UNL Extension in Webster County
December 2022 Edition Newsletter
Happy December
Have a very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
The Webster County Extension StaffBEEF
CROPS & WATER SYSTEMS
COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT/HORTICULTURE
Poinsettia
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Once the turkey and the pumpkin pie are finished, then it is time to decorate for the holidays. No holiday decorating would be complete without poinsettias in the house. These plants are a part of most holiday traditions, but do you know what it takes to pick out the best one and make it last long into the new year?
Poinsettias are as interesting as they are beautiful. These plants originated in Mexico and are a member of the Euphorbiaceae family which secretes a milky sap when wounded. The poinsettia bloom is actually a tiny yellow flower located in the center of all the color. The brightly colored red, burgundy, or pink parts that look like ‘petals’ are actually called bracts. Bracts are a type of modified leaf which change color based upon day length.
Picking out the perfect poinsettia doesn’t require too much research. Start by purchasing fresh, healthy looking plants that have been cared for properly at the point of purchase. Avoid purchasing plants that have had their plastic sleeves ‘up’ for an extended period of time while in the store. The plant produces ethylene gas as it ages, just like ripening fruit. If the plastic sleeve is left up around the bracts, the gas can actually pool in the sleeves and cause the plant to prematurely lose their bracts. This results in a thinned plant, rather than a full, beautiful one.
The next tip is one many people forget. After the plant is purchased, don’t allow it to get cold. Make sure the car is warmed up before exiting the store. Also remember when transferring the plant from the store to the car, put the sleeve up and/or a plastic bag over the top. This will allow the plant to have a warm air buffer from the cold winter temperatures until it reaches the warmed car. Also try to keep it away from drafts, hot or cold, while in the car.
Once the plant is in the home, caring for poinsettias isn’t too difficult as long as you know the ‘rules’. Poinsettias need to be kept out of drafts. Keep them away from heat ducts, radiators, and doors entering the house from outside or the garage. Place the plants near a bright window, but not directly in the sunlight. Remember to move it at night if a cold draft could occur. Ideal temperatures would be between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperatures are kept above 75 degrees, the plants can decline quickly.
The most common problem faced by poinsettias is overwatering. Applying too much water can kill the roots of the plant. A good rule of thumb on when and how much to water poinsettias is to wait until the surface of the potting media begins to dry slightly before watering. Be sure to apply water before the media dries out completely and it becomes hard and unable to absorb water. Apply water until it begins to run out the bottom of the pot, wait 30 minutes, and then dump out the water that remains in the bottom of the foil sleeve or drip tray.
Lastly is the great debate, whether or not the poinsettia is poisonous. According to research, they are not considered poisonous. According to the POISINDEX, the primary resource used by most poison control centers, a 50 pound child would have to eat more than 1.25 pounds of poinsettia bracts, about 500 to 600, to exceed the experimental dose. That is not to say that you won’t have an upset stomach or vomiting if you do decide to eat some.
Resist the urge to eat and just admire the perfectly picked out poinsettia, it can provide you color well into the new year.
Elizabeth Exstrom is the Horticulture Extension Educator with Nebraska Extension in Hall County. For more information contact Elizabeth at elizabeth.exstrom@unl.edu, her blog at http://huskerhort.com/, or HuskerHort on Facebook and Twitter.
RURAL PROSPERITY
A Message from Jason
Is there a community that you see that is doing something well? Perhaps you wished your community was able to copy their success? Maybe you can.
There are some communities that have a track record of success. Maybe they have had success in attracting new housing. Maybe their downtown is full and vibrant. How do you learn from them? A simple way is to pick up a phone. Call the city office, ask them questions about their success. Many times there is a process that they have followed in order to bring change to their community.
There are a lot of various grants available from the state for downtown revitalization, housing, or infrastructure. These grants are competitive, there are always more application request than there is money available. Those communities that win consistently are following the grant guidelines properly. They have worked with the grant managers to get their applications finished and to get through all of the steps needed to be considered a good applicant.
In many cases granting agencies look for capacity. Does your community or organization have the capacity to handle grant reporting. Do you have proper accounting, audits (if required), and the ability to manage the funds once they are given to you. Do you have the match money required for the grant, or a plan to get that money. Is the project something where you need pre-applications for subgrantees (if you are getting housing rehabilitation money, do you have some homeowners with applications already submitted).
Getting outside grants into your communities can really make a change. I live in Hebron, NE and when I moved in the downtown didn’t look good at all. They tore one building down and literally the front of the next door building fell down. Many of the local downtown buildings needed significant rehab. The city of Hebron has been very successful in getting downtown revitalization grants for the community. It has been a marked improvement in downtown, many business storefronts have been restored and rebuilt. It is a great change. They just received a second round of grant funding to do more business storefronts.
If you call one of these successful communities don’t be surprised if the answer that you receive is that the process started X years ago. Like many things in life, local improvements and grant applications are not a quick fix. In my former position as a community developer I was placed in a position where a housing project had been in the works for 3-5 years before I came into the position. They had built a relationship with a housing developer for many years before a project came to town. They had to build that trust with him before he would commit to visiting the community and then to building homes. Then he received some grants and financing and was able to build some homes. We were able to work with him on another project a few years later. That second project took two years to get our application approved. Nothing comes quickly.
If you see a successful community, give them a call, ask some questions. See how long they’ve been working on the project that you’re interested in. Ask them what projects came before. How did they get community buy in? How did they prove that buy in to the granting agency? Were there surveys involved? Who helped with those surveys? How many times did you apply before you were approved? How do you manage the paperwork? All of these questions will lead you to more information that you can use as you build your community.
If your community could benefit from any of the Rural Prosperity Nebraska ideas that I’ve discussed in this column, please reach out to me. I’d love to speak to your community about these topics. You can reach me at jason.tuller@unl.edu or at the Thayer County office at 402-768-7212.
Jason Tuller is an Extension Educator for the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He works in the Rural Prosperity Nebraska program and covers ten-county area including Kearney, Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Saline, Franklin, Webster, Nuckolls, Thayer, and Jefferson Counties.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EXTENSION
Stress Less During the Holiday Hustle
December is a fun, but often a stressful time of the year in early childhood settings. Join us for a short, 1-hour class to help bring awareness to what might be causing stress, learn a few techniques to help reduce stress and share ideas for helping to connect with your community of support.
Register for this or our other upcoming on-line professional development trainings at: https://child.unl.edu/in-service-professional-development
Building Literacy with Play & Technology
Building Literacy with Play & Technology
FOOD, NUTRITION, AND HEALTH
Holiday Meals
#NebExt #Thanksgiving #budget #budgetfriendly
A charcuterie board is a selection of meats, cheeses, breads and crackers, olives, fruit, and nuts arranged nicely on a cutting board. Following a few simple charcuterie board food safety tips can keep your party a success! https://food.unl.edu #UNLFoodSafety
Prevent Food Poisoning During the Holidays. Keep your food prep areas clean. Wash your hands before preparing food items. Do not let cold food items like cheeses, meats and dips sit out at room temperature for more than two hours before disposing of them. For more food safety tips: https://food.unl.edu #UNLFoodSafety
This holiday season is a perfect time to liven up a gathering with a Charcuterie board. Follow a few simple tips for food safety and your party will be a hit! https://food.unl.edu/article/charcuterie-boards-and-food-safety #UNLFoodSafety
4-H
NEBRASKA EXTENSION SPOTLIGHT- MEET JASON TULLER
THE WEBSTER COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE AND COURTHOUSE WILL BE CLOSED DECEMBER 26TH AND JANUARY 2ND.
REGIONAL EXPERTS
Megan Burda
Engagement Zone 10 Coordinator
Megan is a Nebraska Extension Educator with a passion for fashion! She holds a Master of Arts degree in Textile and Apparel Design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a specialization in entrepreneurship. Megan serves as an Engagement Zone Coordinator in Zone 10 with a focus on staff development, stakeholder connections, and UNL engagement. She is a maker, entrepreneur, Husker sports fan and baking enthusiast.
Photo and Bio from UNL Extension
Email: megan.burda@unl.edu
Location: 1340 G Street, Geneva, NE, USA
Phone: 402.759.3712
Lynn DeVries
Early Childhood Extension Educator
Lynn is an Extension Educator on The Learning Child Team, University of Nebraska Extension in South Central Nebraska. Lynn has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Nebraska Kearney in Vocational Family and Consumer Science Education, and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University Nebraska. Lynn works with families, child care providers, teen parents and schools to promote developmentally appropriate practices and enhance parent involvement throughout the child’s education. Lynn has 11 years of experience teaching Family and Consumer Science in the public schools, and 10 years of experience coordinating programming and curriculum with the Head Start programs.
Email: lynn.devries@unl.edu
Website: https://child.unl.edu/
Location: 2975 South Baltimore Avenue, Hastings, NE, USA
Phone: 402.461.7209
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLExtensionthelearningchild/
Elizabeth Exstrom
Horticulture Extension Educator
I am Community Environment Extension Educator with a horticulture focus who works in the Nebraska Extension office in Hall County. I provide horticulture related programs for youth and adults, act as the Central Nebraska Master Gardener Coordinator, and answer horticulture-based related client questions. I am a Nebraska Arborist Association Certified Arborist and a member of the International Society of Arboriculture and Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association. You might recognize me because I am regular panel member on NET's Backyard Farmer program and even filled in as host a few times. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture with a landscape design emphasis and my Master’s Degree in Public Horticulture from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.
Photo and Bio from UNL ExtensionEmail: elizabeth.exstrom@unl.edu
Website: https://huskerhort.com/
Location: College Park, U.S. 34, Grand Island, NE, USA
Phone: 308.385.5088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.m.killinger/
Ron Seymour
Crops & Water Systems Educator
Ron Seymour is a cropping systems Extension Educator with emphasis on corn and soybean production. Ron also works extensively in crop pest management with specific expertise in insect issues. Ron has an interest in developing areas that border field crops as habitat that promote populations of beneficial arthropods.
Email: rseymour1@unl.edu
Location: 2975 South Baltimore Avenue, Hastings, NE, USA
Phone: 402.461.7209
Jason Tuller
Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator
Jason has been working in the economic development field in rural Nebraska for more than a decade. He has worked as a small business consultant and as a rural economic developer. His goal now is to help grow stronger communities in Southeast Nebraska and throughout the stat
Photo and Bio from UNL ExtensionEmail: jtuller2@unl.edu
Website: https://ruralprosperityne.unl.edu/
Location: Nuckolls County, NE, USA
Cami Wells
Food, Nutrition, and Health Extension Educator
I am a Nutrition, Food and Health Educator and Registered Dietitian located in Hall County. Part of my time is allocated to the Nutrition Education Program (NEP) that provides nutrition education to limited-resource families in central Nebraska. I teach a variety of food safety and nutrition programs to adults and youth as well as serve on the media/marketing team that develops content for our food.unl.edu website. I graduated from University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science and Dietetics and earned a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Health Sciences from Northern Illinois University.
Email: cami.wells@unl.edu
Location: College Park At Grand Island, West U.S. Hwy 34, Grand Island, NE, USA
Phone: 308.385.5088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLExtensionFoodAndFitness
MEET OUR TEAM IN WEBSTER COUNTY
Dr. Lindsay Waechter-Mead
Beef Systems Educator, DVM
Lindsay Waechter-Mead is the new Beef Systems Educator in Webster County and serves surrounding counties in this region. She is excited to bring her interests surrounding cow/calf health and preventative medicine to the Beef Team. Her current work involves looking at environmental effects on neonatal calf immunity and colostral transfer. She is also passionate about rural agriculture and what the veterinary profession can do to positively influence rural communities to ensure that generations can continue to enjoy the life that she loves.
Email: lindsay.waechter-mead@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746.3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCBeefExtensionUNL
Beth Janning
4-H Youth Development Extension Educator in Adams/Webster Counties
Beth Janning is a 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator. She provides programming in school enrichment, after-school, and traditional 4-H Programs. Her topic areas include but not limited to animal science, science, engineering and volunteer development.
Email: elizabeth.janning@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402.461.7209
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE
Alexa Pedersen
Office Manager
Email: alexa.pedersen@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402.746.3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE
Katie Bolte
4-H Programming Assistant
Email: katie.bolte@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402.746.3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE