Extension News: March 2006 Archives

Dr. Alan V. Tasker, who manages the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Noxious Weed Program, says in states like Pennsylvania where authorities have inaugurated vigorous public awareness and hogweed eradication programs, “Most reports of giant hogweed turn out to be cow parsnip, angelica, hemlock or some other member of the carrot family.”

To learn more about the differences between hogweed and its close relatives, consult this excellent Penn State publication http://weeds.cas.psu.edu/hogweed.pdf

People who suspect they might have seen giant hogweed should call Cooperative Extension’s Family, Home & Garden Education Center Info Line, Monday - Friday, from 9 AM to 2 PM , prepared to describe the plant and its location. Do not touch the plant while trying to identify it.

If you believe you’ve made a positive identification of giant hogweed, please notify Doug Cygan, New Hampshire ’s Invasive Species Coordinator, at 271-3488.

"My neighbor burns his household trash in a barrel behind his garage every weekend. Says he has for the past 50 years," a friend told me recently. "He says he's saving the town money by not taking it to the dump."

My friend's neighbor probably hasn't saved his town much money. But he is probably breaking New Hampshire law every time he burns his trash.

RSA 127-N, which took effect January 1, 2003, prohibits burning residential trash, which includes packaging materials, coated or laminated paper, rubber, painted or treated wood, coated cardboard, plastics, shingles, foam rubber, oily rags and animal, vegetable and kitchen waste.

The character of household trash has changed dramatically in 50 years. Today's trash can contain inks, dyes, chlorine, plastics, heavy metals and a variety of synthetic materials which produce toxins as the trash burns at the low temperatures characteristic of backyard burn piles. Many of these toxins get released directly into the air, where they stay close to the ground or fall onto plants and soil, where they can affect the health of residents and neighbors, especially children. Other pollutants remain in the ash, where they can contaminate soil and groundwater.

A recent EPA study showed that burning a week's worth of trash from a single household in an open barrel can spew as much of some toxic chemicals into the air as a well-controlled municipal incinerator burning the trash from thousands of homes.

Wood stoves and fireplaces provide primary or supplemental heat for many New Hampshire homes. State officials say residents may continue to burn newspapers and other household paper waste in home heating units.

But Rick Rumba, air toxics program manager for the NH Air Resources Division, advises against burning holiday wrapping paper in a fireplace or wood stove. "A lot of that paper is imported from countries that still use inks and dyes containing cadmium, lead and other harmful materials," says Rumba, noting that some toxic materials may rise with the smoke and pollute the air, but others, like heavy metals, can pollute the soil when people sprinkle the ashes on their lawns or gardens.

The new ban on burning household trash doesn't prohibit Granite Staters from burning clean wood, leaves and small brush outdoors. However, you'll need a permit from the local fire warden before you kindle a pile of leaves or brush. Even when you do have a permit, state regulations prohibit open burning between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, unless it's raining.

When snow completely covers the ground where you plan to burn brush or clean wood, you don't need a fire permit, although some local ordinances restrict wintertime burning

"I always like to tell people, fire permits are a privilege, not a right," says New Hampshire's Chief of Fire Protection, Robert Nelson. "Fire wardens issue permits on the basis of safety and weather conditions."

New Hampshire legislation that went into effect in 1993 made it illegal to dispose of leaf and yard waste in solid waste disposal facilities. Many municipalities do leaf and yard waste composting at the local transfer station and some commercial composting operations accept leaf and yard waste. As an alternative to burning, residents can also safely and easily compost these materials at home. To learn how, call the UNH Cooperative Extension Info Line at 877-398-4769, Monday through Friday from 9am  2pm.

Other resources:
Much more information on the health and environmental effects of backyard burning: http://www.epa.gov/msw/backyard/

To report illegal burning of household trash, contact Air Resources compliance officer Gary Milbury at 271-0907 or 800-498-6868.

For posters and pamphlets providing residents with information about residential trash-burning, call Kathy Brockett at 271-6284 or Barb Fales at 271-1390 or call 800-498-6868.

For more information about the NH rules governing open burning or obtaining a fire permit: http://www.nhdfl.org/protection_bureau/fp_firepermits.htm

For a fact sheet on municipal composting of yard waste: http://www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/sw/sw-3.htm

For lists of NH composting companies (many accept residential leaf and yard waste):
http://www.ceinfo.unh.edu/Agriculture/purchcom.pdf
http://www.des.state.nh.us/SWTAS/Composters.htm

• Program Goals
  Parents and caregivers should look for programs that have evidence of five defining characteristics known as the Five C's. They are competence, confidence, connections, character and caring. Competence promotes the enhancement of specific skills, either academic or hands-on. Confidence relates to self-esteem, and a sense of identity. The third C, connections, builds relationships between the youth and peers, teachers, parents, youth leaders and others in the community. Character refers to increased self-control, cultural development, spirituality, morality and a decrease in unhealthy behaviors. The fifth C, caring, targets youths' ability to understand and identify with others. The 4-H Youth Development program framework would add another C, contribution, which encompasses "making a difference in the lives of others through service."
  
  
• Program Atmosphere
  The quality of youth development programs also depends on atmosphere. Caregivers and volunteers' attitudes, behaviors and principles are an important factor in the success of the program. Roth and Brooks-Gunn describe atmosphere in five dimensions. First, atmosphere encourages development of supportive relationships with adults and among peers. Programs should also focus on empowering youth, or allowing youth to be involved in decisions so they believe they really can make a difference. There should be clear expectations for positive behavior and recognition for good behavior, or demonstrated success in a particular skill. Finally, youth programs must provide stable and relatively long-lasting services.
  
  Program Activities
  Successful youth development programs use the 5 C's (competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring) to achieve their goals. Programs should last for at least a school year to create a supportive, empowering environment, encourage youth to contribute to their community and ensure youth are recognized for their contributions. Finally, programs should foster opportunities to build and develop skills, talents, and positive activities to broaden their horizons.
  
  UNH Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has examples of exemplary programs such as 4-H Clubs, and youth involvement in local community initiatives, but what of other examples in New Hampshire?
  
  One example is the New Heights-Adventures for Teens program in Portsmouth whose mission is "to assist youth to develop the competence, character, confidence, and resiliency necessary for a healthy and successful adulthood." Teens can hang out in the Teen Center from 11-4:30 pm (in the summertime), participate in an activity workshop, take part in fundraising and much more. Adventure trips include surfing, wilderness workshops, canoeing, white water rafting, and even urban adventures.
  
  Youth in grades 6-12 are welcomed as part of the New Heights activities with a staff/participant ratio of one to five or less. A one-day orientation welcomes new teens to the program. Another program in New Hampshire that reaches youth is Girls Inc., whose "prevention and empowerment" programs have been around for 30 years. Currently Girls Inc. serves girls in six locations, Nashua, Concord, Belmont, Manchester, Newport and Rochester. Programming is offered in after school, summer camp, and community outreach centers. Check their website to see the list of possibilities from Friendly PEERsuaion, the substance abuse prevention and education program; to Sporting Chance, development of basic athletic skills.
  
  Some communities have successful Youth to Youth programs. Youth to Youth, founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982, is a community-based program working to prevent adolescent alcohol, tobacco and drug use. It is primarily a youth leadership program with teens as the nucleus, working in partnership with adults to prevent substance use in their local community. The Dover Police Department provides an excellent example. What all these (and the many others in New Hampshire) have in common are well-defined program goals in a specific kind of atmosphere with activities that empower youth by enhancing talents and abilities.

I called my old dog Zonker my “kale-hound.” After a heavy December or January snowfall, when I’d say, “Let’s go dig some kale,” Zonker would charge from the dooryard, plowing through shoulder-high snow up the hill toward the garden, sniffing frantically until he came to the precise spot where I’d planted kale the previous spring. Then he’d begin digging furiously until he’d uncovered enough of the hardy greens for supper.

I’ve grown kale in my garden for 35 years and find it among the easiest crops to cultivate. Kale packs a nutritional punch no other cultivated crop can match. Rich in vitamins A and C, it contains ample supplies of iron, potassium and other minerals. Its calcium level rivals that of dairy products. Kale also contains high levels of heart-protective, cancer-inhibiting sulfur compounds, as well as pigments scientists believe that may protect human eyes against cataracts and macular degeneration, the leading cause of adult blindness.

Kale prefers rich soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. I grow three or four varieties each year, sowing seed directly into the ground anytime from early May through early July. To discourage flea beetles, I cover the planting with a polyester row cover. Cabbageworms rarely bother kale, although aphids love it, especially the puckered-leafed Toscano and the sweet-tender Red Russian varieties, so I keep those varieties covered throughout the entire growing season. (I recently learned that taxonomists don’t classify my favorite Red Russian as a kale, but as a variety of rutabaga, grown for its leaves instead of its roots. Recently research at the University of New Hampshire has found that of all the commonly-available kale varieties, Toscano has the highest concentration of the phytonutrient lutein, which among its many health benefits, may protect human eyes against the harmful effects of solar radiation.)

Woodchucks love kale, so if you garden in a woodchuck-prone area, you’ll need to take the usual precautions: a tall, sturdy fence set deep in the ground to prevent the ‘chucks from digging under, a good woodchuck dog, a gun (check local ordinances to make sure it’s legal to discharge a firearm in your jurisdiction) or a trap. Wildlife biologists recommend shooting a woodchuck caught in a Havahart trap, rather than releasing the captured animal in a wild spot a few miles down the road, as some older gardening manuals suggest doing. Biologists say woodchucks generally can’t find food and shelter in their new surroundings, leaving them vulnerable to predators or consigning them to a slow death by starvation.

I usually make several succession plantings of kale from mid-May through mid-July, keeping my salad bowl supplied with the small, tender thinnings throughout the summer months. The flavor of kale improves markedly after a frost or two, and most kale varieties will keep well left right in the ground all winter long, especially in years when a few inches of snow fall early in the season to insulate the plants. (If you don’t have a kale-hound, make sure to mark the rows or beds of kale with a tall stake tied with a colorful streamer.)

I prefer harvesting kale in the dead of winter, since I can just take my colander into the garden and crumble the frozen leaves into it, avoiding the need to chop them.

Don’t pull those tough, woody kale stems out of your garden in the spring, either. Most years, the stems will sprout a new crop of sweet, tender leaves for salads long before the spinach and lettuce get big enough to harvest. I usually pull the kale stems out in early June and plant green beans in the empty space.

I add chopped kale liberally to soups, stir fries, quiches and omelets. But I’ve also learned to love it straight-up, cooked like this: Chop and lightly sauté a clove or two of garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add a quart or more of chopped kale to the pot with a little water, cover, and steam until the kale becomes tender. Grate a little pepper or nutmeg over it, dress with a bit more oil (vinegar optional), and toss with a handful of chopped toasted walnuts or almonds. You can make a main dish by using the kale as a bed for grilled salmon, chicken or marinated tofu, stuffed portabella mushrooms, or chopped hardboiled egg.

Peg Boyles

“Young children love to dig in the dirt, pick flowers, and pull up plants to see how they grow. They have a fascination with bugs, beetles and worms,” says Extension program coordinator Dot Perkins.

“The Growing a Green Generation children’s gardening curriculum takes advantage of that fascination, using a gardening environment to teach basic skills and foster a love of nature.”

For three years, Perkins has helped develop, evaluate and refine the gardening curriculum, a project begun in 2000 as a collaboration between the UNH department of plant biology and the Child Study and Development Center.

Growing a Green Generation offers parents and teachers a storehouse of information and child-tested activities that introduce children to basic botany, soil science and a full sequence of gardening tasks, from measuring the garden area, to planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing, mulching and harvesting. It offers instructions for creating eight different theme gardens, numerous garden-related arts and crafts activities, garden-related experiments, snacks, songs, games and trips, as well as useful tables and references for teachers.

“We’ve designed the activities to engage all the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch,” says Perkins, “We’ve included sections on container gardening for situations in which children don’t have access to a plot of land,” says Perkins. “The projects use recycled and inexpensive, commonly-available materials. Yes, you can buy a $30 root view—that’s a device with a window that lets you look at what’s going on with the plant below the soil surface—but a recycled soda bottle works just as well.”

“Our main goal for the project was to create a curriculum that would allow pre-school and kindergarten teachers, day care providers, and parents who’ve never planted a seed to have a successful experience with young children in the garden,” says Perkins. The project receives financial support from the Anna and Raymond Tuttle Environmental Horticulture Fund.

Colorful icons accompanying each activity page provide a quick visual overview of the skills the activity helps develop and the plant knowledge children will gain from it. Each activity page tells how much time the activity will take, then moves on to list the learning objectives, materials needed, set-up instructions, sequence of actions, questions teachers can ask to stimulate children’s thinking about the activity, and a glossary of new terms the activity presents.

Teachers and children the CSDC and New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Child and Family Development Center have tried and tested all the activities; the curriculum appends a section of comments Perkins collected during the project’s evaluation phase.

“The curriculum will continue to grow and evolve as we try new things and get feedback from teachers and others who use it,” she says. “Please get out into the garden this summer, try out some of our activities, and help grow the next green generation. We’d like to hear from you!”

March 19: Growing a Green Generation

A conference on learning with young children through the joy of gardening

Today's To-Do List: get the kids ready for school, do a load of laundry, work eight hours, pick up the kids from after-school care, shop for Christmas gifts, pick up dinner, feed daughter before dance lesson, take daughter to dance lesson, start wrapping Christmas gifts, finish decorating tree, feed son before basketball practice, pick up daughter from dance lesson, help kids with homework, do dishes, put kids to bed - the list continues. Some days the "to-do" list never ends, and it grows even longer around the holidays. With long work days, complicated school schedules and extra-curricular activities, everyone is pulled in different directions. Many parents find it difficult to keep up with their children's lives, not to mention their own. Days may go by without the whole family spending any time together at all.

One important way families can stay connected is by sharing a meal. Finding time each day when everyone can sit down together goes a long way toward strengthening family bonds. According to recent surveys, less than half the families in the United States actually sit down to a meal on a regular basis. Yet, studies report family meals are strongly related to the development of adolescent mental health and stability. A Harvard Medical School study found there are nutritional, as well as social, emotional and academic advantages that occur in children when families share meals together.

Eating together regularly promotes adult-child communication skills such as listening patiently to each other and expressing one's opinion is a respectful manner. Since children thrive on routines, family meals foster a sense of security and stability. Mealtimes also provide a time for shared learning about family traditions, cultural heritage, and family values. So how are busy families expected to fit this important "to-do" item on their daily list? Consider it a Christmas gift everyone gives to each other, and make family mealtime a priority. Choose a time and put it on the calendar. Just as you would schedule basketball practice or time for dance lessons, plan ahead for family mealtime.

Think creatively and make adjustments to fit your family's schedule. Family mealtime doesn't always need to be at dinnertime. You could plan a Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch. A picnic on a blanket before or after a ball game counts too. It could also be everyone enjoying pizza at a local restaurant.

If your family usually watches television during mealtime, decrease the habit slowly. Begin with one or two television-free meals a week and gradually increase the number. By turning off the television, you eliminate the distraction that can interfere with mealtime conversations. Let the answering machine pick up calls or turn off the phone ringer to avoid interruptions. A phone call can always be returned after the meal.

The Food Guide Pyramid recommends serving a variety of foods, but that doesn't mean you need to prepare an elaborate five-course meal every night. Keep meals simple and easy. You may decide to serve the same favorite food on a certain day of the week. For example, Friday is pizza day. Family meals are a perfect time to teach children about making nutritious food choices as well as a time for modeling good table manners.

To keep the family coming back to the table, make mealtimes pleasant and fun. Focus on positive table conversations by asking questions such as, "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" Everyone should listen attentively and avoid criticism or rude behaviors. Involving children in the planning, preparing and serving of meals helps build teamwork and cooperation. Listen to their meal suggestions and invite them to help create memorable holiday foods and decorations. For a special treat, light candles on the table or use flowers to create a pleasant atmosphere.

Today's Ta-Da! List: gave the gift of a family meal, spent time and reconnected with the children, enjoyed nutritious food and pleasant conversations and strengthened family values.

Alice Mullen, MS, RD UNH Cooperative Extension Family Development, Hillsborough County

Looking for a distinctive and useful gift that reflects New Hampshire ’s natural heritage? Consider giving one of four beautiful publications available from the UNH Cooperative Extension Publications Center . With prices ranging from $6 to $20, these gifts won’t break the bank, either.

A Landowner's Guide to Inventorying & Monitoring Wildlife in New Hampshire

This book will teach readers some fascinating ways to inventory the wildlife inhabiting the land around them: listening for grouse drumming or toad calling, observing woodcock peenting or turtle-basking, and setting out “scent posts” that attract predators. Written by Malin Ely Clyde, Darrel Covell and Matt Tarr of UNH Cooperative Extension’s Forestry & Wildlife program, this beautiful, spiral-bound volume helps New Hampshire landowners get to know and survey the wildlife around them. The book includes tips for observing wildlife and instructions for keeping records of your observations, guidance on creating a habitat map of your property, detailed how-to descriptions of methods for taking inventories of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects, and data tabulation sheets for each inventory method. The book also offers descriptions and contact information for many state and national wildlife programs that welcome your involvement in their wildlife surveys.

The 2005 North Country Garden Calendar

Learn how to spread wood ashes, buy a home greenhouse, establish a wildflower garden, collect seed and keep fall invaders. This attractive, two-color calendar highlights gardening topics for northern New England gardeners throughout the year. Produced by horticultural experts at the Cooperative Extensions of the Universities of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont , the calendar offers a useful tip for each day of the year, along with solutions to three of the most common problems Northern New England gardeners face each month.

The Best Plants for New Hampshire Gardens and Landscapes

How to Choose Annuals, Perennials, Small Trees & Shrubs to Thrive in Your Garden

This beautiful book uses the concept of habitat gardening to help gardeners and landscapers choose and care for plants in our unique New Hampshire environment. It includes lively, easy-to-read text and useful charts, pen and ink illustrations, black & white photos of selected plants, sections on plant selection and care, specialty plant lists and an index for easy referencing.

Written by Cathy Neal and Margaret Hagen of UNH Extension, along with Leslie van Berkum of van Berkum Nurseries, this book is published by the New Hampshire Plant Growers' Association in cooperation with UNH Cooperative Extension.

Preserving Old Barns

Now in its second printing, with each copy hand-signed by both authors, Preserving Old Barns offers a history of New England agriculture through the evolution of barns, helps barn owners assess the structural integrity of old farm buildings, and provides instructions for making basic repairs. Photos and sketches on every page provide clear examples of the concepts presented. A special colored section showcases more than a dozen beautifully restored barns. The appendix has an extensive bibliography of information pertinent to barn repair.

Authors John Porter, a UNH Cooperative Extension dairy specialist, and Francis Gilman, retired agricultural engineer specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension have between them have more than 50 years of experience helping farmers around New England update and retrofit barns.

To order:

A Landowner's Guide to Inventorying & Monitoring Wildlife in New Hampshire

The 2005 North Country Garden Calendar

Preserving Old Barns

The Best Plants for New Hampshire Gardens and Landscapes

To ensure delivery in time for the holidays, please get your orders in before Friday, December 17. For more information, call 603-862-2346.

Enjoy a breath of spring with a visit to the UNH Greenhouse Open House. Cooperative Extension, the UNH College of Life Science and Agriculture and the Thompson School jointly sponsor the two-day event, which runs Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All activities take place at the University greenhouses off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Free and open to the public, the Open House offers visitors a lot to do:

• Tour the greenhouse to see faculty and student research projects and learn how a greenhouse “works.”
  
  
• Browse displays that include the backwoods garden, Snackseed pumpkins, plant breeding, water recycling, UNH composting (U DOO), information on the N.H. Master Gardener program, and more.
  
  
• Hear talks on a range of topics, which include alternatives to invasive landscape plants, the journey of a botanist on the trail of Lewis & Clark, controlling damaging lawn insects, what to do when your plant is ‘sick’, and an ‘ask the expert’ session. Click here for a list of sessions.
  
  
• Buy plants and flowers.
  
  
• Get a professional diagnosis of your sick plant (bring your ailing plant along).
  
  
• Turn your children loose on a scavenger hunt.

This year's Greenhouse Open House coincides with the 2005 Seacoast Flower, Home & Garden Show at the Whittemore Center April 1-3. Shuttle buses will travel between the greenhouse and the Whittemore Center Friday and Saturday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

For more information call 862-3200.

Spectacular plant may cause nasty burns

When she saw the stately flowering plant growing at a plant nursery in Vermont a few summers ago, Lilly Barton had to have some in her own garden. “It was drop-dead gorgeous,” she recalls. The “hogplants” Barton grew attracted so much attention from customers at the greenhouse and greenhouse supply operation Barton operates with her husband in Langdon, “we decided to save the seed and propagate it for sale.”

One sunny August day, Barton cut some of the huge seedheads and set them to dry. She’d noticed “the juice from the thick, hollow stems came squirting out and onto my arms, but I didn’t think much about it. I sat down with friends to talk and have a cold drink.”

A few hours later, Barton broke out in deep, burning blisters that required intravenous antibiotics and cortisone shots and took a month to heal. “I still have purple scars all over my arms that look like cigarette burns,” she says.

A not-so-gentle giant

Consulting botanical texts, Barton’s husband identified the plant as giant hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, a perennial member of the Umbelliferae family of plants that includes the common carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley and dill, as well as the wild Queen Anne’s Lace, the cow parsnip and the deadly hemlock species.

Giant hogweed soars to 15 or even 20 feet high, producing spectacular white umbrella-shaped flowers that measure as much as 36 inches across and leaves up to five feet wide. Dispersed by wind, water, small mammals or birds, giant hogweed seeds can remain viable for eight years or more. The clear, watery sap of giant hogweed contains a toxin that, when activated by sunlight, may cause severe blistering like Lilly Barton experienced.

Medical reports note cases of temporary or permanent blindness resulting from exposure to hogweed sap, including many cases of children blinded after using the thick, hollow stems as telescopes and peashooters. Veterinary literature also contains reports of grazing animals receiving painful mouth blisters after consuming hogweed.

Minor plant pest can pose a serious health threat

On June 1, the state Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food ( NHDAMF ) banned the sale, propagation and transplant of 18 invasive plants, including giant hogweed.

Although giant hogweed does not grow rampant and spread rapidly the way some invasive plant species do, Doug Cygan, Invasive Species Coordinator with the NHDAMF says, “It’s by far the worst plant pest when it comes to human health.”

Under a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey, state officials have begun surveying and mapping sites where giant hogweed grows. So far, Cygan says they’ve found it in Grafton, Sullivan and Rockingham Counties, with unconfirmed reports of four injuries from hogweed sap this summer.

Cygan warns property owners and others who think they’ve encountered a giant hogweed to stay away from these plants, keep pets and livestock from grazing on it, and make sure children and pets don’t play around the plants. Medical literature contains reports of people getting burned by playing with cats and dogs who’ve gotten the hogweed sap on their fur.

A seductive import

Originally imported by British gardeners from Eurasia in Victorian times, giant hogweed gradually dispersed throughout Europe and began showing up in North American gardens as early as 1917. The plant currently flourishes in the states of Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

Dr. Alan V. Tasker, who manages the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Noxious Weed Program, says in states like Pennsylvania , where authorities have inaugurated vigorous public awareness and hogweed eradication programs, “Most reports of giant hogweed turn out to be Cow Parsnip, Angelica, or some other [member of the carrot family].”

Tasker says people can distinguish giant hogweed from other species of the carrot family, not only by its gargantuan size, but by its purple-splotched, hairy stems. “Cow parsnip stems have a more ‘furry’ look to them, whereas the hogweed has long, white hairs which are most pronounced at the base of the leaf petiole (stem). But the foliage of cow parsnips and giant hogweeds before they send up flower stalks is so similar it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.”

Giant hogweed prefers rich, moist disturbed soils and will establish readily in home gardens. But unlike many invasive plants, giant hogweed doesn’t spread rapidly unless it grows near water bodies: “Hogweed is a particular threat in riparian areas,” says Tasker. “The seedheads fall into the water and spread downstream, where they readily sprout and take root wherever they wash up.”

Gardeners “the worst offenders”

“Garden club members can be the worst offenders spreading giant hogweed,” Tasker says. “It’s so spectacular that they pass the seeds along to fellow gardeners.”

Even professionals fall for the majestic plants. Tasker says he’s spent time removing hogweed seedheads from the grounds of several foreign embassies in Washington . “The State Department hired a landscape architect who loves the plant,” says Tasker. “He got a bit huffy when he was informed it was on the Federal noxious weed list and would have to be removed.”

Have you seen the giant hogweed?

People who suspect they might have seen giant hogweed should call Cooperative Extension’s Family, Home & Garden Education Center’s Info Line, 1-877-398-4769, Monday-Friday, 9 AM -2 PM, prepared to describe the plant and its location. People who have already made a positive identification should notify Doug Cygan of the NHDAMF at 271-3488. Cygan suggests that people not touch the plant while trying to identify it and await a state inspector before deciding on a control strategy.

For more information

• Giant Hogweed and Look-a-Likes
  This Penn State photo-fact sheet will help you distinguish between giant hogweed and its close relatives.
• USDA Giant Hogweed Fact Sheet
• USDA Giant Hogweed Poster
• Fact sheet from King County, Washington
• Hogweed sap burn
  A graphic photo—not for the squeamish.
• Images of giant hogweed
• Lyrics to Genesis’ 1971 recording of The Return of the Giant Hogweed
  A cult classic and testament to the near-mythic status of giant hogweed in Great Britain , where the plant has flourished and spread for more than 100 years.

For clinicians

These links may offer useful information for New Hampshire healthcare providers.

• Photodermatitis from Giant Hogweed
  An epidemiological publication of the Oregon Department of Human Services
• Vegetation, Vegetables, Vesicles: Plants and Skin
  From a British nursing journal. Look for information about giant hogweed under the heading Phytophototoxicity.
  
  

“Why do I have to go to sleep anyway?”

If you have a child and you haven’t heard this question, it’s probably because your child hasn’t started talking. Children have amazing amounts of energy. They can play for hours and they don’t want to miss out on anything going on around them. In general, children don’t like to go to sleep. So, when you ask them to go to bed, you’re asking them to do something you want them to do, not what they want to do.

But human beings can’t stay healthy without enough sleep. Sleep allows the body to relax and refuel. Bedtimes can be warm, cuddly times and are also good times to review the day’s events. Quiet talks before sleep can become some of the most enjoyable times you spend with your child.

Having a plan helps children get ready for bed and makes that transition easier. Stories, games and songs are useful in the initial stages of the transition. Anticipating the child’s needs and challenges also eases the transition. Your plan should consider the needs of all the children in the household, as they are most likely at different stages.

Children differ as to the amount of sleep they need as well as when they need it. During the first four years, most children take naps in the afternoon. That habit is outgrown naturally when they need less sleep. Sleeping is like eating to children – they will eat if they are hungry and they will sleep if they are tired. Trying to force either of these activities usually leads to major difficulties for both of you.

Establish a routine

Having a certain bedtime, complete with rituals and regularity, is important for growing children and their parents. Researchers who study sleep behaviors have found that children who go to bed and get up at different times each day instead of at set hours often have trouble falling asleep at night. They believe that children should go to bed at the same time every night, including weekends, and get up at the same time every morning. They believe that by consistently sticking to a bedtime ritual, children will fall asleep easier and bedtime will be a more pleasant time.

Regular bedtimes encourage children to develop predictable habits of sleeping at night. It’s important to realize that bedtime rituals and habits change as children grow older and become more independent.

Infants’ sleep needs

New babies alternate between being asleep and being awake without any knowledge of the difference between day and night. Newborn babies will sleep about 16 hours a day at first. Older babies need at least two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each lasting from one to three hours. Clues such as fussing, turning their heads to one side, sucking their thumbs or pieces of material, usually tell when babies are tired and ready for sleep. If you pick up on these signs of sleepiness and put them to bed, they will usually go right to sleep and wake several hours later happy and content.

If babies cry right before nap or bedtime, they may be overly tired. You can rock them, give them a back-and-forth movement in a carriage or crib, or rock them in your arms as you walk. Many babies wake up from naps feeling happy and alert. They may not make any noises at first, preferring to play quietly with their hands or “talk” softly to themselves. If babies wake up groggy or grumpy, physical exercise will help. Move their arms and legs back and forth gently, or encourage them to crawl across the room to reach an interesting toy.

Place healthy babies on their backs when putting them down to sleep. Research indicates this can reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Do not put babies to sleep on soft surfaces or with pillows or stuffed toys. These could cover a child’s airway.

Answer an infant’s cries immediately, change her diapers, offer her a drink or reassure her until she falls asleep again. By responding to her needs, you can help the infant develop trust.

Toddlers

Most toddlers rest during part of the day. Naps help keep children from feeling overly tired and actually help them sleep better at night. Toddlers between ages two and three may sleep nine to 13 hours a day. Many toddlers will take one long nap around lunchtime. Others may take two shorter naps.

Two-and three-year-olds often feel anxious about being alone and going to sleep. Many will demand that a hall light be left on or a door be left open. Soft light and the opportunity to hear household noises are reassuring. Some call you back to their rooms several times to be given drinks, kisses or a favorite stuffed animal. It is important for you to answer these calls up to a limit. After two or three times tell your child you will come back once more, but after that you he will need to go to sleep. Follow through on what you say.

Four- and five-year-olds

Most four- and five-year-olds go to sleep at night quite easily. Older preschoolers may play so hard during the day they even ask to go to bed at night. Because preschoolers are known for their dawdling behavior, some need a “pre-sleep” time and a “sleep” time. Children can use the pre-sleep time to tuck in their toy bear families, undress their dolls, color, “read”, sing or do a puzzle. The sleep time, a “turning out the light” time, can follow 15 minutes later.

Preschoolers have especially active imaginations. After age four, they begin to have dreams and nightmares. Sometimes these bad dreams wake them up and make them feel afraid. Their dreams often are about scary animals and it also is common for some preschoolers to have dreams involving fire, water or the ability to fly. Preschoolers even dream they are superheroes! Dreams usually happen during the first two hours after the children go to sleep, so it is a good idea to be especially alert to calls for help during this time period.

If your child has bad dreams, go to him quickly and reassure him that what happened was a dream. Children often cannot tell the difference between real life and dreams so it is important for you to help them learn about dreams.

School-age children

By the time children are six and seven, they can do most of the things to get ready for bed themselves and most of them go to bed easily. However, eight-year-olds enjoy staying up late and think of lots of reasons to dawdle over bedtime routines.

These children need about an hour to settle down for sleep. Reading calming stories, talking quietly to them while they relax in bed or letting them play quietly alone in their rooms are ways you can help children “wind down” from the excitement of the day’s events.

Nine- to twelve-year-olds require less sleep than younger children or teens. They need just over nine hours each night by the time that they’re thirteen.

Sleep needs change in adolescence

Teens need as much as nine and a half hours of sleep each night, but they’re getting less than seven and a half hours per night on average. Sleep patterns change in adolescence, making it harder for teens to fall asleep early and to wake up easily in time for school.

In mid-puberty, significant changes in the brain and biological clock affect their sleep patterns. Sleep phase delay occurs when the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin is secreted in the teen brain later in the evening than for young children or adults. That makes it harder for teens to go to sleep at the times they did when they were younger. Melatonin secretion also turns off later in the morning, so it’s harder for them to wake up. Sleep is also made more difficult by additional late-night stimulation from computer games, hard-driving rock music, TV and phone conversations. Lack of sleep can affect mental and learning capacities, information processing, regulation of emotions and development of social competence. Driving is another serious danger for sleep-deprived teens.

If teens get into bright light as soon as possible in the morning, then their brain is signaled to wake up. They should also avoid bright light, foods and drinks with caffeine, and other types of stimulants in the evening. Parents can help teens develop a workable schedule that allows for enough sleep by talking with them about their sleep/wake schedules and activity level.

Parents can also provide a home environment with no loud late-night activities, TV or music. Limiting phone use close to bedtime can help. Parents can model good sleep habits by paying attention to their own bodies’ sleep needs and going to bed earlier.

Parents can help children of any age develop good sleep habits and provide a home environment that’s conducive to sleep.

By Nancy Bradford-Sisson, Cheshire County Family & Consumer Resources Educator. Adapted from: “Good Times at Bedtime”(National Network for Child Care); Adolescents and Sleep ( University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension); Children and Sleep ( Iowa State University Extension)

For more parenting information:

• UNH Cooperative Extension’s parenting fact sheet series
• Do I have to eat that? A fact sheet on avoiding food fights with your children.
• Children and Obesity: Good Food and Good Moves Tips for building good nutritional and exercise habits into everyday family life.

USDA Food Safety Mobile makes its first N.H. visit The NH Safe Food Alliance, a consortium of Granite State academic, regulatory and industry groups, will sponsor the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new Food Safety Mobile at the Hopkinton State Fair September 3-6.

Al Lampson, the Food Security Coordinator of the N.H. Bureau of Food Protection who coordinated the visit, describes the vehicle as "a 35-foot van plastered with cartoon characters. Colorful costumed characters and food safety experts will be on hand to provide cooking demonstrations, safe food handling tips, free publications on food safety, and games for children. The van will be open from 9AM to 9PM. Come by and visit!"

What local institution helps preserve open space, improve public health, create jobs, generate income that stays in the local economy, revitalize downtowns and foster a sense of community? A farmers’ market of course!

“Farmers’ markets are re-energizing and re-invigorating New Hampshire cities and towns” says Jack Potter, founder and director of the N.H. Farmers’ Market Association. “Markets are providing a highly valued social event that people look forward to each market day. They are bringing an awareness of the importance of local farms and food quality into the minds and kitchens of thousands of people throughout our state. On market days, people drawn to the markets also visit and buy from other community merchants.” 

According to Gail McWilliam Jellie, who directs the of Agricultural Development for the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food Division 48 markets, “ will operate in cities and towns throughout New Hampshire this summer, with several more expected to open before the end of the growing season. When I took this job 11 years ago, there were only 11.”

McWilliam Jellie credits the federal Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program as the primary force driving the explosive growth of farmers markets throughout New Hampshire. The FMNP provides coupons that qualifying low-income families and seniors can redeem for fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets.

“A N.H. Farmers’ Market Association survey estimated that the state’s farmers’ markets grossed about $800,000 last year,” says McWilliam Jellie. “FMNP coupons accounted for nearly $200,000, or about one-quarter of gross receipts.”

McWilliam Jellie says a resurgence of interest in farming and local initiatives to revitalize downtowns also factor heavily into the growth of farmers’ markets statewide. “I’m wondering when the trend will peak,” she says, adding that the pilot program enabling market vendors to accept the electronic cards used by food stamp recipients “has the potential to expand farmers’ market activity even more dramatically.”

Although locally-produced fresh fruit and vegetables play the starring role, most markets also offer a broad range of products reflecting New Hampshire’s rural heritage: plants and flowers, eggs, poultry, pork, wool, honey and maple syrup, baked goods, handmade soap and crafts. Many markets offer educational programs, cooking demonstrations, live animals, music, activities for children and festivals.

Growers needed!

“Most markets need more growers,” says Nada Haddad, Extension educator in Rockingham County. “Fruits and vegetables sustain these markets. More and more people are shopping at farmers’ markets, and we’re getting more and more markets every year, so we will continue to need more growers.” Haddad suggests that interested producers call their county Extension office or contact the manager of their local market for information on how to get involved or attend the May 12 workshop described below.

For more information:

Selling at a Farmers’ Market Essential tips for people who sell agricultural products at N.H. farmers’ markets.

New Hampshire Farmers’ Market Association A wealth of information for vendors and prospective vendors.

Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Official pages on USDA’s Farmers Market Nutrition Programs for WIC recipients and low-income seniors.

USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Contains links to many information resources for vendors and consumers of farm-fresh products.

5 A Day Produce for Better Health Foundation Describes the health benefits of vegetables and fruits, contains links to fact sheets, recipes, research reports and more.

Popular home horticulture course moves to the North Country this fall

UNH Cooperative Extension will offer a Master Gardener course in Lancaster this fall. After completing the intensive course in home horticulture, Master Gardeners volunteer time in their communities, sharing their knowledge and their love of gardening with others.

Since 1993, this popular program has trained more than 700 Master Gardeners throughout New Hampshire, 500 of whom remain active as Master Gardener volunteers and take advantage of ongoing programs of continuing education.

Students in the program normally travel to Concord or to Manchester for classes. Coos County Extension educator Steve Turaj organized the Lancaster classes to ease the travel burden for North Country residents. Through an exchange program with the Vermont Master Gardener program, the Lancaster training program also welcomes Vermont applicants.

"The course isn't geared for beginners," says Turaj. "We're looking for experienced gardeners who want to increase their in-depth knowledge of home horticulture." Instructors will cover such topics as botany, soils, insects, plant diseases, plant propagation, indoor plants, fruits, vegetables, sustainable gardening, woody ornamentals, annuals and perennials, landscaping and more.

After graduation, the gardeners volunteer a minimum 45 hours during a year-long internship, extending to other gardeners their enthusiasm for gardening and the knowledge gained through the classes. After the intern year, full-fledged Master Gardeners remain active by continuing to volunteer a few hours each year.

The North County classes will meet a full day a week for eight weeks in the Granite State Room of North County Resource Center in Lancaster from late September to mid-October.

The eight classes will meet from 9 am to 4 pm, September 23, 28 and 30, and October 5, 8, 12, 14, and 19 (days of the week vary-check calendar). The program costs $175, which includes a reference handbook. Scholarships are available based on need.

For more information, or to receive an application in the mail, please call 788-4961.You can also download the application from our Web site. Please submit your application for the Lancaster program by August 31.

A boat anchors over the deep spot of the lake and the passengers start lowering something into the water watching its descent through a long viewing tube to check water clarity. Then one person slowly reels out a weighted line reading off numbers while the other writes down these measurements that sound like water temperatures (they are!). Then they take what looks like a garden hose and use it to fill a large dark bottle. They pull up anchor and head back to process the samples onshore.

Perhaps you witnessed a scene something like this the last time you visited a New Hampshire lake. If so, you were watching a volunteer lake monitor in action. For more than 25 years, New Hampshire residents who live on or near a lake and care about it have put in tens of thousands of volunteer hours conducting this type of activity. Their work has led to a much better understanding and appreciation of the state’s lakes. It has also allowed local citizens to inform their local communities to better protect, preserve and improve lake water quality.

The New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (NH LLMP), founded in 1978, was conceived by University of New Hampshire (UNH) faculty as a way to involve local residents in collecting baseline lake water quality data for detecting long-term trends and locating problem areas.

Our original outreach intentions were twofold: to provide unbiased data for informed local lake management, and to create an opportunity for participants to gain hands-on understanding of water resource concepts and issues. We didn’t anticipate that our statewide “army” of volunteer scientists would prove invaluable in advancing applied research important to lake and watershed management decisions, or that our model of citizen science would spread to 35 states and a dozen foreign nations.

Volunteers’ questions spur new research
After working as lakes monitors for awhile, our volunteers began raising some very interesting questions about the health of the lake and its wildlife. Questions like how increased boating activity affects our lakes, or if there been a change in the health of lake fisheries. After consulting with state agencies and researchers, we devised methods to start addressing these questions and others, using our volunteers to provide the lion’s share of the person-power needed to monitor the waters.

Working with researchers from the UNH Center for Freshwater Biology, NH LLMP volunteers documented fishery health in a wide range of lakes, reporting the data to our N.H. Fish & Game Department partner in the project, who used it in their own assessments.

We also found that motorized watercraft can have very different levels of impact, dependent on the lake characteristics like bottom composition and water depth, as well as how and in what areas the craft operate in.

On the statewide scale, NH LLMP data demonstrated a relationship between the nutrient phosphorus and algae growth, in support of a ban on phosphate-containing detergents. LLMP water clarity data demonstrated the economic impact to property values when water quality declines.

NH LLMP data delivers a range of powerful impacts
Using volunteers to help conduct intensive studies of a lake’s watershed (the drainage area around the lake) has allowed for very cost effective monitoring. Such a study on Lake Chocorua gained national attention, as the resulting information led to the reduction of pollutants coming from roadway runoff next to the lake.

The Lake Chocorua project is not the first major success story of the NH LLMP. Over its 25 plus years of operation, the program has chalked up many accomplishments:

• In-lake nutrient samples were used to call for improved landscaping practices, reducing impacts of a shoreline condominium development.
  
• Lake monitoring efforts were a major reason for highway route changes around a wetland bordering a lake. NH LLMP monitoring results has allowed lakes to receive federal and state assistance.
  
• Sewer system bonds have been passed using NH LLMP monitoring information.
  
• Vegetated buffer zones and shoreline setbacks were expanded for a lake at risk.
  
• Poorly planned, high-impact development projects have been scuttled by communities using NH LLMP results.
  
• “No-rafting” zones (prohibition of dense congregations of moored boats) have been posted in shallow bays, based on weekend- versus-weekday nutrient level monitoring by LLMP volunteers.

• The Lakes Lay Monitoring Program
• UNH Center for Freshwater Biology
• National Volunteer Monitor Newsletter Article on the Lake Chocorua Project (page 4)
• EPA Non-point Program success story on Chocorua Project
• National Volunteer Monitor Newsletter on Participatory Research in more detail (page 22)
• USDA CSREES National Volunteer Monitoring Website
• USDA Regional ( New England ) Water Quality Website
• Lakes Appreciation Month
• Recent research on water clarity comparisons (see page 17)
  
  

“I tell the people I work with, ‘I know what it’s like to struggle for food to feed my family, and to struggle for work.,” says Heidi Bennett, a program associate in UNH Cooperative Extension’s Nutrition Connections program. Bennett teaches nutrition and money management to limited-income families in Hillsborough County .

Several times Bennett and her family have had to tap emergency food supplies in their community, their need arising because of injury, disability or layoff. “It’s happened to me. It can happen to anybody,” she says.

“The last time it happened to our family, my husband and I were both working full time. We were on the verge of buying the house we were leasing, when I got pregnant with our third child and had to quit work because an old injury prevented me from lifting and staying on my feet, which the job required. The landlord wouldn’t extend the lease because he wanted to sell the house, and we couldn’t afford it, so we had to move to an apartment we could afford. Then my husband got laid off, leaving us with only his unemployment to live on.

“My husband had job offers, but they didn’t pay enough to support a family and had no benefits. Because he was able to work, we didn’t qualify for food stamps. We bartered—my husband traded some labor for venison, I babysat for a friend who paid us in bread from the place she worked. I traded my picnic table for 10 cases of diapers. I qualified for and received WIC—it’s a terrific program. After the baby was born, the landlord let me plant a garden in the backyard.

“But I had to get food from a local food pantry those few months until my husband found a good job and we could get back on our feet again. We had prepared for a setback, like most families do. If you have only one setback, you can manage. But sometimes you have another, and another, until it feels like you’re taking one step forward, three steps back.”

Bennett says, “If you’re facing some sort of food emergency, call Nutrition Connections. We don’t provide food, but we have resources that can help with decision-making in tough times. We can arm you with knowledge, and knowledge is power.”

UNH Cooperative’s Extension Nutrition Connections program has won a $31,000 grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education Program (NESARE) that will encourage food stamp recipients to use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards at three farmers’ markets this summer. Additional funds from the Nutrition Connections program will support two additional markets in the project (see list of markets below).

Nutrition Connections’ food security coordinator Helen Costello says the grant will allow shoppers at markets in Nashua . Manchester, Sanbornton, Enfield and Laconia this summer to use their EBT cards to buy locally-grown fruits and vegetables, lean meats, poultry, eggs, dairy products and whole grain breads while they enjoy the social aspects of market days.

“When the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card replaced paper food stamp coupons in 1998, farmers’ markets and many farm stands didn’t have the infrastructure to accept the cards, inadvertently excluding food stamp customers from these markets,” says Costello. “The NESARE grant will allow the pilot sites to bring the necessary telephone and electricity lines to the markets and remove other barriers that have prevented market vendors from accepting food stamps. This summer, food stamp customers can bring their EBT cards to the UNHCE kiosk at participating markets and have them authorized to receive market scrip to make food purchases.”

Food stamp project joins existing Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program

The project enhances the benefits already available through the USDA Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, which provides coupons at the start of each market season that let qualifying low-income families and seniors buy fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The ability to use the EBT card at the markets will extend the purchasing power of families and seniors.

“Studies show that seniors who participate in the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program say they eat more fruits and vegetables than they would without the program and that they plan to eat more fruits and vegetables throughout the year,” says Costello. “Also, families who introduce their children to frequent exposure to fruits and vegetables help instill healthy eating habits early and help reduce the risk of nutrition-related diseases later in life, especially obesity and Type 2 diabetes.”

Costello credits George Hamilton, Extension agricultural educator in Hillsborough County and Jack Potter, director of the New Hampshire Farmers’ Market Association with enthusiastically supporting the idea and promotion it vigorously among growers.

UNH Extension Master Gardeners and nutritionists from the Nutrition Connections program will present food production and cooking demonstrations at each of the five participating markets to educate the public about food production and introduce new ideas for using farm fresh foods.

At the end of the three-year pilot Costello plans to develop a how-to manual for market managers that will help the food stamp program grow to include farmers’ markets statewide.

Teaching apple growers to monitor populations of orchard pests and use a variety of non-chemical controls before turning to pesticides—a practice called integrated pest management (IPM)—has saved New Hampshire growers at least $7.7 million in spraying costs over the past 25 years. Adopting IPM practices has allowed growers to cut the number of pesticide sprays in half, while increasing the percentage of high-value, unblemished fruit by 1.1 million bushels.

UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist and IPM coordinator Alan Eaton recently released a report that documents the extraordinary success of the apple IPM program he has coordinated for 25 years. From its beginnings in 1978, when a handful of growers agreed to test IPM techniques on a few trees in their orchards and compare results with conventional practices, the program has proven so successful that all of the 2500 acres of commercial orchards remaining in New Hampshire now use it.

Then and now

Twenty-five years ago New Hampshire boasted 5500 acres of commercial apple orchards. The standard apple trees of the day stood up to 30 feet tall and 35 feet wide at the crown. It took about 300 gallons of spray per acre and growers sprayed on a schedule to combat the numerous insect, disease and weed pests affecting apples. Even then, they found pest damage on 10 percent of their fruit significant enough to lower its value.

Today’s orchards feature plantings of much smaller dwarf or semi-dwarf trees half the size of the old standards. Expanding world apple production and other market factors have cut in half the acres of commercial apple production in New Hampshire and reduced apple production by half a million bushels. Most growers today market their apples and apple products directly to retail outlets or consumers.

Instead of spraying according to a pre-determined schedule the way they once did, growers using IPM techniques learn the life cycles of pests and the conditions that favor them, monitor the emergence of various pests by setting out a variety of traps and lures, scout their orchards for visual evidence of pests, and call to Eaton’s IPM hotline, updated weekly, so they can time their sprays accordingly. Despite the pesticide reductions, less than five percent of their apples show pest damage.

Although apple growers have cut the number of times they spray each season by half, Eaton says most of them probably spend about as many hours on the computer or out checking traps as the previous generation of apple growers spent preparing sprays and sitting on a tractor spraying their trees.

Building the program

To build the IPM program, Eaton and colleagues made site visits, wrote fact sheets, held winter workshops, organized on-site twilight meetings, and presented at grower meetings to recruit participants and disseminate information. Eaton says the IPM program has involved an intense partnership between Extension field staff, support staff, graduate students, summer assistants, private consultants and growers themselves, not only in New Hampshire, but regionwide.

He collaborated with specialists from throughout New England to produce the New England Apple Spray Guide (which grew from a 19-page spray schedule to the sophisticated 161-page guide that gets updated every two years). He promoted the introduction of nest boxes and perches for hawks and owls to reduce populations of mice and voles in orchards, and released populations of predatory insects and parasites that prey on apple pests.

Other benefits

Eaton says the apple IPM program has delivered benefits beyond the actual cost of fewer sprays:

• It has reduced the risk of adverse health effects from pesticides on farmers, farm workers and farm families.
• It has reduced the risk of pesticides contaminating ground and surface waters.
• Spraying less extends the life of expensive spraying equipment, lowering operating costs.
• It has increased populations of beneficial insects and parasites around apple orchards.

Eaton also knows of instances where he believes “IPM savings have been so substantial that it kept businesses afloat during difficult times,” thought he hasn’t tried to quantify jobs saved or growers able to stay in business.

He says his report serves as only “a rough look at the program and its impacts. It isn’t a complete economic analysis. For one thing, I haven’t ‘translated’ the dollar impacts from early years into 2004 dollars. For another, I haven't decided when to stop counting some impacts. 

“In response to the IPM work, growers cut their spraying by nearly one-third in the first five years of the program. Certainly no one would spray the old way today. Do we keep counting that as valid spray reduction this year? When do we stop counting? I don’t know.”

For more information  

• UNH Cooperative Extension IPM Program
• Northeast Region IPM Center website   Developed and maintained collaboratively by Extension IPM throughout the Northeast. Links to every Extension IPM program in the Northeast region..  You can also use the search engine on the site, to search only public IPM sites for information (and avoid a lot of sales pitches).
• Univ. Massachusetts Fruit Advisor Aimed at commercial fruit growers, it offers newsletters and publications  

As if budding flowers, leaves and shoots this time of year weren’t enough, newspaper flyers, television commercials, and direct mail inserts catch our eyes and imaginations with promises of bright flawless lawns and perfect, colorful blossoms.

It’s easy to see how advertising of home and lawn care products appeals to our desire for beauty, convenience and ease. Couldn’t we all use a little more time, beauty and relaxation in our lives? What if we could have a low maintenance, beautiful yard AND protect water quality at the same time?

Are you willing to adopt a few new habits and make protecting water quality your priority? It may be easier than you think!

The Clean Water Act is more than 30 years old and has done a great deal to improve water quality in the United States . In fact, contaminants from industries are no longer considered the primary source of water pollution in the country.

According to the EPA, the “new” number one source of water pollution is nonpoint source pollution, also known as storm water runoff. As rainwater lands on our roofs, streets, fields, lawns, forests, construction sites, parking lots and driveways, it picks up materials and shuttles them down the nearest gutter or catch basin and into the local wetland, river, bay or lake.

The cumulative impact of runoff from many home and business landscapes is what gives this pollution source its number one position.

With a little forethought and a few changes in habits, we can reduce our contribution to water pollution and in many cases, make our home and lawn care easier! Major sources of water pollution in New Hampshire are excess nutrients, pathogens and toxic contaminants. Many contaminants come from sources in and around our homes. (Full Story)

Reduce Nutrients

All living things are made up of nutrients. When living things decompose, they break down into their component nutrients. When an excess of these nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, are released into the environment, they cause excessive algae growth. Excessive algae growth leads to reduced oxygen levels in water that kills aquatic animal life.

There are many ways we can reduce nutrient inputs from around the home. Minimize or avoid fertilizer applications by testing the soil and then applying only the amount and type of fertilizer needed. Use slow release products.

Compost yard waste and prevent it from entering storm drains, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, bays or marshes. Leave grass clippings on the lawn when mowing, they act as a light fertilizer. Replant bare areas quickly, especially on steep slopes. Eroding soils create pollution. Keep or plant a buffer of trees and shrubs between your property and any water bodies nearby. Plant native plants that require less fertilizer, water, and clipping.

Reduce pathogens

Disease-causing bacteria and viruses create pathogenic contamination in water. They typically indicate the presence of fecal matter and create health problems. In coastal areas, pathogenic contamination results in shellfish bed and beach closures. Pathogenic contamination usually comes from animal waste including waste from pets, wildlife, agricultural animals and humans. Human waste can enter water bodies via failing septic systems and waste water effluent.

There are a number of ways we can reduce our contribution to pathogenic contamination. Treating your septic system with care and pumping it out every 3-5 years helps reduce the likelihood the system will fail. Picking up pet waste and disposing of it in a toilet, the trash where allowed, or burying it, helps keep it from ending up in local waters. Conserving water at home and supporting a strong municipal wastewater treatment system help prevent overflows and accidental releases of minimally treated waste water.

Toxic Contaminants

Toxic contaminants are often what we think of when we think about pollution. These are compounds like heavy metals and pesticides. Toxic contaminants come from commercial, household and agricultural chemicals, automobile emissions, leaking underground tanks and historic sources. They don’t usually break down easily and they poison living things.

Household products can become toxic contaminants when they make their way into groundwater or the storm water system. Use less or nontoxic alternative products around the home. If you have some products you aren’t sure how to dispose of, contact your town office and ask about disposing of household hazardous waste. Many towns have a special collection once or twice a year.

Use common sense with pests. Most plants can tolerate some insect damage just fine. Minimize pesticide use. NEVER put anything down a storm drain. Automobiles and trucks release toxic contaminants into the air and onto the ground that eventually end up polluting runoff. Keep your vehicle in good working order. Use alternative transportation when you can. Wash your car at a carwash or over gravel to prevent the wash water from entering the storm water system.

Wherever possible, reduce runoff over impervious surface – pavement and compacted soils. These impenetrable surfaces prevent water from infiltrating the earth where soil helps filter out pollutants. Think about adopting a new way of thinking and a couple of new habits to minimize our contributions to polluted runoff.

By Julia Peterson, UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist, Water Resources

The 4-H shooting sports program will offer an instructor training at Barry Conservation Camp in Berlin , September 24-26.

This unique program, which broadens the appeal of 4-H beyond its more traditional programs, “is the only 4-H program that requires volunteers to be trained and certified before they can teach,” says Larry Barker, Coos County 4-H educator who coordinates the shooting sports programs in New Hampshire.

“The instructor program tends to attract people with a lot of expertise in outdoor activities and an interest in recreational or competitive shooting, says Barker. “We emphasize putting the focus on youth development—how to work effectively with kids.”

The shooting sports program offers instruction in rifle, shotgun, pistol, muzzle loader, archery, and hunting & wildlife. “We deliver the program through ongoing 4-H clubs, as short-term, special interest workshops, and at two of 4-H camps - Bear Hill, which offers archery, and Barry Camp, where we teach rifle and shotgun.”

“Like other 4-H projects, our shooting sports program has a subject matter base,” says Barker. It has strong links to natural resources, wildlife, outdoor recreation and safety. We draw content from sports medicine, psychology, education, biological and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and technology, as well as American traditions, folklore and history.

Its core concepts stress safety, ethical development, personal responsibility, and life-time recreational skills.

Barker continues, “Personal development for young people and leaders is the real objective. The program promotes responsibility, decision making and identifying realistic, personal goals. We work to make "every kid a winner," and to "make the best better."

This year, Barker won a grant that allowed him to obtain 5000 gunlocks and gun safety kits, which will be distributed across the state by 4-H members. “As a service activity, our local shooting sports club, the Coos Sharpshooters, will distribute gun locks at the Lancaster State Fair to anyone over 18 who wants one,” Barker says.

For more information on the leader training or any aspect of the 4-H shooting sports program, call Larry Barker at 788-4961 or check out the national Web site.

Some plants found in our yards and gardens produce fall berries that look tempting, especially to small children, but are dangerous to eat. Children may be especially tempted to pick and eat berries if they've seen their parents picking berries such as blackberries, blueberries and strawberries over the course of the summer.

Unfortunately, the words POISON and TOXIC too often create fear when they should suggest a warning. Many medicines or common household substances used incorrectly can cause illness or even death. This is also true with certain plants, when left alone, they are harmless. Some plants when bruised, crushed or eaten in varying quantities may result in effects that are upsetting, painful, or even potentially fatal.

Most plants must be eaten to become toxic, while others just have to be touched (as in the case of poison ivy). Toxicity often depends on the amount of plant material ingested. For example, all parts of the sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) fall on the "slightly toxic" plant list. Since sunflower seeds are a common snack food, this may come as a surprise, but it is a perfect example of toxicity as a function of ingested amount. Ice cream can also make you sick if eaten in disproportionate amounts!

Whether poisoning will take place or not is usually determined more by the habits of people than by the presence of a particular poisonous plant. The danger depends mainly on whether it is likely to be eaten. At this time of year, children are attracted to berries as well as fleshy plant parts. Children should be taught at an early age to keep unknown plants and plant parts out of their mouths. They need to be made aware of the potential danger of poisonous plants.

Adults need to be familiar with the potentially dangerous plants in their yards, t heir homes, and in play areas close to home. If you suspect that a poisoning has occurred, call the New Hampshire Poison Information Center at 1-800-562-8236 and ask for instructions. Below are some common, poisonous berry-producing plants that children should learn to avoid. These plants are especially attractive to children in the fall when carrying their brightly-colored fruits.

Yew Berries from the evergreen tree or shrub (Taxaxeae) often used as a hedge and grown in gardens or around homes are particularly hazardous. These small red fruits are not poisonous, but are sweet and taste good, so children might be tempted to eat many of them. The seeds, however, are toxic and might be eaten with the berry.

• Baneberry ( Actaea rubra and Actaea alba ), a perennial herb species found in gardens and woodlands, grows one to two feet tall, and develops red or white poisonous berries in summer and early autumn.
  
  
• Jack-in-the-pulpit ( Arisaema triphyllum ),a common and pretty woodland plant, produces clusters of poisonous red fruits in the fall.
  
  
• Bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculata and Celastrus scandens ), woody, deciduous vines often grown in gardens and also found in the wild, produce showy orange fruits which are poisonous.
  
  
• Daphne ( Daphne mexereum ) is a shrub often grown for its lilac-pink flowers in early spring. It later develops poisonous white or red berries which are highly attractive to children.
  
  
• Pokeberry ( Phytolacca Americana ), a common weed that can grow up to eight feet tall, with a purplish stem, and large, smooth alternative leaves, produces toxic, purplish-black berries that resemble wild grapes. They are especially tempting.
  
  
• Chokecherry ( Prunus virginiana ) is a weedy tree that can grow up to 30 feet tall. Its red berries are not harmful, but the seeds inside contain toxic amounts of a dangerous substance, cyanogenetic glycoside.
  
  
• Black nightshade ( Solanum nigrum ), often found in pastures, waste place, meadows, and near dwellings, is an annual that grows one or two feet and produces poisonous large, black berries in late summer and early autumn.
  
  
• May apple ( Podophyllum peltatum )is a woodland plant that grows one to two feet tall and produces large, umbrella-like leaves. Each plant produces one flower in the spring which becomes a potentially poisonous plum-size fruit in the fall.
  
  
• Poison ivy ( Rhus radicans ), a woody shrub or vine, is harmful in all seasons. All parts of the plant are poisonous including the yellow-white, shiny berries in the fall.

The above list is not comprehensive. There are other common plants, both berry-producing and not, that can be harmful or even fatal if consumed by small children. The best way to protect small children from plant poisoning is to teach them not to eat any plant parts without adult supervision.

We can't ignore plants, for they are the hand that feeds us. However, common sense can go a long way in making people-plant relationship a compatible one.

By Margaret Hagen, Extension Educator Family, Home & Garden Education Center, Hillsborough County

The Internet is now part of our everyday lives. The ability to access any type of information, any time of the day or night, communicate with people from all over the world and shop for virtually anything from home will forever change the way we live and work. Our children need to become experienced Internet users to find even menial jobs in the future.

Information on the Internet is governed by the First Amendment: freedom of speech. The information found, however, in some places may be viewed as inappropriate for children. As a parent, you must decide what's right for your child to see and read, just as you have the responsibility to govern what she watches on television or what books he reads.

Although there are lots of sites most of us would agree should be off limits to kids, the number of educational and positive web sites far outweigh the questionable ones. Filtering software is available to lock out sites with offensive information, but they may not be 100 percent effective.

Putting the computer in a visible location in your home is the best way for you to monitor what your child is doing on the Internet, A computer in a family room or the kitchen allows you to supervise the sites your child accesses.

If the computer must go in your child's bedroom, face the screen toward the door and insist the door remain open while on the Internet. Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children. Discuss these rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer.

The Internet's use as a communication tool is unparalleled. With an email address, you can communicate with virtually anyone. Children can converse by email or in real-time chat rooms with children from other cultures, teachers from the best schools in the world or with astronauts on the space shuttle. Barriers because of what someone looks like, how old they are or where they live don't exist in cyberspace.

The danger of someone misrepresenting themselves to your child on the Internet is very real and kids must be aware of this possibility. Safety rules on Internet use aren't really much different than those we teach about staying at home alone and dealing with strangers: "Don't go with strangers. Never tell anyone when you're home alone. If someone does or says something you're not comfortable with, tell a parent or other trusted adult."

Remember "Information doesn't hurt children, people hurt children." Teach your children how to deal with inappropriate information and how to avoid potentially dangerous people online. Check out the safe surfing information for parents and children at www.cyberangels.org

Make sure your children never gives out personal information to someone on the Internet. This includes name, address (even what city they live in), phone number or the name of their school. Under no circumstances should they ever agree to meet someone face-to-face and if someone on the Internet pressures them to give out any personal information, they should cut off communication and let you know about it.

Above all, as a parent you can help your child by learning about the Internet with them. Get to know the Internet services your child uses. If you don't know how to log on, get your child to show you. Find out what types of information is offered on their favorite sites and whether there are ways for parents to block out objectionable material. The more you understand about the technology, the easier it will be to set appropriate parameters and help your child understand the need for safety.

New Hampshire’s delegation to the 75th National 4-H Conference in Washington DC returned home from a week in which 350 youth and adults gathered to share ideas and form recommendations in guiding future national 4-H youth development programs and programs in their communities. The six day conference is awarded to 4-H members for outstanding achievement in their local 4-H program. The New Hampshire delegation, Rachel Henderson of Weare; Sarah Smith of Danville; and Hannah-Joy Waechter of North Hampton, were accompanied by chaperone Michele King. All of the youth felt that this conference was the high point of their 4-H career.

The conference challenged the youth participants to “Build the Future – TAG, You’re IT!” Conference activities included workshops and roundtable discussions culminating in a town hall meeting. Ideas and recommendations gathered at the roundtable discussions will be shared with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and Extension leaders at the national, state and local levels.

Conference also included a visit to Capitol Hill. During the visit, the delegation met with each of New Hampshire’s state legislators and updated them on current 4-H Youth Development programs and the impact they are having on New Hampshire’s youth. In addition, their goal was to make sure the decision makers in Washington understand that strong youth development programs help to cultivate youth with a strong sense of self and community.

In their conversations with our Senators and Congressmen, the youth focused primarily on two programs currently at the forefront of the UNHCE 4-H Youth Development program; Operation Military Kids and 4-H Afterschool.

N.H. 4-H youth explained with eloquence that Operation Military Kids is a nationwide program run in partnership with the USDA and Army CYS. It is an effort by both organizations to offer support to families who have found their lives changed by the deployment process. Unlike “regular” military, National Guard families living out in the community, find themselves facing a number of obstacles when a family member is deployed. Issues like loss of wages and suddenly being a single parent family are coupled with the worry about a family member who may be in harms way. While there is no easy solution, Operation Military Kids seeks to offer support by offering self-affirming programs to the youth of these families.

They went on to explain that 4-H Afterschool recognizes out-of-school hours can be some of the most dangerous hours for youth who do not have productive ways to occupy their time. Once again, 4-H is there offering opportunities for growth and self-discovery in a safe environment.

During conversation with Congressman Jeb Bradley, he observed, “it is obvious by the poise and self-confidence of these youth, your youth development program is doing good work.” Congressman Bradley took time out of his busy schedule to give the 4-H’ers a private tour of the Capitol building. The 4-H’ers exclaimed that while they were in awe of all they had experienced that day, the tour of the Capitol building was the best part!

It may sound like National 4-H Conference was all work, and while the youth did work hard, they still found time for some fun! Conference entertainment included a recycled percussion group, an illusionist, and a variety show featuring the amazing talent of the conference participants! Speakers provided inspiration on reaching your dreams, including a view from Olympic Wrestling Champion Rulon Gardner who offered his thoughts about achieving what everyone said was impossible. The conference wrapped up with a dinner cruise on the Potomac River. The evening offered the delegates from around the country an opportunity to dance the evening away with friends they had made during this busy week.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sixteen young people met President George W. Bush and talked with him about their 4-H projects showcased in action exhibits at an August 6 picnic held at Bittersweet Farm in Stratham.

As the first 4-H member to greet the President, Molly Hanlon demonstrated how to make fabric napkin angels. “I was surprised how easy it was talking to the President and how interested he was in my project,” she said. “Another thing that was really wonderful is that he went to all of the displays and projects, he didn't skip any.”

After visiting with Molly, the President moved on to Amy Hanlon’s rabbit display and took her sick bunny quiz. “It was fun making him take my quiz and he was a really good sport about it,” Amy said.

Meggie and Paddy Bowling demonstrated spinning, while their brother Tomas presented President Bush with an elephant he’d made that morning using needle felting techniques. At the table featuring crafts projects, President Bush talked with Samantha Strebel, who demonstrated how to make envelopes, and Ashley Harris, who was painting garden gnomes. At a table focusing on health projects, Holley and Heather Weeks demonstrated how to take blood pressure and perform CPR. President Bush sat right down in the chair and asked Heather to take his blood pressure, later joking with the press corps that Heather had said he was in good health.

The President next visited the consumer and horticultural judging table coordinated by Chris Rice, followed by a display of quilts 4-H’ers had made for the ABC Quilt Project or for David’s House, two organizations that donate handmade quilts to children facing major illnesses.

Lester Barthelemy demonstrated his skill at fixing leather saddles. Cacia and Morgan King had a display on 4-H Operation Military Kids and a shooting sports educational display. Clint Townson talked with President Bush about his sheep activities, focusing on feed and breed identification. Cori and Grace Magnusson shared their experiences creating robots.

In addition to the gift of the hand-made elephant, the President received a New Hampshire 4-H baseball cap from Chris Rice, a N.H. 4-H Making our Best Better T-shirt from Samantha Strebel, and a 4-H Liberty Bear from Clint Townson.

4-H volunteers Monica Hanlon, Susan Rice, Robin Weeks, Sue Strebel, Judy Cogger, Mike and Michele King, Lucy Rhodes, Brenda Barthelemy, Lisa Townson, Cheryl McCarthy, and Kris Magnusson helped with the showcase. Rockingham County 4-H Youth Development Educator Lynn Garland organized the event to show the diversity of interests youth pursue in the 4-H Youth Development Program of UNH Cooperative Extension.

By Lynn Garland, Rockingham County 4-H Youth Development Educator

4-H provides many opportunities for youth to develop their Head, Heart, Hands, and Health for Better Living. Contact the UNH Cooperative Extension office in your county for more information about 4-H educational programs for youth 5 to 18 years old.

The N.H. Division of Forests and Lands and the Plant Industry Division of the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, have been monitoring for the presence of hemlock wooly adelgid (adelges tsugae), a serious pest of hemlock species in nurseries, landscapes and native trees.

The hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) is a small, aphid-like insect native to Japan and China . First detected in the U.S. on the West Coast in the 1920s, it appeared in Virginia in the 1950s. Since then HWA has continued a northward migration in the Eastern United States , devastating stands of Eastern hemlock, T. Canadensis, and Carolina hemlock, T. Caroliniana.

The first New Hampshire infestation was discovered on naturalized stands of hemlocks in Portsmouth ’s Elwyn Park in the fall of 2000. Since then, HWA has been found in other areas of the state, showing up in Peterborough in 2001, Bedford and Epsom in 2002, in Jaffrey in 2003, and this year in Nashua and Hollis. So how did it get here?

According to Jen Bofinger, forest health specialist/Entomologist with the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, these insects can be dispersed by wind, birds or by forest-dwelling mammals. Humans also have contributed to the spread of this devastating insect by transporting infested hemlock trees.

To prevent the spread of this insect into our state, the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands and the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, have restricted the flow of hemlock products imported into the state. A quarantine restricts importing and transplanting hemlock nursery stock into the state from infested areas, unless hemlock seedlings and nursery stock are inspected and certified free of HWA.

HWA feed on eastern hemlock, T. Canadensis, and Carolina hemlock, T. Caroliniana, attaching themselves to the stems at the base of the needles, killing the needles and hindering the development of new growth. Feeding damage first appears as needle discoloration (from a deep green to grayish green to yellowing), followed by premature needle drop/defoliation, branch desiccation, and finally, loss of vigor. Major limbs may die back within two years on heavily infested trees. Dieback usually occurs and progresses from the bottom of the tree upwards, even though HWA infestation may be evenly distributed throughout the tree.

HWA are all females and complete two generations of development per year on hemlock. The adelgids display several different forms during their life history, including winged and wingless. Adults are brownish-reddish in color, oval in shape and are about 0.8 mm in length. The adelgid lays between 50 and 300 brownish-orange eggs under a cottony wax. The eggs will hatch over an extended period of time (March through April).

Half the eggs will develop into a winged, migratory form. Unable to reproduce on hemlock; the winged adelgids migrate in search of spruce to complete their development. Because there is no suitable spruce host available in New Hampshire ( North America ), these adelgids soon die.

The other eggs develop into wingless adults that remain on the hemlock tree. Newly hatched woolly adelgids (nymphs, or immature stage) emerge from the cottony egg mass as the new hemlock growth expands in May and June. These crawlers are black, oval and flat and are extremely small, making them difficult to see with the naked eye.

Once hatched, these insects migrate to the base of a needle and begin to feed. Here they will become dormant until the middle of October when they resume feeding. These nymphs continue to feed and develop during the winter and mature by spring.

There are a number of preventive actions you can take to help manage the spread of this devastating pest:

Monitoring: Frequent visual inspection of trees is one of the most effective means of determining infestations. Look for the dry, white “wool” that is produced. It will be located on the underside of the young twigs. Depending on the size of the trees binoculars may prove to be very helpful in locating infestations. Infestations will be hard to detect from July through September when the dormant nymphs produce very little wool. Other signs of potential infestations include thinning of needles, grayish-green needles, branch desiccation, and loss of vigor.

Improving Tree Health: Trees growing in poor sites or those experiencing stress from drought and other factors succumb to HWA attack more quickly than those growing under optimal conditions. Therefore, maintaining good growing conditions can play an important role in the survival of hemlocks in home landscapes.

Their shallow roots leave hemlocks vulnerable to drought stress. Provide one inch of water per week (including rainfall) during droughts. Roots on an established tree extend beyond the spread of its branches, so apply water to the entire root zone. Water deeply as needed and avoid frequent shallow irrigation.

Pruning dead and dying branches may also help improve the health of hemlock. This may help promote new growth by allowing more light to reach the foliage, and may reduce the likelihood of attack by other insect pests and diseases.

Cultural Controls: One way to reduce the risk of an HWA invasion is to practice caution when moving plants, logs, firewood, or bark chips from infested areas to ones that are uninfested.

If you believe you’ve seen the hemlock wooly adelgid, please contact the N.H. Forest Health Program at 271-7858.

by Rachel Maccini, Coordinator, UNH Cooperative Extension Family, Home & Garden Education Center

Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service

For more information:

• NH Forest Health Program (271-7858)
• UNH Cooperative Extension’s Family, Home & Garden Education Center’s Toll Free Info-Line, 1-877-398-4769, M-F, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• US Department of Agriculture’s comprehensive HWA Web site
• HWA photo gallery

Research scientists in the University of New Hampshire Departments of Plant Biology and Human and Animal Nutrition have teamed with Extension educators and New Hampshire vegetable growers to conduct research into the health-promoting benefits of plant compounds known as phytonutrients.

The UNH Carotenoid Project focuses on compounds called xanthopyll carotenoids, found in high concentrations in leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach. Health researchers believe that eating plant foods rich in these carotenoids may help protect people against macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults.

The Carotenoid Project
Funded by an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, the four-year Carotenoid Project features an interdisciplinary collaboration between assistant professor of plant biology Dr. Dean Kopsell and Dr. Joanne Curran-Celentano, an associate professor of animal and nutritional sciences with a longstanding interest in the role of carotenoids in human health.

Curran-Celentano’s team is studying how well humans who eat lutein-rich food or take lutein supplements absorb the carotenoids and deposit them into the macula lutea of their eyes.

Kopsell and his team have examined the genetic, cultural and environmental factors that maximize the concentration of xanthopyll carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin in leafy greens like kale and spinach. They’ve modified the sulfur content of soils to moderate the strong flavors in kale that some people don’t like. Kopsell has also sampled and analyzed a wide range of vegetable crops grown at six New Hampshire farms for their carotenoid content.

The field research has focused primarily on kale.

More than just a pretty garnish
Although many people know kale primarily as that coarse ruffled leaf placed alongside the “real food” on a restaurant plate, nutritionists have long recognized the superior food value of this leafy crop. A rich source of vitamins A and C, dietary fiber, iron, potassium and manganese, kale also rivals dairy products as a source of calcium. And new research findings suggest that kale may also deliver a host of health benefits through its high levels of phytonutrients.

Among all vegetables, kale ranks highest in its concentration of the xanthophyll carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, the yellow-orange pigments plants evolved to help protect their tissues against the harmful effects of excess solar radiation. Lutein and zeaxanthin concentrate in the macula lutea of the human retina, where scientists believe the phytocompounds may serve a similar function, absorbing and dispersing ultraviolet radiation to help protect against cataracts and macular degeneration.

Growing carotenoid-rich crops with improved flavor
Kopsell’s research involves studying the genetic, vegetable cultural and environmental factors that that favor high concentrations of carotenoids, and manipulating soil fertility factors to make these nutrient-dense crops taste better.

According to Kopsell, plants evolved carotenoids as “accessory pigments” for self-protective purposes. “Plants use only about one or two percent of the light energy falling on the leaf surface for photosynthesis,” Kopsell says. “In plants, lutein and zeaxanthin play a role in absorbing light outside the red and blue range and funneling it away, in essence acting as a chemical “sun black” that helps protect the pant from excessive radiation.” Medical researchers theorize that carotenoids play a similar role when they concentrate in the macula lutea, the region of highest visual acuity in the human eye.

Kopsell analyzed the carotenoid content of dozens of kale varieties, discovering the varieties with the highest concentrations had two and a half times the carotenoid levels of those with the lowest concentrations.

In greenhouse research, Kopsell found that manipulating the amount of sulfur in the soil could alter the flavor of kale without affecting its carotenoid content. “We thought if we could grow kale with a milder, less bitter, less acrid flavor, it would make it more acceptable to consumers,” Kopsell said. He found that soils with less sulfur produce greens with a milder, less pungent flavor, but no loss of carotenoids.

Last summer, Kopsell worked with Extension educators Steve Turaj in Coos County and George Hamilton in Hillsborough to bring his greenhouse research into the field. Three vegetable farmers agreed to plant three different kale varieties in test plots with three levels of sulfur added to the soil. Participants at well-attended twilight meetings in both counties heard about the research and sampled three different high-carotenoid kale varieties grown under three different levels of sulfur fertility.

“At one of our twilight meetings we had 150 people and more than half of them tasted the kale samples from the three different plots,” said Hamilton . “They couldn’t believe the difference between the high-, medium- and low-sulfur treatments.”

“People derive benefits from only those vegetables they’re willing to eat,” says Turaj with a laugh. However, Kopsell noted that some kale tasters in each group actually prefer the stronger-tasting kales grown in high-sulfur soil.

Human feeding trials
Last summer, co-investigator Dr. Joanne Curran-Celentano began work on the human nutrition component of the study, in which human volunteers will either consume spinach or lutein supplements over several months, then measure how much lutein gets absorbed into their bloodstreams and deposited into the macula lutea of their eyes.

Celentano’s team recruited 50 test subjects, divided into five groups. The control group receives a placebo. Two groups received lutein supplements, one with a higher, the other with a lower dose of lutein. The other two groups eat a prepared dish five days a week containing spinach grown at the UNH research farm. One group of spinach eaters gets the high-lutein 'Spinner' spinach variety; the other eats 'Springer' spinach, a variety containing 33 percent less lutein.

Curran-Celentano says the project used spinach instead of kale to make it easier to recruit volunteers, since more Americans eat spinach than kale. She and her team hope to complete the feeding trial and analyze the data this fall.

Kopsell recently accepted a position at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and will continue his carotenoid research there. “A lot of Americans look to professional health care to cure diseases. [Research like ours] is approaching health from the preventative side,” says Kopsell. “Some day not too far into the future, [nutritionists] may establish an RDA for lutein and other phytonutrients. As a plant physiologist, I want to know what genetic and cultural factors contribute to increasing the levels of those phytonutrients in food crops.”

A boost for local growers?
All this knowledge may translate into a little home-team advantage for local farms,” says Coos County Extension educator Steve Turaj. “Perhaps you’ve heard about the Country-of-Origin labeling law (COOL) passed by Congress as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. [Still working its way through the rulemaking process], the law will eventually require that fruits, vegetables, meat and fish sold in the U.S. include a label identifying the country where the food originated.”

“University studies show consumers favor the idea,” Turaj says. “ Wouldn’t it be terrific to say, ‘Yes it’s grown here and it’s superior to food from somewhere else. Here’s why.’”

by Peg Boyles, UNH Extension writer/editor, with help from Coos County Extension educator Steve Turaj

For more information

• About phytonutrients
• About carotenoids
• Descriptions of the various threads of carotenoid research at UNH
• USDA Nutrient Database - Learn about the nutritional value of the foods you eat by typing the name of the food in the “keyword” box.

• New Hampshire is 84% forested. In the U.S., only Maine has a greater percentage of trees (92%).



• Private individuals own 70% N.H forest land. (The forest industry owns 10%; 20% is owned by federal, state, and local government).



• Nearly 84,000 New Hampshire people own a woodlot.



• More than 1600 of these landowners are recognized as Tree Farmers for the careful tending of their forests. Collectively, Tree Farmers own about 800,000 acres, more than is contained within the White Mountain National Forest.



• Collectively, Tree Farmers own about 800,000 acres, more than is contained within the White Mountain National Forest.



• The average N.H. woodlot is 39 acres.



• Small family-owned forests provide clean water, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, fresh air, natural and cultural heritage, recreation and the basis of the state’s forest industry.



• An Extension Forestry Educator in each county provides assistance and advice to landowners. These foresters are a phone call away. If you don’t know your local forester, a call to the UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center

Now, the larger question is risk of associated disease based on your BMI and waist size. In addition to a high BMI, having excess abdominal body fat is a health risk. Men with a waist of more than 40 inches around and women with a waist of 35 inches or more are at risk for health problems. Below is a chart for you to follow to determine risk:

“In August of 2002, we received a frantic call from Campbell’s Scottish Highlands Golf Course in Salem. They reported caterpillars destroying thousands of sunflowers, marigolds, geraniums, and zinnias used to decorate the grounds,” says UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist Stan Swier.

Swier identified the caterpillar as the larval form of the sunflower moth, a pest not previously seen in New Hampshire. “The sunflower moth causes problems in the southern and western states, particularly where sunflowers are grown as a crop,” he says. “In the Eastern U.S, it hadn’t previously been reported north of New Jersey.”

Swier has also seen the sunflower moth in Durham and Madbury. “This moth must like New Hampshire, because it returned in 2003 and now again in 2004,” he says. “Originally, it blew up from the south and laid its eggs on late summer flowers. But this year we began seeing active larvae in late June. They’ve attacked nearly every plant on the golf course grounds.”

Swier hypothesizes the larvae may have overwintered in Salem and started a new generation this spring, leaving enough time for a second generation to mature before frost. “It could be here to stay, he says, “although it’s still too early to tell whether they really survived the winter or simply wafted up from the South on warm air currents generated by a freak spring storm.”

“The sunflower moth larvae are gregarious feeders. They’re striking in appearance, with dark brown and pale yellow stripes down their backs. You can find them feeding on undeveloped seeds in the flower heads,” says Swier. “Any pesticide labeled for caterpillars on outdoor flowers will control this pest. If caterpillars are small, the bacterial pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) should work. Follow label directions.”

For more information

• Fact sheet on sunflower moth
• Photos of sunflower moths and larvae
• This fact sheet helps you identify which moth you have on your sunflowers

July 17 event promises something for every forest landowner

Do you own a piece of New Hampshire forestland? More than 80,000 people do. These private landowners bear a large responsibility. They serve as stewards of our clean water, fresh air, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, and our natural and cultural heritage. Their land provides raw materials for our forest industries and opportunities for recreation that draw people to visit, live and work in New Hampshire.

Of course, these woodlands also return many rewards to their owners. As with most precious things, the more you pay attention and work at caring for your land, the greater those rewards.

Fortunately, in New Hampshire you don’t have to go it alone. Working on Your Woodlot, an action-filled day scheduled for July 17 at the Strafford County Complex in Dover, will provide you with practical hands-on information and connect you with others who can help you make the best use of your piece of the New Hampshire’s forests. Whether you own one or 100 acres, the day has something for you.

Workshops, demos, exhibits

“In the forest” workshops include identifying trees and shrubs, selecting trees for timber and firewood, safely using and maintaining chainsaws, managing riparian forests and fields for wildlife, using GPS, and locating and building access roads. Continuous live forestry operations will demonstrate moving logs and firewood with small equipment, sawing logs into boards, and making stove-length firewood with a small processor. You’ll also have plenty of time to look at equipment and exhibits from conservation organizations and talk with other landowners, foresters, and loggers.

We’ve assembled a photo gallery to give you a sense of the woodlot management activities you may see and hear about if you attend Working on Your Woodlot.

Details

State Forester Phil Bryce, Commissioner of Agriculture, Steve Taylor, and the Strafford County Commissioners will open the event at 9 AM. Activities will run until 3:30.

Come dressed for the weather, as the event will go on rain or shine. Remember your bug dope!

If you have special needs in order to participate in this program, please contact us two weeks in advance of the program date, informing us of your need to allow us time to make the necessary arrangements. The event is free and food will be available for purchase. Please pre-register by calling 603-431-6774, by Friday, July 16.

The day is co-sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension in Strafford and Rockingham Counties, the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, the Urban Forestry Center, and the N.H. Timberland Owners Association.

Karen Bennett, Extension Professor and Specialist, Forest Resources

Start telling your money where to go, rather than wondering where it went.

Most people want to be able to save money in order to have the things they need and want.

Unfortunately, we aren’t a nation of savers. Americans love to spend their hard earned-cash and use their plastic.

Usually the money we can’t account for doesn’t come from our large-dollar purchases, but from the small items we buy on a daily basis. The few dollars spent here or there can wreak havoc on any well-designed budget.

Little extras add up

Take the couple I overheard at a local ATM. It was 11 o’clock in the morning and the couple was just arriving in North Conway for a visit. One partner exclaimed that she couldn’t figure out where the $60 she took out of the bank that morning went, since she hadn’t started shopping yet. Ever find yourself in that position?

Think carefully about those “extras” you buy that can add up to hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year. Do you like to stop on your way to work to buy a cup of coffee? Do you sleep too late in the morning to make your own lunch before heading to work or school? Have you stopped to figure out how much your “extras” add up to?

Sit down and do the math

The exercise of sitting down to calculate how you spend your money can help you curb poor money management habits. For example, a $1.79 coffee five days a week adds up to $8.95 a week or $465.40 a year. For some individuals or families this would represent a large portion of their yearly electrical bill, or payment towards an outstanding medical bill.

One couple I know was purchasing four coffees a day because they believed neither one of them could make good coffee. Four coffees a day/seven days a week at $1.79 each added up to $2,606.24 a year, an amount that would have covered their annual property tax bill! Needless to say, this couple curbed their habit quickly and discovered that home brewed coffee tasted just as good.

How much work does it take to support your spending habits?

Another way to figure out exactly how much your habits cost is to figure out how many hours you have to work in order to support them. For example, Sandy makes $12.50 per hour and takes home $500 a week. If Sandy spent $5.50 daily to buy lunch, it would cost her $27.50 a week. To find out how many hours a week she has to work to afford lunch, divide the amount lunch cost ($27.50) by her hourly rate ($12.50). The answer is 2.20. In other words, Sandy would work almost 2 hours a week to pay for lunch. Over a year, she would work about 104 hours to pay for her habit.

Next time you don’t have enough time to make your lunch, think about having to work nearly three weeks a year to pay for lunch from a local deli. Bringing a sandwich, drink, fruit and a snack from home will probably sound inviting. If time is a factor, prepare a portion of it the night before.

Decide where to cut

To continue meeting your financial obligations, saving for goals, and feeling good at the same time, it’s important to look at where your money goes. Then you can determine how you can cut back. Use this exercise, not just for calculating how much you spend each year on coffee and meals away from home, but also on things such as lottery tickets, magazines, movie rentals, vending machine snacks, the local car wash and or the dry cleaners. Only you can determine how much you spend on those extras and what to do about it.

Remember, successful money managers control the way they spend their money, using it to accomplish the things that are important to them. Good money managers tell their money where to go instead of wondering where it went.

UNH Cooperative Extension offers educational programs on managing personal finances and written information on how to save money, develop a spending/savings plan and decrease debt.

Ann Hamilton is an Extension educator in family and consumer resources with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension in CarrollCounty.

Three varieties of leaf-eating caterpillars hit the Granite State in the last few weeks. Here's an update on what to look for, what to worry about and what not to worry about.

Eastern tent caterpillars are the most visible. They weave those unsightly webs, mostly in cherry trees, stripping the tree bare. They are more of a nuisance than a threat to trees, rarely killing healthy trees. They have nearly completed feeding and will soon pupate, emerging as moths in July. Expect defoliated trees to send out new leaves once the feeding stops.

Forest tent caterpillars are the "tent caterpillars" that don't make tent-like nests. They are active now, defoliating oaks throughout the state. They feed on other hardwoods including sugar maple. Like their relative, the eastern tent caterpillar, they don't cause irreparable harm to healthy trees.

Gypsy moth is also starting to feed. Because most of us remember the extreme defoliation this pest caused in the 1980s and 1990s, this caterpillar gets blamed for most of the work of the other two. Happily, a fungus introduced in the early part of the last century is preventing gypsy moth numbers from exploding. Though it is currently among us, it is unlikely the gypsy moth will defoliate as extensively as they did the past.

Populations of insects rise and fall with the controls in nature that keeps them in check. Insect parasites, predators, viruses, fungus, weather extremes, and even starvation when populations exceed the food supply, all help control them. There is little we can do to prevent them from attacking, though there are some effective treatments for specimen trees. For more information on appropriate treatments, call the toll-free Info Line at our Family, Home & Garden Education Center, 1-877-398-4769.

Trees have adapted to occasional defoliation and other stresses. No doubt, trees do better without being stripped of their leaves, but they are amazingly resilient and healthy trees recover as long as they aren't defoliated yearly.

By Karen Bennett, UNH Extension Forest Resources Specialist

Surveys show more than half the adults in America are trying to lose weight. Many do, but most of them are unsuccessful at keeping it off. National Institutes of Health figures show more than half the adults in the U.S. are overweight and about one in four are obese.

You've seen these statistics before and you know you're among the millions of Americans who are either overweight or obese. You know you need to lose weight and most likely, you've been at these crossroads before. "This time," you say, "I will do it once and for all." You're pretty much aware of what hasn't worked in the past and you are searching for what will. The media abounds with all sorts of solutions. What's to believe?

Perhaps our answer should come from those who have lost weight and have been successful in keeping it off. There is a group of 3,000 people who are part of a long term study called the National Weight Control Registry . Members of this group have lost an average of 60 pounds and have kept it off for an average of five years. These people who have lost large amounts of weight and have managed to keep it off have four things in common:

It's that 'egg-citing' time of year spring! It's the season to enjoy the great outdoors and celebrate special occasions. Although eggs are eaten throughout the year, they are an important part of springtime events such as egg hunts.

Eggs are perishable, just like raw meat, poultry and fish. To protect you and your family from a foodborne illness, be sure to handle and prepare eggs safely. Here are some of the most common questions, and their answers, consumers have about egg safety.

Why is egg safety important?
Unbroken fresh shell eggs may contain Salmonella Enteritidis bacteria that cause foodborne illness. While the number of eggs affected is quite small, there have been cases of foodborne illness in the last few years.

Are the bacteria in the yolk or the white?
Unfortunately there isn't an either/or answer to this question. Researchers say if the bacteria are present, it's usually in the egg yolk. However, bacteria may also be in the egg white. The bottom line - cook the entire egg until it's firm whites and yolks.

Can shell eggs be pasteurized?
Yes, shell eggs can be pasteurized by a processor if the US Food and Drug Administration approves the process. Pasteurized shell eggs are available in some parts of the country, but aren't yet available nationwide. Because special equipment is needed to pasteurize eggs in the shell, it isn't possible to do it at home.

What should I look for when buying eggs?
Always buy refrigerated eggs. Look for Grade A or AA eggs that are clean and have uncracked shells. Check the freshness date. Take eggs straight home and store them immediately in the refrigerator. Store them in the grocery carton in the coldest part of your refrigerator.

Should I wash eggs before storing or cooking?
No. When eggs are processed, they are carefully washed and sanitized using a special detergent. The eggs are then coated with a tasteless, natural mineral oil to protect them. How long will eggs be safe in the refrigerator? Use raw shell eggs within three to five weeks. Hard-cooked eggs will keep one week if refrigerated.

Are there special recommendations for handling eggs?
Handle eggs as you would any other perishable food such as raw meat or poultry. Wash hands, utensils, equipment and kitchen surfaces with warm, soapy water before and after contact with eggs and dishes containing eggs.

How do I know when cooked eggs are safe?
any cooking methods can be used to cook eggs safely, including poaching, hard cooking, scrambling, frying and baking. However, eggs must be cooked thoroughly until yolks are firm. Scrambled eggs shouldn't be runny. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees F. Use a food thermometer to be sure.

How can I keep eggs safe during an egg hunt?
Here are some step-by-step instructions from the FightBAC! food safety website www.fightbac.org

• Wash your hands before and after handling eggs at each step of the process.
  
  
• Use only uncracked, refrigerated eggs.
  
  
• To cook the eggs, place a single layer of eggs in a saucepan. Add water to at least one inch above the eggs. Cover the pan, bring the water to a boil, and carefully remove the pan from the heat. Let the eggs stand (18 minutes for extra large eggs, 15 minutes for large). Immediately run cold water over the eggs. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, place them in an uncovered container in the refrigerator where they can air dry.
  
  
• When decorating, be sure to use food grade dyes. It's safe to use commercial egg dyes, liquid food coloring, and fruit-drink powders. When handling eggs, be careful not to crack them. Otherwise, bacteria could enter the egg through the cracks in the shell.
  
  
• Keep hard-cooked Easter eggs refrigerated until just before the hunt. Keep them fully chilled by storing them on a shelf inside the refrigerator not in the refrigerator door.
  
  
• Consider preparing one set of eggs for decoration only and another set for eating.
  
  
• Hide the eggs in places protected from dirt, pets and other potential sources of bacteria.
  
  
• The total time for hiding and hunting eggs should not exceed two hours.
  
  
• Refrigerate 'found' eggs until eaten.

Birch trees are a tremendous New England commodity. The wood is used for a variety of products, from furniture, flooring and fuel to kitchen utensils, toys and Popsicle sticks. The trees enhance the beauty of our landscape while providing food and shelter for wildlife. Yet birch trees offer another valuable resource that remains untapped here in the northeast-the sap.

Like sugar maples, the sap that flows up through birch trees in early spring is sweet and tasty. It also contains important vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Herbalists and Native American Indians have long known of its medicinal benefits but its place in the confectionery market is yet to be determined. Europeans are bottling birch sap, Alaskans are producing syrup from it, and a sole New Hampshire Master Gardener is making beer.

There are plenty of birches scattered throughout New England, so why aren't more enterprising yankees tapping birch trees? Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension forester agent Jon Nute told me he thinks it's tradition. Sugar maples are plentiful in what we call the sugar bush. We've established a nice niche in the maple industry. Marketing birch might be a tough sell. Perhaps all we need is a little education.

The production of birch syrup is an emerging cottage industry in Alaska. No sugar maple trees grow there but plenty of birches do, and the population is chock full of adventurers willing to try something new. Within the last decade, a handful of hearty souls have been developing a commercial operation that is causing other syrup producers to sit up and take notice. In recent years, they've been producing between a thousand and 1500 gallons of birch syrup annually and marketing it as a unique Alaskan delicacy.

Tapping birch trees is much like tapping maple, but the similarity between the two ends there. In spring, when the sap begins to flow, a hole is drilled into the tree and a spout, called a spile, is inserted to direct the sap into a bucket or through a plastic tube. (For what it's worth-early collectors of maple sap used buckets made from birch bark.) Here's the biggest reason New Englanders may be less than enthused about producing birch syrup: the actual sugar content of birch sap is about a third that of maple. To make one gallon of birch syrup you need u pwards of a hundred gallons of sap; maple syrup requires only forty.

Ninety-nine gallons of water is a formidable amount to extract to get a single gallon of birch syrup. Boiling works, but it takes a lot of time and fuel. Continued cooking of the sap also darkens the color. Dulce Ben-East, owner of Kahiltna Birchworks and one of the early Alaska birch sap entrepreneurs, told me reverse osmosis technology is most effective, but the equipment is expensive; another drawback for thrifty yankees.

The typical birch season doesn't run all that long, either. Those warm spring days we're looking forward to are a double-edged whammy for birch sap. It tends to spoil more quickly than maple so rising daytime temperatures may necessitate more frequent sap collection from buckets. Plus, as soon as those buds begin to break, the season is over. Birch sap then gets cloudy and the taste changes dramatically.

For all this trouble, you must be wondering, "Why bother?" The obvious answer would be taste. Ms. Ben-East describes birch syrup as having a completely different flavor from maple, one that's more complex and versatile. She says, "The flavor is deep and velvety, caramel-like; somewhat richer to me than maple and not quite as cloyingly sweet. Don't get me wrong--I love the flavor of maple syrup. However, I do not try to compare apples with oranges."

Curious New Englanders might choose the path New Hampshire Master Gardener Diana Proctor has taken, which requires far less sap and minimal effort. Diana has a keen interest in edible plants and medicinal herbs and takes advantage of any opportunity to learn more. One of the topics at an herb conference was on healing beers so she decided to give it a try with birch.

Using Stephen Harrod Buhner's book Sacred Herbal Healing Beers for her recipes, Diana tapped a couple of the birches on her property: one golden and one white. She gathered about two-and-a-half gallons of sap, which she boiled for an hour (for no other reason than to kill bacteria). Diana than added the appropriate amount of honey, allowed it to cool, added yeast and nutrients, and waited for it to ferment. Obviously, this is not the beverage you offer the kids. After a couple of weeks, Diana bottled her brew and waited a few more weeks. She reports the results were delicious, and got even better with age. This season, if she can get through the snow, Diana hopes to gather enough sap to make more beer and experiment with a batch of birch wine.

Tapping trees, whether birch or maple, does hurt the trees to some extent. Any opening in a tree, whether from your tap or a broken branch, offers an entry for insects and disease. The risk, however, seems not great. The maple industry certainly hasn't suffered any from this practice but, obviously, the jury's still out on birch. When the season is over, simply pull the taps and allow the trees to heal by themselves. Covering the wounds with "Band-Aids" of any type will do more harm than good. Although the trees will continue to ooze for a while, especially the birches, the trees are not stressed and will eventually stop.

Any variety of birch tree can be tapped for its sap, although golden and black have a more distinct "wintergreen" flavor. White paper birches are just as desirable as the others, and are certainly plentiful around New England. Using the maple rule-of-thumb, the trees should be at least ten inches in diameter and additional taps may be added for each five inches of girth, but you'll be hard-pressed to find many birches that size in our region.

For more information about birch trees and the birch syrup industry, tap the resources of the Internet. The web site of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension has some interesting articles and information on a fun program developed for schools called "Tapping into Spring." Kahiltna Birchworks will happily sell you their birch products, which include syrup as well as candy, but you'll also find the story of how their business is evolving. Diana Proctor has found plenty of wine recipes on the Internet but there's nothing like paging through resources from local wine- and beer-making supply outlets, bookstores and the library, especially while you're waiting for that sap to flow.

Call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center's Info-Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769 for "Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

Jackie Bower, Master Gardener University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County

Hybrid roses so frequently fail to survive winters in New Hampshire that many gardeners have given up on them. These notes are written for the still-hopeful rose gardener. Although they are not fool-proof, they should help to bring your roses through the coming winter in good shape. Rose plants can be killed or injured during the winter in several different ways. These include: direct injury to tops or roots from extreme cold; root injury from drying-out as a result of plants being heaved out of the ground by alternate freezing and thawing; injury caused by animals such as mice; rapid variation of temperature-caused by warming of stems in strong winter sunshine followed by rapid freezing; and snow or ice breakage.

Injury from extreme cold can be avoided only by selecting the hardiest varieties available. Unfortunately, most hybrid roses have not been thoroughly evaluated for winter hardiness, so New Hampshire rose gardeners must be willing to experiment for themselves or rely on the experiences of other rose growers in the area. Generally, floribundas, hybrid perpetuals, shrub roses, and many of the "old-fashioned" roses prove more winter hardy than the hybrid teas and grandifloras.

Many gardeners have found that mounding mulch and soil around individual bushes is the most practical way to overwinter roses in this climate. The following procedure should be almost fool-proof. Prune your rose just enough to adjust the size of the plant to its winter covering. Tie the canes together with twine. Erect a cylindrical frame around the rose bush to hold mulch in place. Chicken wire, roofing paper, or any other sturdy material can be used. Fill the frame to at least 12 inches deep with a loose, porous mulch such as peat moss, vermiculite, pine bark or straw. If you have an especially tender rose you may first want to bring in enough soil to cover just the graft (usually 2-4 inches is sufficient). Oak or beech leaves can also be used, but leaves that tend to mat down when wet, such as maple, willow, and poplar, should be avoided as these can smother plants. The top of the frame can be covered with opaque (not clear) plastic or burlap to keep the mulch from blowing if necessary then mound soil to a depth of 10-12" around the base of the frame. If you have small plants you can also use the styrofoam covers sold by garden centers; then mound soil around the outside base of the styrofoam cover.

For climbing roses either of the following procedures can be used. If your roses are growing in a fairly protected area, out of harsh winds and extreme temperatures, wrapping with burlap or evergreen boughs will give sufficient winter protection. After the first hard frost of the fall, secure canes to their support and prune off long ends. Next wrap the canes in burlap, straw or evergreen boughs and tie with twine. Mound 10-12" of soil around base of the plant.

In extremely cold areas where winter damage is common, the best way to protect a climbing rose is to shield the entire plant with earth. After the first hard frost of the fall, detach the plant from its support and tie its canes together. Bend the canes to the ground arching them near the plant's base to avoid breaking. Pin the canes down with crossed stakes to heel in canes. Lay a piece of burlap over the canes to make the springs uncovering operation easier. Then mound the soil over the entire plant and drive a stake into the ground at each corner of the mound to mark the spot.

Winter protection should be applied in late fall. If protection is applied too early in the fall, it interferes with the natural development of winter hardiness in the plant. Roses that are covered before mid-November may be more susceptible to winter injury than ones left unprotected.

Before mulching or mounding, fall cleanup should be completed, removing all plant debris and diseased parts. Even with these treatments, tip dieback can occur. This is not usually serious, as the canes should be pruned back at least 12 inches next spring and the injured tips will be removed at that time.

Fall pruning of roses should be restricted to removal of only tall, lank growth. It is important to remember that most varieties of roses will generally die back several inches during winter months. The degree of such dieback will determine the severity of next spring's pruning. Such dead wood should then be cut from the plant an inch or so below dark colored areas. Other pruning in the fall often results in canes that are too short next spring.

If you don't get a chance to mulch your roses, your only alternative is to depend on Mother Nature to mulch the garden herself. You know how snow is, it always falls where and when you lease want it.

If you would like more information on anything mentioned here please feel free to visit our web site or call UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Center's Info-line (tollfree) at 1-877-398-4769. Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday 9:00am to 2:00 p.m.

Do you know a family affected by deployment?

Military life can create unexpected separation and hardship in families. According to the National Military Family Association, currently National Guard and Reserve members comprise thirty-eight percent of our military forces. Separations due to military service can be especially challenging for these families who often live far from a military installation. They lack ready access to the unique support services available to military families living on or near bases. Although military units provide information and training for Guard and Reserve families prior to mobilization, there may be additional needs that caring communities can fill.

Friends, neighbors, co-workers, and employers often want to be supportive. They may not know how to help when family separation invokes unexpected changes in family dynamics or intense feelings. The most important contributions they can make may be simple acts of caring and kindness. For example, the teen whose mom or dad has been called to duty may suddenly have to shoulder more of the responsibilities on the home front. This leaves little time to spend with friends. Rather than desert the teen and leave him to his new burden, his friends can be encouraged to spend time helping their buddy out. They can also share their own parents with the teen who may feel abandoned at a time when parental guidance is often secretly desired.

Other members of the community can play an important role in supporting these families. Teachers, coaches and youth leaders are in a critical place to observe emotional responses in children. These responses may include fears about the safety of a parent or older sibling who is serving the country away from home. Such fears are often based on a combination of real images of war they see on the news and their own imaginations. Children may also feel out of control, confused, and angry. It is important to try to maintain as many of the child's routines and schedules as possible, to help the child regain a sense of control. For example, this may require reaching out to the family and offering to help get a child to soccer practice. It can involve talking with the child to learn what he feels helps him stay in control of his life. Sometimes what the child needs to hear most is reassurance that we are there, and that responsible adults are still in charge.

Community organizations can also be supportive. A family may have worked through important checklists of financial details while preparing for deployment. However, they may suddenly be overwhelmed by the day-to-day realities of coping and managing during an extended period of deployment. Bills may get overlooked, and emergency home repairs may require outside assistance to be resolved. Community organizations are an excellent source of talented and caring people who may be willing to pitch in and provide needed help. When groups welcome military families into their groups, or reach out to assist, everyone gains.

Despite their best intentions, the family may fall behind in payment of important bills. Recently recognized with a 2002 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the Public Service Company of New Hampshire provides an example of how businesses can support our Guard and Reserve members. PSNH recognizes that things can slip through the cracks during deployment, and will work with these families on payment plans to ensure their electric service is not disconnected. To take advantage of this policy, families who receive a disconnect notice should call the customer service division at 1-800-662-7764 to explain their situation. Military families who have difficulty paying any of their utility, housing, or medical bills are advised to contact the individual companies to see if similar arrangements can be made.

Paula J. Gregory, UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development

Do you have (or wish you had) a green thumb? Do you want to learn more about garden design, growing vegetables organically, running a successful plant sale, or using stone in the garden?

The NH Master Gardener Association (NHMGA) invites gardeners and aspiring gardeners to the 3rd annual Welcome Spring! Garden Symposium April 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott Grappone Center in Concord .

Timed to coincide with the greening of lawns and the sound of the first spring peepers, the conference opens with a keynote address by garden designer and author Penelope O'Sullivan speaking on this year's conference theme, Inspiration and Design for NH Gardens.

Workshops presented by UNH Cooperative Extension horticulture staff and outside experts include Designing with Perennials, Attracting Wildlife with Native Plants, Gardening with Children, Water Gardens, and Ornamental Grasses for New Hampshire.

“Don’t forget the social benefits,” says NHMGA president Marianne Earhart. “The symposium is a wonderful opportunity to meet and talk to with fellow gardeners from Zone 3 to Zone 6. You’ll learn from others what works, what doesn't work for them, and pick up tips on what you might want to do differently for this gardening year.”

The cost, $35.00 for NHMGA members, and $45.00 for nonmembers and the general public, includes refreshments, lunch, and a chance to bid in the silent auction.

Participants must register by April 8. Download a brochure and registration form, or contact Karen Firmin at 279-0763 to receive a brochure in the mail.

Links

• UNH Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program
• New Hampshire Master Gardener Association

This time of year some people will experience a phenomenon they'd probably rather watch in a Steven King movie. Flying insects come out of the woodwork, invade their homes and wreak havoc. Fortunately, there is something that can be done to prevent this experience from causing trauma in a homeowner's life.

Warm spring temperatures and high moisture levels provide favorable conditions for increased termite and ant activity. Now through May is prime mating season for both types of insects, and when colonies get crowded, sexually mature kings and queens move on to start new colonies in other locations. The swarming of these insects, both ants and termites is a natural event and serves to expand their territory. Hopefully your bedroom isn't the place of choice. However, knowing what type of insect you're dealing with helps determine the strategy for controlling them.

Flying ants and swarming termites are often difficult to tell apart. Ants have a narrow "waist" (the joint between thorax and abdomen) like wasps; termites have an abdomen that is broadly joined to the thorax with no waist. Ants have two pair of wings that are unequal in length (the front pair is longer than the back). Although termites also have two pairs of wings, they are almost equal in length. The antennae of ants are sharply bent in the middle, like an elbow, whereas termite antennae are straight and beadlike. Both insects are relatively small, from 3/16 inch for the smaller ants and termites to 3/8 inch for the large ants.

Termite colonies consist of three castes: workers, soldiers and winged reproductives (the kings and queens). The workers are creamy-white and are rarely seen unless infested wood is pulled apart. About a quarter-inch-long, these termites have a crucial role- they perform all the labor in the colony, such as obtaining food, feeding other caste members, excavating wood and constructing tunnels. The workers probe continuously through the soil, looking for food, which may be as far as 500 feet from the colony. They then build tunnels for thousands of workers to transport cellulose back to the colony. The workers are careful to keep the path protected. Where it may be exposed to light or open air, the workers build mud tunnels from the soil to the food supply. These tubes are an indication that termites are present.

Soldier termites are about the same color as workers but their elongated yellowish heads have large jaws, and they are about the same size as adult workers. Soldiers can not feed themselves and rely heavily upon the workers for food. They are less numerous in the colony than the workers, and their only function is to defend the colony against invasion.

The kings and queens are dark brown or black, and grow to about a half-inch long. They are poor flyers so when these swarmers finally emerge above ground, they usually flutter a few yards and fall. They shed their wings and males that survive look for compatible mates. The couples burrow into the ground to become king and queens of their own colonies.

Carpenter ant colonies, like the termite colonies, have castes: reproductives and workers. The reproductives consist of the queen and male ants. These ants vary in size and color but are usually 1/4-1/2 inch and blackish. The male ants fertilize the queen during the ant's nuptial flight, then die leaving the queen to start the new colony.

The worker caste ants are devoted to a variety of activities such as nest construction, repair and defense, foraging for food, and feeding and caring for larvae and the queen. Workers vary in size and appearance within a species.

Both of these insects are social insects that live in colonies. Termites usually live underground, where they feed mostly on old roots, tree stumps and fallen limbs. Ants are found in cavities located in the soft, moist, decaying wood of a hollow tree, stump or log. They feed on other insects, aphid honey dew and plant juices. Both of these insects are extremely important in nature until they find your house.

If you discover swarmers inside your home DO NOT PANIC! Termite swarms emerging inside a structure don't usually survive. It is, however, an indication of infestation. If this is the case it's a problem you really can't treat yourself. If you are unsure of whether or not you need an exterminator you can call the Family, Home & Garden Education and request the following fact sheet "Do You Need an Exterminator?" Professionals can examine the structure to determine where the colony is nesting and just how large it is. These people have the most effective chemicals and the technical expertise for proper application. There is no need to be rushed into a termite control program. It is more important to take your time to select a "reputable" pest control firm to treat your home. Deal only with a licensed, certified pest control firm having an established place of business and a good professional reputation. Research and get at least three competitive estimates before signing any form of agreement.

Homeowners who have properly identified their swarmers as carpenter ants can try to combat the problem on their own. It is essential however, that the nest is located and eliminated.

Once treatment has been completed, you can take additional actions to help reduce potential infestation in the future. These actions include:

• Reducing the moisture level in basements and crawlspaces
  
  
• Removing scrap wood from around your home and moving firewood at least 25 feet away from the foundation
  
  
• Eliminating any wood to ground contact
  
  
• Keeping gutters free of leaves and debris
  
  
• Fixing water leaks as soon as you find them
  
  
• Replacing badly damaged timbers with sound materials. Where possible, don't allow wood within 18 inches of the soil
  
  
• Filling all visible cracks and voids in the foundation with concrete or caulking compound
  
  
• Reducing soil moisture around the structure by directing run-off away from the foundation. Be sure gutters and downspouts are installed and working correctly.

What's the difference between dirt and soil? Old-timers were fond of saying "that's good black dirt." For them, it wasn't soil-it was dirt, with its full meaning of humus, mineral matter and decaying organic matter. It is the dirt of the old-timers that we call soil today, full of living things, decaying leaves, plant litter and even dead creatures. These are the things that change rock particles into that "good black dirt". Think of soil as a thin, living skin that covers the land, for soil is very much alive. To grow healthy, productive plants, you need healthy, productive soil. It is this living soil that provides the food plants need, when they need it and how they need it.

Have you ever planted seeds in soil and watched with amazement as tiny sprouts emerged and gradually grew into healthy, viable plants? Are you aware that in addition to water, which is very important, the type of soil that plants grow in and what actually goes on in that soil will determine how well plants grow?

When the old-timers referred to black dirt, in effect they were referring to the physical properties of the soil - it's color, texture, structure, drainage and depth. For it is these features that determine the suitability of soil for planting certain crops and its eventual productivity.

• Color - surface colors of soil vary from very light to shades of dark to black. Light colors indicate low organic matter content, while dark can indicate higher organic matter content.
  
  
• Texture - New Hampshire soils, fairly young as soils go, (10,000 years) contain sand, silt and clay and usually fall into the categories of loam, sandy loam and clay loam.
  
  
• Structure - soil structure relates closely to air and water movement within the soil. Good soil structure allows for movement of air and water more freely, while poor structure slows it down. Proper tillage or plowing and the addition of adequate organic matter can promote good soil structure.
  
  
• Drainage - is the amount and rate of water movement in the soil. Simply put, too much water and plants suffocate; too little water and plants will wither and die - in the end, the result is the same. Water moves fastest through sandy soils, silt holds more water and clay holds the most.
  
  
• Depth - soils that are deep (30-36 inches or more) and well drained, with desirable structure and texture, are best suited to good plant growth.

Diabetes affects about 17 million Americans, resulting in 200,000 deaths and $132 billion in healthcare costs a year. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95 percent of all cases and is strongly linked to weight gain and physical inactivity.

Diet is crucial in managing diabetes, and advice has improved a lot over the past 10 years. Controlling carbo intake by using the exchange system food lists or by counting grams of carbos remains a key tool, but added attention is now given to actual food choices. However, many people with diabetes still remain confused about diet. Let's look at four common myths that can sabotage a healthy eating plan.

Myth 1: You need a special diabetic diet if you have diabetes.

Fact: There's no special diet just for diabetes. The dietary guidelines that help manage blood sugar and prevent diabetes complications like blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation are basically the same ones that help control weight and lower the risk of chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer and osteoporosis.

That's good news, because diabetes more than doubles your risk of heart disease and stroke, and over 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Here are four general guidelines for eating well for both diabetes and overall health:

1. Emphasize whole grains, fruits, veggies, low-fat dairy foods, legumes (beans, lentils), nuts, baked or broiled fish, and modest amounts of very lean meat.
   
   
2. Portion control is a powerful tool for controlling blood sugar and weight. That means measuring, because most of us greatly underestimate how much we really eat. Use measuring cups and spoons, plus a low-cost diet scale for solid foods like meat and cheese. As your portion savvy improves, you'll need to measure less often.
   
   
3. Spread your carbos out more evenly over the day also may help.
   
   
4. Among its many health benefits, regular exercise improves carbo tolerance and blood sugar control

Myth 2: Cut back on all carbos and eat more protein and fat, because they don't raise blood sugar.

Fact: Carbos aren't your enemy if you choose wisely! In fact, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends eating more of the high-quality, health-promoting carbos found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and low-fat dairy products. The lower-quality carbos to cut back on are refined, processed grain foods like white bread, white rice and pasta, soda and added-sugar foods.

Replacing some lower-quality carbos with fat can be beneficial, but be careful. Many low-carbo, fatty foods are high in artery-clogging saturated fat (full-fat cheeses, meats, butter) or partially hydrogenated fat (fried chicken, seafood, stick margarine). The healthiest fat sources are olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, and broiled or baked fish.

As for more protein, most people with or without diabetes already surpass their needs by a good 50 percent. Higher levels may worsen existing kidney problems. Emphasize protein sources low in saturated fat like very low-fat dairy foods, skinless poultry, fish, beans and soy.

In general, a healthy carbo level for people with diabetes ranges from about 45-55 percent of total daily calories. That equals 180-220 grams for a 1600 calorie diet or 270-330 grams for a 2400 calorie diet.
However, your own optimal carbo intake depends on your activity level, weight and height, blood sugar readings, diabetes medications, health status, and your carbo choices (some raise blood sugar more than others). Be sure to seek personal advice from your doctor, registered dietitian, or diabetes educator.

Myth 3: Avoid sugar, and only use sugar substitutes.

Fact: Even a no-sugar diet wouldn't solve blood-sugar problems, because non-sugar carbos (starches) affect blood sugar, too. In fact, many starchy foods (even some very healthy ones) raise blood sugar as much as or more than an equivalent amount of table sugar. Your diabetes medications, portion control, and exercise can usually keep this effect under control.

The best way to handle sugar is to cut back on calorie-rich, nutrient-poor foods high in added sugar. Some, like donuts and snack cakes, are also high in unhealthy types of fat.

There's room for modest amounts of added sugar, but be sure to substitute it for other carbos you normally eat. Otherwise, your blood sugar may worsen. It's smart to emphasize naturally-sweet, nutritious foods like whole fruits, corn, peas and sweet potatoes. Artificial sweeteners like Nutrasweet and Splenda can also help, as well as sugar alcohols like mannitol and sorbitol, but the latter two may cause gas and diarrhea.

Myth 4: Don't eat fruits, because they're too high in sugar.

Fact: Most whole fruits have a relatively modest blood-sugar effect if portions are reasonable, because their sugars are more slowly released and absorbed. These include apples, apricots, berries, cherries, grapes, grapefruit, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, plums and prunes. Fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting antioxidants. The ADA recommends up to four servings of fruit daily as well as taking your blood sugar an hour or two later to determine the impact of different fruits (and other foods as well). Keep records, because results vary with portion size, your initial blood sugar level, a full versus empty stomach, foods eaten just before or along with the fruit, after-meal exercise, and individual differences.

Avoid fruits canned in heavy syrup. Whole fruit is superior to juice, because it's much higher in fiber, tends to raise blood sugar less, and satisfies hunger on fewer calories. Keep portions reasonable, and eat a variety of fruits, especially intensely-colored ones, which are exceptionally rich in antioxidants.

By David Leonard, UNH Cooperative Extension Educational Program Coordinator, Nutritions Connection Program UNH Cooperative Extension

A second New Hampshire, white pine sawmill is closing its doors, leaving dozens of long-time employees searching for new jobs.

Timco of Center Barnstead follows Davidson Industries of Woodsville, another sawmill which made its own announcement it was shutting down in the coming weeks as well.

What is happening to New Hampshire's white pine sawmills? To answer that question, we must look back at how the industry developed and, in addition, we must look at the factors challenging all manufacturers throughout the United States.

In New Hampshire, white pine is king, or so the King thought. The industry developed prior to the American Revolution, when King James of England declared all white pine trees suitable for mast-making the property of England. The colonists revolted and in 1737 a "Mast Tree Riot" broke out in Fremont. Soon after, New Hampshire patriots joined the American Revolution.

White pine remains a serious timber species. White pine timbers frame many of the state's historic structures, white pine boxes moved products from fish to ammunition for World War II, and more recently, white pine enjoys national markets as flooring, paneling, door and window trim, furniture, and log cabin stock. White pine is indeed a versatile wood sought for its easy workability and warm patina.

With harvesting levels remaining below growth, white pine is positioned to provide a sustainable supply of timber for the regions' sawmills. White pine demand has increased dramatically in the last decade due to a soaring economy and a disruption of West Coast sources of ponderosa and sugar pine, a result of environmentalist pressure on federal land policy. White pine filled the gap and expanded markets dramatically to include new customers such as Midwest window manufacturers.

The species represents 66% of the state's sawmill production and is now shipped throughout the country. Due to the demand, New Hampshire's 10 largest, white pine sawmills increased production and invested in new technology to improve accuracy, utilization, and quality -- all things progressive companies do to remain competitive.

Despite all that, New Hampshire's sawmills, both hardwood and softwood, struggle to remain profitable. The high cost of logs due to intense competition is one factor. Competition comes from other mills in the region as well as from Quebec. The NH State Forester's office estimates 30% of wood harvested in New Hampshire is processed in Quebec.

In addition, like all manufacturers, high energy costs, labor rates, and soaring insurance premiums have contributed to a slim profit margin. If that isn't enough, wood from other countries is beginning to flood the markets. Countries such as New Zealand and Chile have huge plantations of radiata pine, a satisfactory substitute for white pine, which are mature and ready for harvest. Eastern Europe is shipping "Russian" pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Baltic birch plywood to the U.S. at competitive prices. The combined pressure of rising costs and low-priced imports have caused a few of the white pine sawmills to make the difficult decision to close.

Is this the end, will we no longer smell the comforting smell of freshly sawn white pine? Will the hardwood sawmills soon follow? Will New Hampshire's landowners lose all hopes of maintaining a working forest?

No, I don't believe so. New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the country, at 84% of the land cover. Many private landowners, who represent 80% of the forest land and the state and federal forests (20%), actively manage their forestland resulting in a flow of forest products to meet consumer needs across the country. Over one thousand loggers and truckers work across the landscape to deliver wood products to manufacturers.

Many private landowners generate needed income which helps to pay their taxes and to retain the forest as forest. This way they are not forced to sell their property to the highest bidder, which may lead to land development. As long as New Hampshire can maintain a substantial forestland base, the wood will grow and have the potential to support local manufacturing. Wood from other countries may be subject to international policies, transportation challenges, and fluctuation in currencies, thus leading to uncertainty.

New Hampshire's forests are an economic engine that drives tourism, as well as manufacturing. And, the forests contribute to clean air, water, wildlife diversity, recreation, and scenery. As long as we have our forests, a strong land and work ethic, and an industry focused on customer service and quality, the industry will survive.

Sarah Smith Associate Professor/ UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist, Forest Industries

The hustle and bustle of the winter holidays can leave us more than ready to approach the New Year with serious resolutions that go beyond the familiar promises to lose weight, spend more time with the family, or spend less money.

We live in a world in transition, where cultural misunderstandings lead to conflict, and intolerance of differences is displayed through aggression. What would happen if we jumped ahead a few weeks and reflected on the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. before making our New Year’s resolutions? Dr. King was considered a champion of interracial brotherhood and sisterhood, economic justice, and nonviolence.

One of the most important resolutions we could make to honor King’s vision involves taking stock of the changing culture around us, and learning more about our own prejudices, behaviors and beliefs in an increasingly diverse society.

The nation’s increasing cultural diversity

We know from the 2000 Census that our nation and state are becoming more ethnically, linguistically and culturally diverse. One in five Americans over the age of five speaks a foreign language at home. From 1990 to 2000, the Latino population in the United States increased by 60 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that, by the year 2050, the Latino population will have increased from 12.6 percent of the total population to 24.4 percent.

Nearly 50 million foreign-born immigrants came to the United States in the last decade. From 1990-2000, New Hampshire had the fastest population growth rate among the New England states, due in part to a 32 percent increase in the number of foreign-born residents.

N.H.’s growing diversity

According to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, immigrants and their children make up 14 percent of New Hampshire’s total population—about 174,000 residents.

New Hampshire has become home to legal immigrants from Mexico, China, India, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Cuba, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Canada, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, the Former Soviet Union, Somalia, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria and Liberia, among many others. When people of so many cultures come together, there is potential for misunderstanding and conflict.

Among the state’s 10 counties, Hillsborough County has the greatest diversity of cultures. Nearly 45 percent of the county’s 25,793 foreign-born residents immigrated between 1990 and 2000. More than 45,000 Hillsborough County residents over the age of five speak at least one language other than English, and 14,864 speak English less than “very well.”

In the past year the N.H. Department of Education reported 2,755 students with limited English proficiency attending New Hampshire public schools. Nearly half of these students attended Manchester schools. Schools all across the state, from Nashua to Littleton, find more of their students are children of refugees and immigrants who need support in understanding and speaking English and in understanding American culture.

Resolve to increase cultural awareness

As we think about how population shifts have begun changing the culture of our communities, we can resolve to learn as much as we can about the beliefs, social behaviors, and languages of all people.

Culture defines who we are and how we view others. It is often described as the sum total of our life experiences, including learned behaviors and ways of life. Aspects of culture include family, faith, beliefs, values, country and region of origin, music, arts, language, and traditions.

As we become more aware of the cultures of the people we encounter, we are better able to respond to distinct differences between and among us without misinterpreting emotions, language, and behavior. Understanding culture can also help us to avoid prejudging another person.

Refugee children challenge New Hampshire schools

Special issues emerge when children born in refugee camps come into our schools. Rebecca Kaufman recently reported on New Hampshire Public Radio that 85 children from African refugee camps registered with the Manchester school district in September. None of the children spoke English on arrival.

“The students had to be taught how to hold a pencil….many didn’t know how to do simple things like sit in a chair. Some had never seen a set of stairs before and were reluctant to walk up them,” Kaufmann reported. Teachers told her the refugee children may react to unfamiliar situations with physical aggression learned in refugee camps where their families have been warehoused for years.

Strengthen communiucation skills

In addition to a resolution to increase our cultural awareness, we can resolve to strengthen our relationships with fellow human beings by improving our communication skills in general.

This includes trying to understand another person's perspective, rather than trying to be heard or to enlighten that other person. In areas where we may disagree, we can strive to take an assertive rather than aggressive stance, by simply stating our position, rather than forcing our opinion.

“It takes time for attitude change”

It has been 36 years since Dr. King’s assassination, and 21 years since Congress took the rare step of recognizing a social leader by naming a national holiday in his honor in 1986. New Hampshire's Martin Luther King Day Committee worked for more than a decade, from April 1988 to June 1999, before the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Day Bill was signed.

“It takes time for attitude change,” Dr. King told the Seattle Times in 1985. It’s not too early to resolve to examine and adjust our own attitudes about the changing culture of our communities.

By Paula J. Gregory, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development

As New Englanders, we take winter storm warnings in stride but these storms can often disrupt your usual routine. Winter storms can leave you without power or prevent you from getting to the grocery store.

Planning ahead for winter weather can eliminate a major source of stress for you, your family, or others you care for, such as an elderly relative or neighbor.

Planning ahead for winter storm emergencies can range from a well-organized 7-day emergency food supply to a few basic items to keep on hand. Regardless of where you are on the range of planning activities, the ABCD's of keeping food safe in an emergency can help you plan what you'll need. The ABCD's are:

A - A lways keep meat, poultry, fish and eggs refrigerated at or below 40 degrees F. and frozen food at or below 0 degrees F. This may be challenging if there is no power! Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. Once the power goes off, the refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about four hours if it's unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it's half full) if the door remains closed.

B - B e prepared by stocking up on foods that don't need to be refrigerated and can be eaten cold. Here are some examples of foods to keep on hand:

• Water one gallon per person per day
• Ready-to-eat canned foods vegetables, fruit, beans, meat, fish, poultry, pasta
• Soups canned
• Smoked or dried meats commercial beef jerky
• Dried fruits and vegetables raisins, fruit leather
• Juices (vegetable and fruit) bottled, canned or powdered
• Milk powdered, canned, evaporated
• Staples sugar, instant potatoes and rice, coffee, tea, cocoa mix
• Ready-to-eat cereals, instant hot cereals, crackers
• High energy foods peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, granola bars
• Cookies, candy, chocolate bars, soft drinks, other snacks
• Ready-to-use baby formula for infants and pet food
• Manual can opener

• Wash hands and surfaces often.
• Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Cook food to recommended temperatures.
• Keep cold food cold and hot foods hot.
• Follow the two-hour rule throw out perishable food stored at temperatures above 40 degrees F. for 2 or more hours.

As testament to her passion for “eating local,” when Juli Brussell migrated with her husband Kevin from Illinois to New Hampshire last fall, she insisted on hauling along a large freezer full of their own beef, their homegrown vegetables and their neighbor’s lamb and chickens.

“We brought a long extension cord and plugged in the freezer when we stopped for the night,” Brussell says. “Sadly, we had to leave behind 12 varieties of heirloom tomatoes in full production.”

Brussell began work October 4 th as the new UNH Cooperative Extension agricultural resources program leader, with a focus on small farms.

A diverse background

Brussell comes to UNH Extension with a diverse academic and professional background that includes early work in chemistry, geography and sociology, a B.S. in geology, and a broad-field science teaching certificate. Her M.S. in land resources included a thesis on value-added, on-farm processing and direct marketing to build a more sustainable food system. She completed all the coursework for a double doctorate in geology and archeology, lacking only the dissertation.

Brussell has held jobs in both government and the private sector as water resources policy and planning analyst, hydrogeologist, technical editor of Earth magazine, director of a sustainable ag program, and as a coordinator for small farm enterprises and sustainable foods marketing.

Over the years, Brussell has held posts on many regional and national boards and committees. She currently sits on the board of the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the steering committee of the Scientific Congress on Organic Agriculture Research.

Through both academic and professional work, she developed expertise in direct marketing, on-farm value-added enterprises, organic/sustainable agriculture, grass-based livestock management, and public policy development.

After marrying Kevin Brussell seven years ago, she lived and worked on his family’s fifth-generation, 500-acre Illinois farm, which produces a wide diversity of crops and forages, including certified organic grains and beans. “With Kevin, I’ve had the experience of working with three management systems simultaneously: conventional, transitional, and certified organic,” she says, adding “I’ve experienced farming under a lot of adverse conditions, including one familiar to many New Hampshire farmers—poor soil and very wet planting conditions.”

Q. After spending your entire professional life in the Midwest, why did you decide to apply for and accept a job in New Hampshire?

A. The strongest base for our nation’s community food system lies within the strength of our smaller family farms. Ninety-five percent of New Hampshire’s farms are classified as small. The focus in Illinois is still big agriculture. It’s not where I wanted to focus my energy.

Also, I was looking for a community of interest that included an academic community where I’d find resources and people with curiosity.

What have you found as a newcomer to the GraniteState?

I’ve found a good energy, a commitment on the part of citizens to being involved—involved in politics, in lively public discourse. People here are willing to let you know what they think. I find that openness engaging and very hopeful. I also find engaging and hopeful the fact that New Hampshire is small enough to build relationships that can make statewide partnerships work.

What do you perceive as the main challenges to New Hampshire agriculture?

Our growing agricultural diversity, which I consider one of our greatest strengths, also stands out as one of our greatest challenges. It’s really tough for an individual or a family to have to juggle all the production requirements for diverse crops, handle all the tasks involved in marketing and distribution, as well as maintaining a strong, sane and balanced life.

Another challenge I see: How do we find our place in this changing structure of agriculture nationally? How do we carve out a role for family farmers that embodies their importance to New Hampshire’s quality of life? Our farms are in jeopardy. How do we create a place within people’s hearts? How do we motivate people to make room for farms in their culture?

Farmers need increased community support. Community members need to engage with their local farms by buying their products, by ensuring farmers have access to capital, by developing a processing infrastructure. Communities need to recognize the multiple benefits of maintaining their farm infrastructure. Farms are low on demands for tax-supported services. They provide green space and offer aesthetic appeal. They pollute less than competing land uses. They recharge water supplies. Every dollar spent at a local farm circulates in the local economy.

How would you characterize the major opportunities for New Hampshire agriculture?

One of the opportunities for New Hampshire farmers lies in the production of on-farm “artisan” foods, food products that achieve uniqueness by dint of their craftsmanship. Artisan foods are uniquely linked to what the French call the terroir—a term loosely translated as “sense of place,” the way a food product uniquely reflects the attributes of geography, microclimate, vegetation. The flavor of an artisan cheese uniquely reflects the vegetation the cows or sheep grazed upon.

Both Vermont and Maine are actively exploiting this new relationship between people and their food. Increasingly consumers say they want a more direct relationship with their food and the people who grow it.

New Hampshire farmers have the opportunity to develop many new forms of “agri-tourism” beyond the fact that a vibrant agriculture contributes to all tourism, since people don’t come here to look at condo developments and strip malls. A farm that can’t make it on sales of farm products alone can market itself as a destination site that provides that connection to the land urban residents are so hungry for.

I also believe we have an opportunity to expand our livestock operations here in New Hampshire, especially in the realm of organic dairying, grass-fed beef and lamb, even pork and poultry. We’ve already begun to discuss the infrastructure needed to accommodate this expansion. I can also envision systems that integrate livestock into fruit and vegetable production.

Sustainable/organic agriculture stands out as a strong feature of your resume. Given the rising interest among both consumers and new growers in organic production, how would you go about healing the perceived rift between conventional and organic production systems?

First of all, it’s not a perceived rift, but a real one. I think there are a couple of attitudes we need to bring to the table. Given the dwindling number of farmers in the population at large, it’s not in anybody’s interest to increase the divisions between us. The public doesn’t really understand the distinctions between organic and conventional farming. When we start talking about “those farmers over there; they’re doing the wrong thing,” it hurts us all.

There are a couple of issues we need to bring to the table here. The first is the increasing limitation to introducing toxins into the environment. This is starting to limit the arsenal of chemicals available to farmers.

A related issue is the growing trend [among lawmakers and policymakers] to hold farmers liable for the consequences of using these toxins. This leaves farmers open to the possibility that they will have to pay for ag-chemical remediation. We need to acknowledge that possibility for litigation, and with that knowledge, work with farmers to reduce their vulnerability.

You bring a lot of experience and interest in food production. Yet in New Hampshire ornamental horticulture far outpaces food production in terms of both acreage and gross sales.

I like to quote Kahlil Gibran on this issue: “If I had two loaves of bread, I would sell one to buy hyacinth, for it will feed my soul.” We have to get over the notion that growing ornamentals is less than agriculture. Agriculture is the conversion of solar energy into saleable products people find useful. I’m interested in systems that help farmers not just survive, but thrive, and if it takes growing ornamental crops to keep our growers thriving and their land open, we need to embrace that and enjoy the diversity it brings to our landscape. Diverse systems are more stable systems. Bringing stability and prosperity to our state is a worthy goal for our agriculture, isn’t it? UNH Cooperative Extension has the capacity and the mandate to bring this to fruition for all New Hampshire residents.

July is Lakes Awareness Month. So designated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is part of the Year of Clean Water celebration in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

In accordance with this celebration, amateur water quality scientists in New Hampshire and across the continent will participate in the 10th annual Great North American Secchi Dip-in.

The "Dip-In" is an international effort in which volunteers produce a "snapshot" of the clarity of water in the United States and Canada. Sponsored by the North American Lake Management Society and EPA, the Dip-In is directed by Kent State University biologist, Dr. Robert Carlson.

From June 28 until July 13, it's expected that more than 2,500 volunteers from water monitoring programs will measure water clarity in their favorite lake, reservoir, river or estuary. Most will use an instrument called a "Secchi Disk," a flat, horizontal, black and white disk that is lowered from a rope into the water until it disappears. The disk itself is named after the Jesuit priest, Pietro Angelo Secchi, who used the disk more than 150 years ago in the Mediterranean Sea.

The depth the disk disappears from view is a measure of the transparency of the water. The water color and particles of silt or clay or small microscopic plants called algae affect the transparency, and therefore is a measure of some forms of pollution. Measuring water clarity over a season and from year to year allows for the tracking of water quality changes in the short and long-term.

The previous Dip-In's provided valuable information about water quality. The resulting summary maps made each year show considerable regional differences in transparency. Lakes in the northern parts of the United States and in Canada typically have the clearest conditions, while lakes in agricultural regions of the Midwest have some of the lowest water clarity. Transparencies found during the Dip-In range from one inch to more than 65 feet. In New Hampshire, lake water clarity measurements range from 16 inches to over 50 feet with an average of about 12.5 feet.

Analysis of the "Dip-In" questionnaires has found that opinions of water quality vary considerably from region to region. A person in Minnesota, New Hampshire or Canada, for example, may think a lake is degraded if the transparency is less than six feet while in other states, a lake with a transparency of only a foot may be considered beautiful.

Dr. Carlson suggests these regional differences mean people become accustomed to the quality they see every day. Most sobering may be the possibility everyone grows up thinking their environment is normal. Small changes in water quality may go unnoticed. Fortunately, there are volunteer monitors who record these changes in water quality year after year. Without their observations, our environment might change unnoticed.

New Hampshire is fortunate in that almost a thousand citizen monitors keep tabs on the water quality of its lakes and estuaries. The New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, under the coordination of UNH Cooperative Extension and the Center for Freshwater Biology, has been training and supporting volunteer monitors for over 25 years. The NH Dept. of Environmental Services has a similar program, the Volunteer Lake Assessment Program, that also supports volunteer monitoring throughout the state. The UNH Sea Grant/UNH Extension Great Bay Coast Watch has volunteers monitoring sites in Great Bay, harbors, and the tidal coastal rivers.

All these programs measure Secchi Disk transparency as well as other important water quality indicators. They allow agency scientists and University researchers to gain a better understanding of water quality trends throughout the state and to determine what activities and conditions lead to water quality changes. Measurements confirm that much of the variations are caused by polluted runoff created clearing of the land (removal of trees and native vegetation) and the increases in impervious areas like roads, driveways and rooftops.

Volunteer water quality monitoring data have proven to be instrumental in the protection and improvement of a number of lakes facing water quality degradation. Over the years this monitoring also has provided for the establishment of baseline conditions of our pristine lakes so we can insure that they remain that way.

Support your local volunteer monitoring program. To find our more about lake and stream volunteer monitoring call UNH Cooperative Extension at 603-862-3848 or NH DES at 603-271-2658. For information on the Great Bay Coast Watch call 603-749-1565. More information on the Great American Secchi Dip-In is available on the World Wide Web at: http://dipin.kent.edu/ .

What to do if you are a victim of identity theft

• ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name
• Recovering from identity theft
• Identity Theft: What To Do If It Happens to You
• Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft

Prevention is the key

• Go to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
  for your Privacy Survival Guide and look into other ways you can protect your personal privacy.
• For more suggestions about protecting your identity and privacy
• Coping With Identity Theft: Reducing the Risk of Fraud

General information

• About Identity Theft
• Understanding Identity Theft
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse An excellent website with a wealth of information on just about every aspect of protecting your privacy. Fact sheets are easy to read and website is well organized. What you learn may scare you!
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse – Identity Theft
• Federal Trade Commission: National Resource for Identity Theft
• The FTC provides a wealth of information on identity theft and privacy, as well as numerous other consumer protection issues. If you are interested in managing your money most effectively, this should be at the top of your bookmarks.

Vulnerable populations

• And what about privacy for kids?
• College students are prime targets for identity thieves
• Senior citizens are vulnerable because they tend to be more trusting of others, have larger accumulations of assets, don’t see credit reports regularly, have Social Security numbers on health insurance cards (including Medicare), and often aren’t as aware of the risks associated with advanced technologies. The Colorado Gerontological Society provides this risk assessment.

Federal law

• US Dept of Justice – Making a Federal Case of Identity Theft
• US Dept of Justice – Identity Theft: The Crime of the New Millennium
  
  

Return to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Operation: Military Kids Kicks off in New Hampshire

When a dad, mom, brother or sister serving in the National Guard or Army Reserve deploys to Iraq , Afghanistan or elsewhere, a child’s life turns upside down. Though the families left behind still live in civilian neighborhoods, they find themselves “suddenly military.” Their civilian support networks may no longer serve their needs and they lack the support networks available to regular military families living on or near military bases. A single parent’s deployment may require children to move to a new town and school. Plus children live with the chronic anxiety of having a loved one in harm’s way, an anxiety intensified by graphic battlefield images on the nightly news.

Operation: Military Kids

According to estimates provided by the New Hampshire National Guard Family Program and the Family Readiness Program of the Regional Readiness Command of the Army Reserve, between 1,400 and 1,600 New Hampshire children currently have a parent or immediate family member deployed in the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.

To help support the special needs of these children and their families, UNH Cooperative Extension has joined Extension organizations in 15 other states in a national initiative called Operation: Military Kids (OMK).

To show support for this effort, Gov. Craig Benson recently signed a proclamation declaring State Operation Military Kids Week and Military Family Support Week. Participating in the signing were representatives from UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program, the National Guard, and NH Dept. of Education.

“Nationwide and here in New Hampshire, the military selected Cooperative Extension as their partner in Operation: Military Kids because of our extensive network of youth and family programs in every county,” said Wendy Brock, 4-H Youth Development program leader for UNH Cooperative Extension. “We’ve worked closely over the past several months with the N.H. Army and Air National Guard to lay the foundations for the support network here,” Brock said.

New Hampshire OMK team training

“A seven-person team that included 4-H Youth Development staff and a New Hampshire 4-H youth who’s also a military kid himself, as well as representatives from the Army and Air National Guard and the state Department of Education, spent a week in Kansas City last fall involved in a special training that included understanding the history, roles, demographics and culture of the National Guard and Reserve forces; the issues military families and children face; and actions communities can take to support young relatives of deployed family members,” said Brock. “Since returning from training, the team has presented a “Suddenly Military” program sharing what they learned with the 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Resources staffs and a statewide meeting of guidance counselors,” Brock said.

OMK programs in New Hampshire

Brock foresees the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension staff inviting military kids and their families to participate in existing Extension programs in their own area of the state. These include 4-H clubs, camps and other programs for kids, as well as workshops on parenting and family finances, and volunteer activities such as the Master Gardener program.

“In some cases, when the Guard arranges family get-togethers, we might get involved in special programming. For instance, we’ve bought several printers, digital cameras, and laminators, so we can run programs that promote family communications by having kids take pictures of themselves to send to their deployed family members. We’d run the program like one of our 4-H Youth Development ‘learn-by-doing’ educational programs—in this case, teaching kids photography. Then each child would make a card, attach the picture, and laminate it. The military handles mailing the cards.”

 
For more information about Operation: Military Kids

Contact Wendy Brock, UNH Cooperative Extension Program Leader 4-H Youth Development,
603-862-2187.

• National OMK Web site
• N.H. National Guard Family Program

Trybulski 1st in the U.S., 2 nd in World Bowhunting Championships

Congratulations Sandy Trybulski! Trybulski, an associate in the UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Connections program in Sullivan County, won the 2004 national Triple Crown Championship in her class and came in second in the International Bowhunting Organization  World Championships, held August 12-14, in Snowshoe, West Virginia.

IBO national and international competition involves walking a course scattered with 40 3-D targets, rigid foam replicas of deer, bear, turkeys, wild boars, and other game animals. Competitors score points according to whether and where their arrows hit the targets. The top five contestants in each class shoot another 10 targets to determine the ultimate winner in the World Championships.

Trybulski’s high-tech compound bow differs radically from the traditional crescent-shaped “recurve” bow many people encountered in gym class or summer camp. It features machine- made limbs replete with cams, wheels, cables and strings, and requires dozens of sensitive adjustments.

Trybulski began shooting as a teenager. “Bill [the high school sweetheart she later married] and I went woodchuck hunting on our first dates,” she says. “Bill taught me to shoot. He bought me my first rifle, explaining all the safety aspects in great detail. He insisted I become as familiar with its working parts as I was with a washing machine. I got my first bow sometime in the early 1970’s, but only used it for hunting until Bill and I took up 3-D competition  in 1996.”

The Trybulskis’ passion for shooting sports has long supplied all the meat for their family table—hunting with rifle and bow, Sandy Trybulski has managed to shoot a deer almost every year for more than 30 years. The first New Hampshire woman to shoot a wild turkey with a shotgun when the season was reinstated in the state in the 1980s, she’s also bagged a turkey with her bow, as well as wild boar at a game preserve.

High-level competitive bowhunting demands daily physical training year-round that keeps Trybulski fit and trim. “I walk, hike, snowshoe or cross-county ski at least an hour a day, often both before and after work,” she says. ”I use stretchy bands for strength training. I shoot somewhere between 5 and 24 arrows every day. In the winter, I shoot at a bag target in the basement, with the woodstove going, or from the warm garage out into the snow.”

Trybulski also "practices judging yardage," pacing and measuring distances under varying conditions of terrain, vegetative cover, and weather. The sport requires contestants to estimate their distance from the 3-D targets quickly and accurately, without help from rangefinders or other technical instruments.

Trybulski cherishes training, competing and hunting for “the self-discipline it provides, and for that strong bond of common interest” that keeps her marriage strong.

She puts her knowledge of good nutrition to work, in both her private and professional domains: “I tell my clients I always eat a good breakfast, eat from the Food Guide Pyramid lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains and limit the fats, oils and sweets.  It helps me win. It really works!”

Atkins low-carb dieting has surged in popularity the past few years. Now it’s rapidly evolving from a weight-loss diet into a low-carb lifestyle that could actually make us fatter.

Short-term effects appear safe and effective

First, let’s look at the Atkins diet, which has aroused fierce debate since its 1972 debut. The plan limits carbs to 20 grams per day (80 calories’ worth) during the initial 14-day Induction Phase and 50 grams during the Ongoing Weight-Loss Phase. It also permits liberal amounts of meat, eggs and cheese high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

However, several recent trials show Atkins may well be a safe and effective weight-loss option for short-term use—six months up to a year) for some people. (But, as with any major dietary change, start it only after consulting with your doctor.

In the Atkins trials, heart-disease risk factors improved about as much as with a high-carb/low-fat diet and even more so for those obese participants who got little exercise. Atkins also yielded greater weight loss at six months (15.2 pounds versus 6.8 pounds), but the difference narrowed and was no longer significant at 12 months.

How does it work?

How does Atkins work? Research suggests its weight-loss effect has little to do with “ketosis,” which begins a day or two into the diet once the body uses up its stored carb reserves and is forced to burn ketones (a byproduct of body-fat breakdown.) That was formerly thought to reduce hunger and enhance fat loss. In addition, the jury is still out on the claim that the diet’s reduction in blood-sugar swings results in lower appetite.

Rather, the Atkins diet may succeed mainly by helping reduce calorie intake in two ways. First, its carb limits greatly restrict food choices. That blocks a major trigger to overeating, because monotony lowers food intake, while variety boosts it.

Second, Atkins, like many weight-reducing diet plans, makes impulse eating more difficult by placing off-limits many of our favorite “quick-grab,” high-calorie snack foods like chips, crackers and cookies. Even routine eating takes more thought and planning.

Long-term concerns

So, what about the improvement in heart-risk indicators despite eating all that saturated fat and cholesterol? Research shows as long as you’re losing body fat while on Atkins (or any diet), these two bad guys appear to lose their negative effects for most people.

However, once weight loss stops, excessive saturated fat and cholesterol may once again become risky. That’s one reason why a long-term low-carb diet high in meat, eggs and cheese may raise health risks. Another is that very low-carb diets simply lack enough healthy carb sources— such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and beans—shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

From weight loss to lifestyle

The recent positive media reports on Atkins and the food industry’s quick response to profit-boosting trends are rapidly turning short-term low-carb dieting into a potentially more risky and even weight-promoting low-carb lifestyle.

Supermarkets now offer hundreds of new, specially processed (and higher-priced) low-carb foods with labels such as “carb-aware” and “carb-smart.” Even naturally low-carb foods are being re-labeled to tout this fact.

Restaurant chains are recasting their high-calorie, high saturated-fat foods as “low carb” or even “Atkins approved.” And new multivitamin formulations dubiously claim to supply what’s missing in a low-carb lifestyle and help you burn the extra fat and protein you’re eating.

This rapid growth and promotion of low-carb food choices may even sabotage the Atkins diet’s major calorie-limiting mechanisms mentioned above. Remember that food variety may promote overeating, especially when you ignore calories

“Net-carb” labeling

Most low-carb foods now list the grams of “net carbs” derived by taking total carbs and subtracting those that have little impact on blood sugar, even though some contain calories. The debited carbs include ordinary fiber (no calories,) “fermentable carbs” (about half the calories of ordinary carbs,) and sugar alcohols (five percent to 75 percent of the calories.)

This net carb-labeling trend encourages us to count carbs instead of calories. Yet study after study shows that cutting overall calories is what really matters for weight control, not whether they come from carbs or fat. Indeed, many new low-carb foods have only slightly fewer calories than their full-carb versions.

Reducing calories

All this begs the question of what to do about carbs and fat when reducing calories. After all, they make up the bulk of our calories. The best place to cut carb calories is soda, juice drinks, and other items high in added sugar, as well as white flour and other refined grain foods.

Fat calories are best cut from foods high in saturated fat and trans fat (the latter found in partially-hydrogenated oils or vegetable shortening): fried foods, high-fat dairy foods, fatty meats, butter, stick margarine, and many types of popcorn, cookies, crackers and chips.

By David Leonard, UNH Extension Educational Program Coordinator, Food and Nutrition

For more information

• Find out your daily calorie needs
• Why are we eating more food, yet burning fewer calories these days?
• Find out the pros and cons of popular weight-loss diets
• Assess your diet and physical activity level Click on Interactive Healthy Eating Index