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The Rural Voice, 2000-10, Page 46Gardening Our rain brought problems By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger Each fall I write about cleaning up around your garden and leaving a few stalks standing to catch some snow to protect your perennials. This year it is particularly important to clean up this summer's debris. The increased rainfall has not only raised water levels in some areas but offered ideal conditions for a variety of mildews that attack our gardens in late summer. My father called one evening quite disturbed about a neighbour who had been spraying his maple tree and was now in the hospital. It seems there is a severe outbreak of a variety of powdery mildew that is affecting maples trees — red maples in particular. Whole trees are covered with a powdery white mildew that gives them appearance of early frost coating or a dusty mantle that no amount -of rain will clean off. In fact rain is probably part of the extensive spread of this parasite. We often see powdery mildew start on the lower leaves of our phlox and fall asters late in the summer. • Mildew is made up of delicate, cobweb -like strands of fungus tissue. Although they grow mainly over the surface they can penetrate the leaf with numerous fine filaments and feed on the host plant. Heavily mildewed leaves will turn yellow, dry up and fall early. As gardeners we expect a bit of powdery mildew late in the summer when the days are sunny and dry and the nights are cool. This leads to 42 THE RURAL VOICE increased humidity and that encourages mildew. We have had a number of evening storms which aid the spread of this disease. It is unsightly and, if left untreated, will reduce the vigor of the plant. Trees which are attacked by mildew are usually growing in shaded or damp locations, but some of the trees I have spotted are lone specimens on front lawns with lots of air circulation and they are as grey as their neighbour that is sheltered among other larger trees. There are a number of species of powdery mildew fungi that are particular to certain trees they enjoy. So how do you control powdery mildew on a 30 -foot maple? Management is a good start. If there are only a few small infected branches they can be cut out. Rake up infected leaves and where possible improve air circulation around trees that are crowded. Increased sunlight can reduce the severity of the disease. Does that tell you something about our summer? Spores of the fungus may over - winter vegetatively in dormant buds of the tree. With that in mind keep a keen eye peeled for spots the following spring. For smaller trees you could look at using benomyl, copper, cycloheximide, folpet, or sulphur. Like any chemical solutions to a problem, research it carefully. Products like benomyl should only be used sporadically as mildew can develop a resistance to it. Remember to dress in protective gear. Chemical solutions should be the last resort to a problem. We cannot naively believe that a chemical geared to kill one organism can be safe for everything else. But before you seek out the chemical regulations remember that the rainfall was unusual this year. In most cases the disease appears so late in the growing season that it does little real damage. Be prepared for next year by,cleaning up this year.0 Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her husband raise two children at their home near Auburn. She is a skilled cook and gardener. News Policing NMPs could cost Huron $500,000 planner says If the province gives the job of enforcing nutrient management plans to the counties, as suggested in the "Report on Intensive Livestock Operations in Ontario", it could cost $500,000 a year in Huron County. That's the estimate Garry Davidson, director of planning and development gave county councillors in September when they discussed the county's response to the July 10 report of the cpmmittee headed by MPPs Dr. Doug Galt, and Toby Barrett. It might result, Davidson said, in the county having to charge user fees to those farmers who needed to have nutrient management plans (NMPs). Policing the plans would be a much costlier project than simply requiring people to file an NMP before getting a building permit, as most townships now do, said Davidson. It requires constant year-round monitoring of the management process. With the provincial committee accepting responses to their report until mid-September and with legislation expected later this fall, now is the time to tell the province about such concerns, Robin Dunbar, reeve of Grey Township told council. "Policing is the key issue," he said. The county doesn't have inspectors in place to be able to take on that role. Laurie Cox, reeve of Goderich Township agreed the cost implications should be made plain to provincial officials. It wouldn't be fair for the cost of policing to be put onto non -farming taxpayers but many farmers would be hard pressed to pay user fees, he said. Enforcement should be taken on by the province because everyone benefits from clean water, he said. "It should be emphasized to the province that they should build on what they already have," he said of the enforcement process. That viewpoint will be included in the county's written response which was be forwarded by mid-September.