Happy Fathers Day! With summer now in full swing, our attention turns to things such as fishing, yard beautification and staying cool. Here are some calls we received this week at the Adams County Extension Office pertaining to theses areas.

Q. What can I do to eliminate the weeds in my pond?

Good news to all fishing enthusiasts, from 9 a.m. to noon this Friday we are having a pond management workshop at the Adams County Extension Office for all residents. The workshop is free to everyone and will cover all topics from pond and lake construction, stocking rates and species, weed control, harvest practices and fertility. Whether you have a backyard pond or large lake, you will want to attend this workshop. It will have a classroom component and then we will drive about 12 minutes to a pond and teach all participants how to do an accurate fish count, identify weeds and discuss control methods and other hands on activities. Bill Maily, Mississippi State Extension Wildlife Specialist, and myself will teach the workshop. Call the office at 601-445-8201 to reserve a spot.

However to answer the question asked, aquatic weeds that seem minor can rapidly take over a pond, therefore, control measures should be in place. There are many aquatic plant species that can cause havoc to fisherman. Weeds can usually be controlled either by chemical treatments such as 2-4 D or Sonar (depending on the species) and some by the use of grass carps. Usually when spraying aquatic weeds more than one dose is necessary. Here is a simple 5-steps aquatic weed control program: 1. Identify, 2. Choose most economical and efficient method of control, 3. If chemical method is selected be sure it is environmentally safe, 4. Calculate pond area and volume to be treated and 5. Follow label instructions.

Q. How long can my yard go without rain or watering before it dies?

Many lawns are suffering from the lack of rain and it often becomes a dilemma to many homeowners whether to spend the effort, time and money irrigating the lawn to keep it healthy or just let it go and hope for the best. To make your decision easier consider the benefit you and your lawn will gain from doing so. A healthy lawn is a tremendous air conditioning system as it transpires water. A lawn can be as much as 30 degrees cooler than concrete or even bare ground so even though you may be spending more money for irrigation, your home surroundings will be much cooler as a result. Another obvious benefit is water is much cheaper in the long run than renovating a sick or dead lawn. But you do not need to water everyday or even every other day. A light sprinkle each day only encourages shallow rooting and greater evaporation loss, which is not good. It is much more beneficial to thoroughly water your lawn every three days to allow the water to moisten deeper in the soil and encourage deep-rooted turf. Soaker hoses, drip tapes and sprinklers are all effective in distributing water to your lawn while you do other things. Just don’t forget to turn them off.

I hope everyone is taking precautions in these hot days, the last thing you want to happen is to be doing something you love and have heat stroke and make something you love something you dread. Drink plenty of fluids and pace yourself. It is a lot easier and less painful to revive a plant from heat stroke than yourself.

David Carter can be reached at dcarter@ext.msstate.edu.