Have you picked up a copy of Colchester’s Labor Day booklet? There are several places in Macomb that you can get it. It’s packed with information and pictures about their celebration, and it’s free. We always tried to go to the early morning pancake breakfast, but haven’t gone for a few years.
Maybe I’ll see you there.
Well, it’s army worms marching in the hayfields, tomato worms eating on the tomato plants, and web worms working on the apple tree.
Steve got a call from a friend of his who lives down on the Schuyler/McDonough line. He called to say he had army worms in his alfalfa field. Steve’s reply was to keep them in Schuyler! I don’t know how they travel, but they made it here anyway. It started with a spot at the edge that quickly grew bigger and bigger in a day’s time. I’m sure that’s why they are called army worms...because they “march” through an area like an army stripping the leaves from the alfalfa plant leaving only a stem. If the timing is right, the field can be sprayed, but if they show up close to mowing you might want to just mow and bale what hasn’t been eaten, wait for some regrowth and then spray. Withdrawal after spraying is about 10 days so our field was right at the time to mow. Part of the field was not damaged as much because it hadn’t had the huge influx of worms. No wonder the birds were closely following the equipment...it was a cafeteria for them.
The tomato worms had found the tomato plants, and in a day’s time I saw bare stems and even edges of the tomatoes were eaten. It’s a ritual to check the plants in the early morning, noon and night. There’s a lot of squashed finger length worms on the ground.
Now, the web worms on the apple tree bring memories as a kid of picking up worms after Mom had “torched” them with a lit newspaper. I thought it was a gold mine because she paid me a penny a worm, and I spent the money at the carnival that was in town. The crane in a case that picked up a prize was especially appealing, but my “worm” money quickly disappeared.
The hot, dry weather we’ve had this month may have taken a toll on beans and corn. However, the field spot checkers have predicted high numbers of pods on the beans, and corn ears filled to the tip. We won’t know until corn and beans are harvested how the weather has affected the weight of the kernels or the size of the bean. It’s a Las Vegas gamble each year.
Have to share a story on daughter Julie. She said she asked a clerk at a store that carried detergent, “I see you have two kinds. One says detergent, and the other says detergent with baking soda. What’s the difference?” Julie said the clerk looked at her and answered, “Baking soda.” With that I’ll say what Bugs Bunny would say, “That’s all folks.”
Sharon Chenoweth is a resident and farmer of McDonough County. Her column focuses on rural life and will be featured every other week in the Community News Brief Friday Edition.
