Hour is a successful online webinar series, hosted by K-State Research and Extension. Each week, the series is hosted on Wednesdays from 12:00 – 1:00 P.M. CST. This virtual series will provide information on a variety of horticultural topics, as well as highlight educational topics related to plant selection, entomology, plant pathology and integrated pest management.

Here are the upcoming topics for the month of July:

To learn more about any of the topics featured, visit the K-State Garden Hour webpage: K-State Garden Hour Webinar Series

Each webinar in the series has a separate registration page. You will need to click on each webinar that you would like to attend. Please preregister for each session online. 

You can also find, promote and share each webinar on Facebook, via the Facebook Events

If you have any questions, please email our team at ksuemg@k-state.edu.

NEW ONLINE GARDEN SERIES: K-State Garden Hour

By Brooke M. Garcia

Join K-State Research and Extension for a new gardening series called “K-State Garden Hour.” This free weekly series will be every Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. This virtual series will provide information on a variety of horticultural topics, as well as highlight educational topics related to plant selection, entomology, plant pathology, and integrated pest management.

Whether you’re new to gardening or have some experience, you’re sure to learn something new. Discussions will be led by K-State Extension Professionals throughout the state of Kansas. This event is limited to 500 participants. Sessions will be recorded and posted here after each event: https://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/info-center/k-state-garden-hour-webinar-series/k_state_garden_hour.html

Here are the featured topics for the next few weeks:

Wednesday, May 20th: Native Plants in the Landscape – Pam Paulsen, Reno County Horticulture Extension Agent

  • Native plants can be a great addition to your landscape. They are well adapted to local growing conditions and serve as important food sources for beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife. Pam will cover a number of native plant species and how they can be used in your landscape.

Wednesday, May 27th: Taking Care of Tomatoes – Tom Buller, Douglas County Horticulture Extension Agent and Judy O’Mara, K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab

  • Many maintenance techniques can improve your tomato plant health, while also increasing plant yield. Tom will cover tasks including training, irrigating, pruning and insect management and Judy will discuss tomato diseases that occur in Kansas and how to manage them.

Wednesday, June 3rd: Making and Supporting Pollinators In The Garden – Jason Graves, Central Kansas District Horticulture Extension Agent

  • Making and supporting pollinators should not be optional since they are essential to maintaining the vast number of ecosystem services we all rely on every single day. Jason will explore who our pollinators are, understanding pollinator needs and what we can do to make and support pollinators in our own yards.

Each webinar in the series has a separate registration page. You will need to click on each webinar that you would like to attend. Please pre-register for each session herehttps://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/info-center/k-state-garden-hour-webinar-series/k_state_garden_hour.html

You can also find, promote, and share each webinar on Facebook using our hashtag #KStateGardenHour and via our Facebook Events: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kstate.hnr/events/?ref=page_internal

Student Spotlight: Dani McFadden

By Brooke Garcia

Meet Dani McFadden! 

Dani McFadden is currently enrolled at Kansas State University pursuing her M.S. in Turfgrass Science, with an emphasis in Weed Science. She anticipates graduating in May 2021.

McFadden also holds an undergraduate degree from K-State in Horticulture, with a focus in Golf Course and Sports Turf Management.

When outside of class, McFadden loves walking around golf courses, sports fields, and home lawns to apply what she is learning in school. She enjoys being able to identify weeds and common diseases, as well as applying her knowledge of herbicides and fungicides.

McFadden’s favorite hobbies include playing golf with friends, fishing, and attending sporting events. More specifically, she likes attending sporting events that are played on natural grass.

Research Focus: Testing Labeled Restrictions on Seeding Timings after Herbicide Application

Here is what McFadden has to say about her research…

“Many people want to know when they can seed their lawn after herbicide application. Most labels restrict seeding until 2-4 weeks after application. My research includes seeding a stand 0, 3, 7, and 14 days after herbicide application along with the effects of different irrigation amounts on seedling germination. I am also doing research on tall fescue conversion to buffalograss after glyphosate applications.”

What’s next for Dani McFadden?

McFadden will always love mowing greens in the early morning while watching the sunrise. This is something she hopes everyone will have the chance to do. Looking ahead, she hopes to start a career with a chemical company as a territory manager. Through networking, she can continue to connect with great superintendents and turf managers in this industry. The “people in this industry is what makes being a turfgrass student so great,” says McFadden. 

National Pesticide Safety Education Month

By: Frannie Miller

Did you know there are about 1 million certified pesticide applicators in the United States? There is somewhere between 11,000 to 15,000 pesticide products registered for use in each state. Common consumer products that contain pesticides include flea collars, weed and feed, and roach baits. Pesticides play an important role in improving the quality of food and feed yields. They also protect the public health, controlling pests in our homes, turf, forests, waterways, and right-of-way.

February is National Pesticide Safety Education Month, which is important in raising awareness and support for land-grant Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEP). Pesticide Safety Educations Programs like the one at Kansas State University deliver pesticide applicator trainings on safe use of pesticides in various settings, as well as deal with state-specific needs and laws.

Have you ever wondered how safe you are when using pesticides? You can take a self-assessment of personal pesticide safety practices to evaluate where you could do better:

Self-Assessment of Personal Pesticide Safety Practices