Recent Merlin Field and Garden Club Events
During the evening of Thursday, July 7, the Merlin Community 4-H Field and Garden Club took part in the Diagnostic Night located at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, along with other agricultural 4-H clubs in the area. The attendants learned about crops and ways to defend them from unwanted weeds and insects.
First, the 4-H members visited a 40 year old weed garden on campus where there are at least 200 plants living. They learned about several different types of weeds including Poison Ivy, St John’s Wort and Lambs Quarters.
The members were then brought by a trailer to the campus fields to learn more about spray drift and wireworms. The group learned that spray drift is when something is sprayed on a field, herbicide or pesticide, that gets carried by the wind, can travel to a field where it is not supposed to be and harm the crops growing there.
Something else the members learned about was wireworms and how to catch them. One trap consist of corn, soybeans and wheat. The mixture is buried in the field in a mesh bag, when there is moisture in the ground the seeds get larger, releasing carbon dioxide which attracts the wireworms. The packages trap the wireworms then leave the field when the farmers take them off.
The Merlin Community 4-H Field and Garden Club also took part in the Tilbury Fun Fest. The club walked in the parade during the morning of Saturday, July 9th in Tilbury.
