Poker Run for Readers

The Northwestern Regional Library System, of which Alleghany is a part, has an upcoming fundraiser that we really need your help with.  We have a 'Poker Run for Readers' coming up on Saturday, June 9. (note attachment)  The rain date is June 16.  Freeborne's Eatery & Lodge is the major sponsor for this event, along with Mountain Dreams Realty, Document Imaging Solutions, Cross Roads Harley-Davidson, and South Data who is our IT provider.  The ride will begin at Freeborne's.  Both motorcycles and automobiles can participate and will have different routes.

Plan to ride on June 9 if you can.  Registration is $25 for riders, $15 for passengers.  This includes registration, live music    and a cook out the evening of the event.

Please help us get the word out about this.  Feel free to share this email with your friends.  Pre-registration can be done from now until May 7.  Registration forms are available at all NWRL Libraries in Alleghany, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin Counties.  Those who pre-register also get a free t-shirt.

Compound from Wild Tomatoes is Natural, Effective Herbicide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A naturally occurring compound derived from wild tomato plants is also a fast-acting, nontoxic herbicide, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.


NC State entomologist Dr. Mike Roe had previously worked with the compound – known as 2-undecanone – as a natural replacement for the chemical DEET in insect repellents. Both he and his NC State colleague, entomologist Dr. George Kennedy, were exploring whether 2-undecanone could be used as an insecticide on plants, when they noticed an unexpected side effect: it killed the plants.


“The discovery was a bit unexpected – we were taking this chemical from a plant, so we didn’t expect it to have herbicidal qualities,” Kennedy says. “But in the wild tomato where 2-undecanone naturally occurs, it is held in tiny hairs all over the vine and fruit, so it never actually comes into contact with the plant itself.” This serendipitous discovery led the researchers to do some further testing, and they found that 2-undecanone provides both  effective and fast-acting weed control. It seems to interfere with a plant’s ability to retain moisture, which kills it quickly.


“On a warm sunny day, you can apply this to a weed and it will be withered and dead within as little as 30 minutes,” Roe says. “It retains its effectiveness even in winter, when other herbicides tend to lose potency. Additionally, the chemical is volatile, meaning that it dissipates after 30 minutes.”


Roe and Kennedy believe that the compound has multiple potential uses: in the organic farming industry, by homeowners for outdoor weed control, by home gardeners and in larger agricultural operations.  “You’ve got something here that is already approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as an insect repellent safe enough for application to human skin,” Roe says. “The herbicidal effects occur with an even lower concentration of the active compound. Plus, it kills plants in minutes and then dissipates, so you don’t have to worry about soil or groundwater contamination.


“What more do you need? You’re fighting plants with plants – it’s perfect.”  

Tarheel Homemaker E-News April 2012

The April 2012 issue of the Tarheel Homemakers E-news Letter is now available.  To find out more out Extension Community Association (ECA) contact the Extension Office at 336-372-5597.   

Plant Sale Information Sheets Available

All,

I am providing the links to some helpful information sheets for the types of plants we sold this year.  Hope this helps.   Please contact the office if you have any questions.

 Blueberries = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8207.pdf

 Raspberries = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8204.pdf

                              http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag569.html

Blackberries = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag401.html

                              http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/blackberries.pdf

Grapes = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8202.pdf

Strawberries = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8205.html

Herbs = http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8110.html

               http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8111.html

  

Michele Hamm

Extension Secretary II

North Carolina Cooperative Extension

Alleghany County Center

Plant Sale Pick-up Postponed

Plant Sale Pick-Up has been postponed. We have had an unexpected delay in the shipment of the strawberries, horseradish one grape and one blackberry variety. They are to be shipped over night, but we cannot guarantee an arrival time. If you plan on trying to pick up your order tomorrow (4/13), please send an email to michele_hamm@ncsu or call the office at 372-5597, to be sure that your order is complete. If your order is not complete tomorrow, you may pick up your plants on Monday, April 16th or a day/time that is convenient. We will get your order to you as soon as possible and apologize for the inconvenience.

 Thanks for your patience & understanding.

Aspirin and Cancer Prevention

Hi All,

Note this article that just came out in the National Review of Clinical Oncology and posted by Stone Heart News on April 9.  This new report by the American Cancer Society supports and broadens what I mentioned to you at the March Institutes.  Read the article below.

Aspirin, cancer-prevention-care link getting stronger Posted on April 9, 2012 by Stone Hearth News A new report by American Cancer Society scientists says new data showing aspirin’s potential role in reducing the risk of cancer death bring us considerably closer to the time when cancer prevention can be included in clinical guidelines for the use of aspirin in preventative care. The report, published early online in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, says even a 10% reduction in overall cancer incidence beginning during the first 10 years of treatment could tip the balance of benefits and risks favorably in average-risk populations.

Current guidelines for the use of aspirin in disease prevention consider only its cardiovascular benefits, weighed against the potential harm from aspirin-induced bleeding. While daily aspirin use has also been convincingly shown to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and recurrence of adenomatous polyps, these benefits alone do not outweigh harms from aspirin-induced bleeding in average-risk populations. But recently published secondary analyses of cardiovascular trials have provided the first randomized evidence that daily aspirin use may also reduce the incidence of all cancers combined, even at low doses (75-100 mg daily).

The current review, led by Michael J. Thun, M.D., vice president emeritus of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society was not designed as a comprehensive review of the literature, but instead is a focused discussion of the key outstanding issues in using aspirin as a cancer prevention tool.

The report says recently published meta-analyses of results from randomized trials of daily aspirin treatment to prevent vascular events have provided provocative evidence that daily aspirin at doses of 75 mg and above might lower both overall cancer incidence and overall cancer mortality. 

In six primary prevention trials of daily low-dose aspirin, randomization to aspirin treatment was associated with an approximately 20% reduction in overall cancer incidence between 3 and

5 years after initiation of the intervention (metaodds ratio [OR] = 0.81; 95% CI 0.67-0.98) and a 30% reduction during follow up more than

5 years after randomization (meta-OR = 0.70; 95% CI 0.56-0.88). Cancer mortality was also reduced during study follow up that happened more than 5 years after the start of aspirin use (meta-OR = 0.63; 95% CI 0.49-0.82) in analyses that included 34 trials of daily aspirin at various doses. Surprisingly, the size of the observed benefit did not increase with daily doses of aspirin above 75-100 mg. Notably, these meta-analyses excluded results from the Women’s Health Study (WHS), a large 10-year-long trial of 100 mg of aspirin taken every other day, which reported no reduction in cancer incidence or mortality.

 “The accumulating data from randomized clinical trials provide an exciting opportunity to reconsider the potential role of aspirin in cancer prevention,” write the authors. They say several important questions remain unanswered, such as the exact magnitude of the overall cancer benefit and which individual cancer sites contribute to this benefit. “However, these new data bring us considerably closer to the time when cancer prevention can be integrated into the clinical guidelines for prophylactic treatment following regulatory review by the FDA and the European Medicines Agency.”

Article: The role of aspirin in cancer prevention. Thun MJ, Jacobs EJ, Patrono C., Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2012 Apr 3. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2011.199. [Epub ahead of print]

Dr. Jackie McClelland, Food and Nutrition Specialist, NC State University

The Produce Lady - April Newsletter

Spring is almost in full swing. Soon a cornucopia of crops will garnish fields and farmers markets alike with a dazzling array of colors and aromas. This month, our team is celebrating diversity in farming and acknowledging those who provide this wonderful produce. In particular, the Hmong community, along with its Asian cuisine and crops, is changing the way North Carolina eats and farms. Perhaps the most delicious and versatile of Asian vegetables grown in the state, bok choy boasts a light, sweet flavor in a crisp, healthy package.

View the entire E-Newsletter HERE!!

Easter Food Safety Risks

With Easter being tomorrow, visit the link for info about Easter Food Safety Risks by Dr. Ben Chapman.

http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/tag/easter-food-safety-risks