GRAND FORKS COUNTY SCD

Participants had this to say

about the workshop:

“Excellent workshop. Very inter-

esting topics/presenters. “

“It opened my eyes on soil health.”

“This was the best workshop yet!”

In This Issue

2016 Scholarship

Black Knot Disease

Watershed Update

Cover Crop Grant Appli-

cation

Site Prep/Procedure for

Tree Planiting

Dust Storms Audience discussion going on after the speakers

4th Annual Soil Health Work-shop Draws a Crowd The Grand Forks County SCD hosted the 4th Annual Soil Health Work-

shop on March 3, 2016, at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. Dr. Don

Reicosky began the day with his talk on nutrient cycling, emphasizing the

importance of carbon. Dr. David Montgomery began his presentation

based on his book, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization, where he discussed

the use of natural resources throughout civilization history. He connected

the second part of his talk to his new book “The Hidden Half of Nature”,

where he discussed the microbial community in our soils but also our-

selves. This microbial life makes up half of the planet and is the driving

force behind all life functions. Dr. Jonathan Lundgren rounded out the day

by discussing insect life in crop fields, both beneficial and harmful. There

were roughly 150 attendees and ranged from backyard gardeners to

agency personnel to farmers and landowners. Other sponsors for the

event include 319 Upper Reaches of the Turtle River Watershed Project,

ND Natural Resources Trust, and the Natural Resources Conservation

Service. Next year’s event is scheduled for February 23, 2017!

Spring Newsletter April 2016

Wanted

The Grand Forks County

SCD is now hiring for the

2016 tree planting sea-

son. Job duties include

planting trees, laying

fabric, driving tractor,

and other tree care activ-

ities. This job requires

the ability to lift 50 lbs

and work in extreme

weather environments.

There is potential for dai-

ly overtime.

The SCD is an equal op-

portunity employer.

Black Knot is a fungal disease that attacks Prunus tree species.

Black Knot-What You Should Know Black knot is a fungal disease that affects several species of Prunus (genus of trees and shrubs including plums,

cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds). This fungus can result in leaf wilt, leaf, shoot, and branch

death, and even the death of the tree in young or highly susceptible Prunus species. The most common species af-

fected in Grand Forks County seems to be the Chokecherry. It is especially noticeable in the winter when the leaves

are absent.

Identification:

Knobby swollen black growths called galls grow along the length of stems and branches.

Galls mature by the end of summer and turn hard and black.

Infected branches distort and bend due to the one-sided growth happening within the gall. Large rough black galls that are often cracked can occur on the main trunk of the tree and may ooze sticky liquid. Management: Avoid planting Prunus species in an area infected with black knot. Black knot galls can be removed through pruning. Since galls remain very small until a full year after infection, it may take 2 years of pruning to completely remove all existing infections. In late winter, remove at least 4 inches of healthy wood beyond the black knot. Bury, burn, or dis-pose of all infected branches. Fungicides can be used to protect young and susceptible Prunus species from infec-tion. Sprays must be applied in early spring to protect young green shoots, and you should begin fungicide treatment when flower buds are just beginning to open. Repeat sprays according to label instruction (7-10 days) until shoots mature or weather is consistently warm and dry. It is important to prune out any existing galls in late winter before ap-plying fungicides in the spring to increase effectiveness. READ FUNGICIDE LABEL CAREFULLY! Common fungicide active ingredients are Captan, Chlorothalonil, Thiophanate-methyl, Lime sulfur. *Information obtained from University of Minnesota Extension

Watershed Project Provides Conservation Practice Opportunities

One of the steps to improve soil

health is to plant cover crops. Keep-

ing the soil covered for as long as

possible not only keeps the soil in

place, but it also feeds microbes, re-

cycles nutrients, breaks up pest cy-

cles, reduces weed pressure, and

helps infiltrate water. This means

less fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide

needs as well as sooner access to

your fields in the spring and stored

water later in the summer. All of this

benefits the water quality within a wa-

tershed. For this reason, planting

cover crops is one of many practices

to which the 319 Turtle River Water-

shed Project can provide cost-share

(Project area is shown in green in

Figure 1.) Cover crops can be

used in a straight cropping system or

in a cropping/grazing system. Covers

are a great way to extend your graz-

ing season, which means less time

and money starting up the tractor and

feeding hay. A proper grazing system can provide an excellent opportunity to have the animals spread

their “fertilizer” for you, which again, lowers your input costs. Fencing and

watering systems are two more practices that can be cost-shared under

the Turtle River Watershed Project. The best part is there is no application

and no ranking process. If you are located in the Turtle River Watershed

area and are interested in these or any other of our Best Management

Practices, stop in or call Kristine to discuss a conservation plan that works

for you.

English Coulee Update

The English Coulee Implementation Phase 1 is set to start in June, 2016.

The same funding opportunities will be available within that watershed

(shaded in yellow in Figure 1) beginning at that time.

Figure 1: Watershed Maps

Tree Site Preparation/ Planting Procedure

By. Joshua Moe

Spring is upon us, and it looks like it will come early this year. The District has another very busy spring and

summer planned. It is important for our customers to have their site preparation done as soon as possible,

which avoids us from having to come back if you’re not ready. We are set on starting planting the first of May

this year!

The soil should be worked up thoroughly, getting rid of any large dirt clumps or grass. This provides better

penetration for our tree planter and helps with compaction. The seedlings will die from any air pockets, thus

making soil compaction a key to tree survival. We will be staking tree plantings early this spring, which helps

guide us as the trees are being planted.

If we are no-till planting your site the grass needs to be cut very short beforehand. This helps the sod split

apart and reseal easily.

For those of you receiving fabric this year, site preparation is even more important for you. The site needs to

be worked really well otherwise the back disks will not be able to pull soil across the edges evenly. Don’t be

alarmed if we plant trees, and you don’t get your fabric right away. Our priority is to get all the trees planted

first, as we have a set deadline to meet based on the Natural Resources Conservation Service specs. We will

come back and lay fabric once ALL tree plantings are completed.

If you plan on planting the trees on your own, it is important to get the seedlings in the ground as soon as pos-

sible. If you cannot plant them right away, just remember to store them in a cool dark area, while keeping the

roots moist. DO NOT put your trees in a bucket of water unless you plan on putting them in the ground within

an hour. Avoid planting them on a really hot day, and do not expose any roots to the wind, or they will dry out

and die.

Like most of you know, once the trees are planted, they usually need a little extra attention. First, it is crucial

to keep weeds suppressed around the trees to avoid competition. Even if you have fabric you have to watch

for weeds. Weeds still tend to grow right around the opening of the fabric splice and can compete for water

and nutrients. Also, when possible, the seedlings can use a shot of water if we have not received rain for a

while. You can check moisture by looking at the first 6” of topsoil. If the soil is dry to the touch, you probably

should irrigate slightly. We usually recommend adding 1” of water around the tree. Be careful not to overwa-

ter, though, as this can be detrimental to the tree.

This is also a good time for those of you who have had trees planted in the past to check on them. As trees

grow, fabric can girdle them, making them susceptible to weather, diseases, and pests. If you’ve had tubes

around your trees, check to make sure they are not rubbing against the opening. Be sure to check for any

signs of stress on your trees throughout the growing season, as diseases and pests creep up at different

times and under different conditions.

We look forward to providing you our tree planting and care services this season!

Contact Us

Stop in, or give us a

call, and let us know

how we can help you!

Grand Forks County Soil

Conservation District

4775 Technology Circle,

Suite 1C,

Grand Forks, ND 58203

(701) 772-2321 ext 3

www.gfscd.org

Like us on Facebook!

When the Wind Blows

We recently attended a meeting where Dave Franzen NDSU Exten-sion, spoke about soil loss. It wasn’t just soil he was talking about, however. He was talking about everything that was attached to those soil particles that has also blown away. In the 1930’s alone, ND lost 19 times more phosphorus than what was left in the soil. We lost 10 times more organic matter and nine times more nitrogen. These numbers are alarming, but what’s even more alarming is that the dust storms haven’t stopped. If that’s not scary enough, our phosphorus supply is set to run out in the next 20 years. We are losing our nutrients faster than the soils can replace them. In fact, years of nutrient gains can be blown away in a single afternoon dust storm. The good news is that we can make a change now. Keep-ing the soil covered at all times and providing a living root for as long as possible are two of the ways to prevent erosion. Bonus: You get a 50 lb nitrogen credit after six years of no-till. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Grand Forks County SCD

4775 Technology Circle, STE 1C,

Grand Forks, ND 58203

PLACE STAMP HERE

We lose more than just soil.

Phoenix, AZ 2011 Photo credit: nbcnews.com