Fertilizer timing and tips
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Thursday, May 14, 2020
There’s no better way to feed your plants than mixing the fertilizer with the soil when you plant. This has a “timed-release” effect because the roots find the food as the plant grows. It helps the roots spread quickly so the plant can get established. Good root systems help plants survive drought, and prevent them from being toppled by wind. For established plantings you should sprinkle powdered fertilizers generously around your plants before mulching. This way the fertilizer doesn’t have to find its way through the mulch to get to the roots. Either way, plants don’t really start to digest fertilizers until the soil temperature warms to 60 or 70 degrees. Timed-release powdered fertilizers work better than liquids because they are stable and will remain in the soil until the plant uses them. Liquid fertilizers are easily washed away, so they may not be there anymore by the time the soil gets warm enough for plants to feed. Modern gardeners are hungry for a return to traditional gardening methods, like building garden soil with organic compost and
fertilizers. Petro-chemical based fertilizers actually weaken soils over time, defeating the natural process of renewal that makes good garden soils and healthy plants. For one thing, petrochemicals don’t do anything to improve soil texture. Good soil needs “looseners” like compost and peat moss, and turning the soil to mix it with air. Well-rounded nutrition depends on living organisms and trace mineral elements, neither of which can be found in a bag of 12-12-12 or a bottle of Miracle-Gro. In our own gardens we use organic powdered plant foods like Holly Tone, Plant Tone, Rose Tone and Bulb Tone by Espoma Organics. These are balanced meals containing lots of wholesome natural ingredients like gypsum, greensand and bone meal to help break up clay soil. They also contain Micorrhizae, soil micro-organisms that help your plants digest fertilizer and trace minerals. Espoma Organics is a modern version of the old-fashioned fertilizer mill; a factory where ground-up natural ingredients like bone meal, cottonseed meal and other components are
Starting the week of May 11, 2020, all branches of the Brown County Public Library will begin providing curbside service on a limited schedule. • Place holds for materials through our online catalog, and pick them up at your local branch. Request materials from any of our four branches. Items from libraries outside BCPL will not be available until the State Library of Ohio resumes interlibrary delivery service.
• Don’t have easy access to our online catalog, or just don’t know what you want? Call your local branch to have a staff member help you make your selections. • Library staff will contact you when materials are available, so that you can schedule a pick-up time. You can also call or email the library with questions. • Items currently checked out are now due on May 22. • Loan periods have been
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Gary Harp/THE NEWS DEMOCRAT
Balanced organic fertilizers help build healthy garden soils.
blended into powdered fertilizers that build and replenish tired soils. We call Espoma fertilizers the “magic dust”. An exception would be plantings where there are carnivorous animals like dogs, raccoons or coyotes, who are attracted to the bone meal and blood meal in organic fertilizers and will dig in your landscaping. In these situations, Osmocote works better. Many commercial nurseries use Osmocote in their container crops; it’s a timed-release fertilizer in tiny “beads” that release the nutrients gradually so they don’t burn the plants. Consider using mushroom compost instead of commercial fertilizers, for new gardens and existing
plants. Mushroom compost has well-balanced nutrition including soil microbes and trace minerals. Good mushroom compost is completely sterile, so you can actually apply it as mulch to prevent weeds, and it will gradually improve your soil quality. Just be careful using mushroom compost around new plants and seeds; it’s strong and could burn them. With new plantings it’s best to mix it with other soils. Steve Boehme is a landscape designer/installer specializing in landscape “makeovers”. “Let’s Grow” is published weekly; column archives are online at www.goodseedfarm.com. For more information call GoodSeed Farm Landscapes at (937) 587-7021.
lengthened for new checkouts : most items will now check out for 4 weeks at a time. This reduces the number of trips you need to make. WiFi Hotspots continue to have a 2-week loan period. • Book returns are open : feel free to begin returning the items that you currently have checked out so they can be quarantined and sanitized prior to being available for another patron. • Having technical diffi-
culties? Try a help session through the new Chat Service on our website. Curbside hours are 9am4pm at all branches: Fayetteville-Perry (513274-2665) : MondayWednesday-Friday Georgetown (937-3783197) : Monday-Wednesday-Friday Mt. Orab (937-4441414) : Monday-ThursdayFriday Sardinia (937-446-1565) : Tuesday-WednesdayThursday While conditions make it impossible to say when the library can begin providing services inside the building, we anticipate that contactless curbside service will extend at least through June 5. And of course, this is in addition to all of the digital services that have been available throughout the COVID-19 shutdown. BCPL’s subscription to Hoopla and participation in the Ohio Digital Library give library cardholders access to eBooks, audiobooks, music, movies and more.
Curbside service now at libraries
News Democrat
Thomas Gaunce, 72
Thomas Louis Gaunce, age 72 of Newtonsville, Ohio, died Friday, May 8, 2020 at his home. He was a United States Army Vietnam War Veteran and was a Direct Care Aide for ResCare in Williamsburg, Ohio. Mr. Gaunce was born November 11, 1947 in Maysville, Kentucky the son of the late Ray V. and Martha Jewell (Long) Gaunce. He was also preceded in death by one brother – Jerry Blankenship. Mr. Gaunce is survived by his loving wife of fifty-one years – Melissa (Mullis) Gaunce; three children – Amy Jeanette Opoku (George) of Newtonsville, Ohio, Joshua Thomas Gaunce (Heather) of Goshen, Ohio and Stephen Louis Gaunce (Nicole) of Milford, Ohio; twelve grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one brother – Larry Gaunce of Georgetown, Ohio; two nieces and two nephews. Following cremation, a celebration of life will take place at the convenience of the family. Cahall Funeral Home in Mt. Orab, Ohio is serving the family. Condolences may be sent to the family at: www.cahallfuneralhomes.com
Farmers Market training
The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provides vouchers to qualified individuals age 60 and over to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and honey from local authorized farmers at Farmer’s Markets, roadside stands, and their farms. (This program is similar to the WIC voucher program held in many of the counties.) The SFMNP is federally funded and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services Agency and in Ohio, by the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA). ODA provides additional state funds to support SFMNP operation within Ohio with the Area Agency on Aging District 7 (AAA7) managing the program locally with the ten counties located in its district which includes Adams, Brown, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton. As this is a statewide program, participants from other counties can also shop with any authorized farmer. If you are interested in becoming an authorized farmer for the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program the AAA7 has scheduled a training/information session. Please note that you must participate in the training to become an authorized farmer. The trainings will be held via a webinar on Monday, May 18, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Please call the AAA7’s Farmers’ Market hotline at 1-800-343-8112 or contact via e-mail at FarmersMarket@aaa7.org to leave your name and address so a packet can be mailed to you before the training dates. Further information on how to access the webinar will be included in the packet.
PUBLIC NOTICES
Phone: (800) 404-3157 Fax: (937) 444-2652 E-mail: legals@browncountypress.com NOTICE TO BIDDERS Separate, sealed bids for each of the requirements set forth below will be received at the Office of the Treasurer of the Board of Education of the Southern Hills Career and Technical Center, 9193 Hamer Road, Georgetown, Ohio 45121 until: 3:00 p.m. – local time May 13, 2020 and will be publicly opened and read immediately thereafter at the usual place of meeting, and a report thereof made to the board at their next meeting. Said work consisting of asphalt pavement repair at Southern Hills Career and Technical Center. The Contract Documents are available for purchase from: Key Blue Prints Inc., 411 Elliott Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45215, 513-8212111 www.keycompanies.com. Documents will be forwarded at bidder's expense. Bids shall be submitted on the form furnished with each set of bid documents or on a photographic copy of that form. Each bid shall be accompanied by a bid guarantee meeting requirements of Section 153.54 of the Ohio Revised Code. Said guarantee may be in the form of a bond (ORC 153.571) or a certified check, cashiers check, or letter of credit meeting requirements of 153.54. Bids received after the time and date set for bid opening will be returned to the bidder unopened. The said Board of Education reserves the right to waive informalities, and to accept or reject any and all, or parts of any and all bids. No bids may be withdrawn for at least 60 days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. The probable construction cost estimate for this work is: $110,000 base bid Board of Education – Southern Hills Career and Technical Center By: Kari Barnes, Treasurer ND 5-7-20, 5-14-20 ---------------------------------------NOTICE TO BIDDERS STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Columbus, Ohio Division of Construction Management Legal Copy Number: 200309 Sealed proposals will be accepted from pre-qualified bidders at the ODOT Office of Contracts until 10:00 a.m. on June 4, 2020. Project 200309 is located in Brown County, CR 42A-00.28 and is a BRIDGE REPLACEMENT (1 BRIDGE) project. The date set for completion of this work shall be as set forth in the bidding proposal. Plans and Specifications are on file in the Department of Transportation.
ND 5-14-20, 5-21-20 ----------------------------------------
Here’s a main dish that’s different and really tasty. Yes, it calls for anchovies and balsamic vinegar, so if you don’t have those, next time you go to the grocery, buy both.
The anchovy paste keeps a long time in the refrigerator after opening. The balsamic vinegar? So versatile. Make a quick salad dressing with equal amounts of balsamic and oil. So now you’ll feel good about splurging a bit!
PORK TENDERLOIN WITH COLORFUL BELL PEPPERS The anchovies don’t make this dish taste fishy. They add a “umami” element of flavor. Ingredients 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1” thick slices
Olive oil 1 good teaspoon dried rosemary, or a good tablespoon of fresh, minced 1 generous tablespoon anchovy paste or 4 canned anchovies, mashed 3 large cloves garlic, sliced thin, or a generous tablespoon minced 1 each red, yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into thick strips Balsamic vinegar Instructions Season pork with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, add oil to cover bottom. Add pork and cook until just browned, not cooked through. Add everything else except vinegar. Cook until peppers are crisp tender and pork is done. Drizzle with vinegar. COUNTRY KITCHEN WISDOM No rosemary? Sub in Italian seasoning.
NOTICE TO BIDDERS STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Columbus, Ohio Division of Construction Management Legal Copy Number: 200310 Sealed proposals will be accepted from pre-qualified bidders at the ODOT Office of Contracts until 10:00 a.m. on June 4, 2020. Project 200310 is located in Brown County, SR 32-11.93 Turn Lane and is a INTERSECTION project. The date set for completion of this work shall be as set forth in the bidding proposal. Plans and Specifications are on file in the Department of Transportation.
ND 5-14-20, 5-21-20 ---------------------------------------LEGAL NOTICE The Clark Township Trustees will accept sealed bids for 404 Hot Mix by the ton, applied and rolled on various roads of the Township, mark envelopes “Bid”. All sealed bids must be in possession of the Fiscal Officer by 8:30 p.m., May 21, 2020, at which time they will be opened and read during our regular meeting, held at the Clark Township Fire Department, Hamersville, Ohio. The Trustees reserve the right to accept or reject any or all bids. Trustees: Dennis Schneider Steve Wallace Bill Neal Tammie Ogle, Fiscal Officer Clark Township P.O. Box 358 Hamersville, OH 45130 ND 5-14-20 ----------------------------------------
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