The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • K3

The Charlotte Observer charlotteobserver.com/cabarrus Sunday, August 3, 2008 3KNEIGHBORS for about eight years. the years, seen things that would just make you bawl like a Fillow said. pulled them out of those situations and found them That will change when Steve job ends in Feb- ruary. His paycheck helps pay the mortgage on the 7.5-acre Har- risburg property where the three have had residences and run an expanded rescue oper- ation since 2003. There are also other monthly expenses, including utilities, dog food bills, and spaying and neutering bills.

The rescue arranged 354 adoptions of puppies and dogs of various breeds in 2007, about 10 percent of them adult dogs. So far this year, the rescue has arranged about 130 adop- tions, including about 20 per- cent to 25 percent adult dogs. Phillips also found a home for a pit bull named Gunny who was abandoned after an injury that required amputa- tion of a leg. Phillips and oth- ers say the injury likely oc- curred in a dog-fighting oper- ation. About 36 dogs are awaiting adoption now.

The team often invests $100 for a healthy puppy to $400 or more for an adult dog, while adoptions cost $175, Fillow said. Donations have never come close to meeting expenses. not Phil- lips said. sure much more we could have raised. always in the red by several thousand by the end of the year.

basic. It incorporate mortgage or The organization will con- tinue arranging adoptions as long as possible. Phillips and the Fillows plan to keep any dogs that been adopt- ed when they go separate ways. both very Phil- lips said, frustrated that inde- pendent local rescue opera- tions get less support than na- tional and municipal ones. happy they get money.

(Donors) just know there are private rescues that need money as RESCUE from 1K DAVID T. FOSTER III North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue co-owner Terry Fillow with several signs at the front of the facility. After four years, the shelter will close by February. Q. Should (a gardener) cut suckers off his okra plants? I seen that particular question re- searched, but I would be less inclined to cut suckers from okra than I would be from corn or tomatoes.

Suckers (new stems sprout- ing from between the main stem and the leaf) indicate that, at some point, the okra plant thought (at least hor- monally) that it had more than enough energy and nutrition for a single stalk. Okra is worse than many plants about failing to bloom when there is extra nitrogen within the plant. If the suckers siphon off some extra ni- trogen, the plant may not set fruit. In addition, suckers allow the okra to fill in the space when there has been spotty germination. Numerous suck- ers may make the okra slightly more difficult to pick, but that is the major downside.

The only time I ever count- ed the number of okra pods on a stalk, I had picked more than 100 from one stalk, which had multiple suckers by Septem- ber. Mine are so late this year that I may not get 10. By the way, I have seen suck- ering sweet corn researched in the commercial field. It is a break-even situation when you have to pay for the labor. Suck- ering tomatoes (removing the suckers) gives you less yield but enough increase in size and earliness to make it worth- while in commercial situa- tions.

David Goforth, horticulture and forestry agent with the Cabarrus Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, teaches the Master Gardener course for Cabarrus County. bother taking suckers off okra plants McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE PHOTO Suckers allow okra to fill in the space when there has been spotty germination. MASTER GARDENERS DAVID GOFORTH Made from fresh edible seed. 8609 Concord Mills Blvd.

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