National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Hosts YouTube Competition

 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Hosts Spoken Word Poetry YouTube Competition

(LAS VEGAS)— The Western Folklife Center and its 30^th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering today announced the launch of a spoken word poetry competition, Expressing the Rural West: Poetry of the Next Generation, on YouTube.com.

Poets between the ages of 18 and 35 are invited to submit videos which include an artist introduction and do not exceed four minutes in length. Submissions may not contain curse words or explicit imagery and must be original compositions. Content should have a rural focus and poems should be performed and not read.
Poets must be currently living in one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Cowboy Poet at Alamo Dinner Event in Lincoln, County, Nevada

Poems will be judged by the public as well as by a committee of two professional poets and two staff members of the Western Folklife Center. There will be a winner of the public vote and a winner of the juried competition.

The winner of the public vote will receive two free 3-Day Deluxe Passes to the 30^th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and a free Gathering poster. The winner of the juried competition will be given a performance slot at the event and must be able to travel between January 29 to February 2, 2014. Travel and lodging will be paid by the Western Folklife Center.

Upload your video on our Expressing the Rural West—Poetry of the Next Generation competition channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/2014poetrycontest. Public judging will end on December 19 and our judges will select a winner by Dec. 21.
                                                                

 ABOUT WESTERN FOLKLIFE CENTER AND THE NATIONAL COWBOY POETERY GATHERING

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering turns 30 years old in 2014, and the nation’s greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions, will turn its focus to the future of the region. From Jan. 27 to Feb. 1, 2014, in Elko, Nevada, the Gathering will present poetry, music, fine western gear, films, workshops, dances and discussions with a clear focus on encouraging the next generation and working together to ensure the sustainability of the occupational and artistic traditions of the rural West.

The theme of the 30^th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is “Expressing the Rural West—Into the Future!” Through performances of poetry and music, thought-provoking films and fruitful discourse, artists and audiences of all ages will share their art and their opinions on meeting the challenges of rural life in the modern West. In particular, the next generation of cowboy artists will present their work and discuss their brand of ranch life—with one hand on the reins and the other on the cell phone.

More than 50 poets, musicians and musical groups from the U.S. and Canada will perform on seven stages at four different venues. The 30^th Gathering line-up includes cowboy poets Baxter Black, Paul Zarzyski, Waddie Mitchell, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Joel Nelson, Doris Daley, Pat Richardson, Randy Rieman and many others. Music is as integral to the Gathering as poetry; the musical line-up includes Ian Tyson, Michael Martin Murphey, Riders In The Sky, Don Edwards, Dave Stamey, Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Caleb Klauder Country Band, Martha Scanlan and more. 

For a full list of participating artists and much more information, visit  www.westernfolklife.org.

Persian Lilac Can Be Different Things to Different People

Q. I believe you made an error last week about the Chinaberry tree. You said it "is also called Persian lilac and in the United States we sometimes call it the Texas umbrella tree." I do not believe that the Persian lilac is related at all to the umbrella tree. We had both in our yard years ago, and they were quite different.

A. Thanks for your comment and you are right, there is more than one plant called “Persian lilac”. This is where the common names can be confusing. 

            The Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach) can also be nicknamed the Persian lilac because of the very perfumy flowers it produces in spring. You can google any of these names on Wikipedia.

Melia azedarach on Wikipedia 

            There is another plant, also called Persian lilac (Syringa x persica), a hybrid lilac very closely related to common and Chinese lilac which is probably what you were growing. 

Image of Syringa x persica 

            We have the same problem with another plant we call mock orange. Locally, our mock orange is a Pittosporum tobira (Wheeler's Dwarf). This is not the same mock orange known by most of the country. When I was in school, mock orange was a totally different plant with the scientific name Philadelphus coronarius, a flowering relative of hydrangea whose flowers were used for garlands because they have a strong citrus fragrance.

Image of Pittosporum Wheelers Dwarf aka Mock orange 

 Image of Philadelphus coronarius aka Mock orange

            I do not to use scientific names in my newspaper column but common names can be confusing for this reason. I appreciate these comments because I'm sure others were thinking the same.

Trumpet Vine Slow Growth and Leaves with Red Spots

Q. I sent you some pictures of my trumpet vine which I planted as a small plant this last spring.  The plant has barely grown and the leaves have developed red spots all over them.  I believe it has a 2 gph emitter and watered three times a week for 20 minutes.

Red spots on leaves of trumpet vine.

A. Thanks for giving me such good irrigation information. From this I can estimate you are giving the plant about 7/10 of a gallon each time you water, three times a week. This is probably enough water for this plant when it is small but it will not be enough as it gets larger. If you cannot increase the number of minutes, then I would add a second emitter at the base of the plant.

Drip emitter at base of trumpet vine

            Trumpet vine is a hardy plant and thrives in most of the country where the soil is good and it gets plenty of water. It loves the heat. In fact, this plant can grow like a weed, extremely aggressive and in some places become invasive. 

            I don't think we have to worry about invasiveness here. It is not a desert plant so it will need a little bit of extra care.

            I see these red spots on leaves a lot with our fruit trees, particularly peaches. To me it is a sign of stress. There are two things that you should concentrate on to get this plant up and going and these focus on soil improvement and fertilizer.

Red spots developing on leaves of peach due to stress.

            This plant would benefit from improved soils sold applying a thick layer of surface mulch is going to make a big difference. I don't know what kind of soil improvement you made at the time of planting but this is a plant which would benefit from a lot of compost added to the soil at planting time.

            The organic surface mulch is going to help but I would put down a layer of compost near the plant and just under the mulch. You can get a load of free organic mulch from the UNCE Orchard in North Las Vegas. Once you have solved the soil problem, this plant would benefit with added water as I mentioned. 

            In late January or early February I would fertilizer with a decent landscape fertilizer and combine that with an application of iron. The best soil applied iron is going to be in the iron chelate form called EDDHA in the ingredients. Make sure it is applied to the drip emitters and watered in with a hose.

Peters fertilizer, a good quality plant fertilizer.

            In about March, spray the foliage with a good quality foliar fertilizer such as Miracle Gro or Peters. If you follow this advice, you will see some dramatic improvements.

Wood Mulch Around New Gardenias Can Create Problems

Q. I planted about 12 gardenias a couple of months ago and they appear to be dying. I checked the soil and it's evenly damp. They have two, 2gph emitters and they were all being watered three times a week for 20 minutes.

Gardenia with wood mulch applied to the base

Gardenia showing signs of wilting

A. From the picture you sent it looks like a lack of water. Before you saying “No, can't be” let me explain something.

            You have a lot invested in those gardenias. From the picture I can see you applied surface wood mulch surrounding plants and it looks quite deep. Nice job. These gardenias will appreciate the wood mulch.

            However, wood mulch can create a problem around young plants. When this wood mulch is in contact with the stems of young plants, it can keep the surrounding soil and stem too wet. This constant “wetness” around the stem can foster a disease called “collar rot”. Disease organisms attack the stem, essentially choking the plant, and shutting off its water supply.

 Diseases of Gardenias

            Pull the mulch away from the stems about 12 inches and do not let it come in direct contact with the stem. The wood mulch will help the plants but it cannot come in contact with young stems until they get quite a bit older.

Brown Spots in Pear and Apple Flesh Could be Lack of Calcium

Do you have an apple or pear tree that is about 10 or 12 years old, giving you delicious looking fruit ball when you bite or cut into the fruit, you see corky, brown spots in the flesh? If you do, this could be a sign that your fruit trees will need to be sprayed with calcium when the fruit is young and during its formation.

Corky spot in Keiffer pear

This disorder is called bitter pit in apple but called corky spot when it occurs in pear. The root of the problem is the same; not enough calcium getting from the soil to the developing fruit. Established fruit trees take a lot of nutrients out of the soil each year for the developing fruit. It would seem unlikely in our desert soils that are full of calcium that a lack of calcium would be a problem. But it can be.

Established fruit trees continually mine nutrients from the same areas of the soil each year. Once a tree becomes established where irrigations are limited to a certain area, the root systems do not continue to explore the surrounding soil. They continue to mine these elements where they are.

Corky spot in Comice pear

Calcium is relatively insoluble. In other words, even though there is plenty of this element in the soil it does not easily dissolve into the applied water before it is taken up by the plant. Producing fruit, and a lot of it, draws heavily on the supply of calcium the tree can find in the soil. Over years the available calcium supply diminishes. If the soil does not allow calcium to dissolve when the plant needs it, calcium deficiencies occur.

If you look closely at the fruit there can be telltale indicators that bitter pit or corky spot is present without cutting into the fruit. I look for dimples in the skin. If you look closely at these dimples you will see that they do not “ripen” or turn from green to its mature color like the rest of the skin. If you don't look closely, you will miss it.

Greenish dimples on the surface of the fruit can be a dead giveaway that corky spot or bitter pit has affected the fruit. Cutting the dimple away will expose the corky spot just under the surface.

Normally this calcium deficiency occurs on some apples and some pairs but it is less likely on others. In our climate in the Las Vegas Valley I have seen it develop on Mutsu apple and Anjou, Comice and Keiffer pears.

To remedy the problem you will need to spray on the fruit as it is developing, calcium sprays. I usually buy food-grade or aquarium-grade calcium chloride. I dissolve about 3-5 pounds of calcium chloride in 100 gallons of water. To convert, there is 16 ounces or 454 grams in one pound.

Dissolve the calcium chloride thoroughly in warm water and add a liquid detergent or some sort of spreading agent to help the calcium entry through the skin of the fruit. Spray on the fruit as soon as you see the fruit beginning to develop. Make five applications of the spray about one week apart. Avoid spraying when temperatures are high. Spray in the early morning hours. Real wedding the fruit lightly with pure water after the spray has dried will help more of the calcium to enter the fruit.

These five applications of calcium chloride applied along with a sticker/spreader when the fruit is still young will help to prevent bitter pit or corky spot from developing.