Category Archives: horticulture
Episode 8- Supporting Local Cut Flower Growers
July is American Grown Cut Flower Month! Now is the perfect time to celebrate the abundance of locally-grown cut flowers and the farmers that grow them. To discuss more about cut flower production, I interviewed my good friend and co-worker Alexis Sheffield to ask her why July is such a special month for cut flower growers. Alexis is the Boyle County Extension Agent for Horticulture and in her spare time runs a flower farm called Wild Roots. Find out more from her in our interview together on how you can celebrate American Grown Cut Flower Month and how you can support local cut flower farmers, right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast.
Flower Farmer for Wild Roots
Get involved with Kentucky Grown Cut Flowers Month by joining us daily on Facebook (@KYHortCouncil), Instagram (@KYHorticulture) or Twitter (@KYHorticulture) to learn more about this specialty crop! Each day this month on the Kentucky Hort Council’s social media pages, you can learn more about local flower farmers and the beautiful fresh cut flowers they grow along with buying, delivery, and pick-up options.
Interactive Map: The Kentucky Commercial Cut Flower Grower Directory is now live! This tool helps to highlight local businesses and make it easy for customers to identify purchasing options.
Thanks for listening to the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
Gardeners keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:27 — 27.9MB) | Embed
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Creating a Hydrangea Heaven
June is the month with blessings from several varieties of the Hydrangea shrub in the Kentucky garden and landscape! Hydrangeas are the number 2 most popular shrub planted in the home landscape. It grows in zones 3-9 and offers different shapes and colors of blooms for the landscape throughout the growing season. This plant is relatively pest free if planted in the correct place for bloom production.
Uses of Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas can be used in mass planting, border, and as an accent or specimen plant.
Types of Hydrangeas:
Smooth Hydrangea- Hydrangea arborescens
Oakleaf Hydrangea- Hydrangea quercifolia
Panicle Hydrangea- Hydrangea paniculata
Bigleaf Hydrangea- Hydrangea macrophylla
Watering
Hydrangea means “water lover” in Greek where “hydra” means water and “angeon” means “vessel”. After planting, water hydrangeas consistently throughout their first year. Even after establishment, hydrangeas will require 1 inch of water per week either by rainfall or irrigation. Additional water may be needed in a sunny or windy location. Make sure to give hydrangeas the proper location based on the type being grown and provide ample amounts of mulch to conserve soil moisture and keep roots cool.
How to Adjust Bigleaf Hydrangea Flower Color
For Bigleaf hydrangea also known as Hydrangea macrophylla, blooms can vary by color from true blue, deep purple, to pink according to the soil’s pH or the availability of aluminum in the soil. For example, in acid soils, aluminum is more available and leads to a blue bloom color. In basic or more alkaline soils, aluminum is found in less amounts and gives a pink bloom color.
Altering soil pH for hydrangea production can take up to 6 months and requires a basic soil test for complete accuracy. Based on soil test recommendations, add powdered or pelletized lime or sulfur in the fall for desired pink or blue blooms for the following summer.
Remontant Hydrangeas
Remontant hydrangeas also referred to as “repeat bloomers” are plants that flower more than once in a single growing season. Some top mophead remontant selections include ‘Blushing Bride’, Endless Summer ‘Bailmer’, ‘Decatur Blue’, and ‘Nantucket Blue’. “Twist-n-Shout’ is the only remontant lacecap type. The bigleaf hydrangea cultivars are more strongly remontant. Make sure to fertilize remontant hydrangeas to help support repeat blooming.
Pruning
In order to prune hydrangea, know the type you have and understand if it blooms on old or new wood.
“Old Wood” refers to previous year’s growth. Hydrangea cultivars with old wood formed the buds the year before.
“New Wood” refers to the current year’s growth. Hydrangea cultivars that bloom on new wood set their buds during the year in which they bloom.
When is the correct time to prune specific hydrangeas?
Smooth hydrangea blooms on the current year’s growth. For this type, prune back by early March, so plants have time to grow stems and form flower buds.
Oakleaf hydrangea– allow this type to grow in its natural form and prune as little as possible. Oakleaf hydrangea flowers are produced on old wood. If pruning is necessary, finish by the end of July to ensure that there is still time for next year’s flower buds to develop.
For panicle hydrangea, pruning isn’t needed. If you would like to create a neater and tidy appearance and help increase the size and number of blooms, cut the plants back hard to approximately two buds. The blooms will develop on new stems, so make sure that this pruning is performed once plants go dormant through early March. If you desire, panicle type hydrangeas can be trained to a tree form unlike other hydrangeas. Begin training at an early age and requires a stake to help support. To keep the tree form shape, remove branches that develop from the trunk several times throughout the year.
Once bigleaf hydrangea is mature, prune no more than one-third of the older branches to the base of the plant in early spring. Pruning will rejuvenate the plant without a large loss of flowers. To reduce size or for shaping, prune after blooms fade but no later than the end of July.
For more information about growing or caring for hydrangeas, please contact the Warren Co. Extension Office at (270) 842-1681.
Warren County Extension Office Operating Procedures
Several people may be wondering about how to submit samples to the Warren County Extension Office for soil, plant disease, weed, insect, and plant identification services. Read HERE to find out what is needed for each of these services.
How to Submit Soil Samples:
- Drop your collected soil sample in the drop box located in front of the Warren County Extension Office (WCEO) door entrance.
- Contact the office at (270) 842-1681 to give office staff general information related to your soil sample.
- Please pay with exact change or check which is $7.00 per soil sample.
- Results will be mailed to the client after agents review the soil tests. If you have any questions regarding your soil test recommendations, please contact the WCEO.
How to Submit Plant Disease Samples:
- If you suspect a possible plant disease, please submit a fresh plant sample along with 5 photos of the plant in its environment to the Warren County Extension Office.
- Samples may be dropped off at our location at 5162 Russellville Road and placed in the drop box which is located in front of the Warren County Extension Office entrance door.
- Pictures should show an overview of the planting or field, close-up photos of the parts affected (foliage, trunk, stem, etc.) as well as include general plant information (age of plant, when was the problem first noticed, what percentage is plants affected, and how the plant has been cared for such as watering, fertilizer application, and etc.)
- In the event that we need to mail off a plant sample, plant samples must be sent from Monday through Wednesday to ensure freshness.
- If you wish to make an appointment or have questions regarding your plant sample, please contact the Warren County Extension Office at (270) 842-1681 first.
Weed Identification Sample:
- Email photos of the weed to www.warrencountyextension.com/ and tell us where the weed is located such as garden, landscape, lawn, or agriculture field.
- A fresh weed sample may be needed if identification can’t be determined through email. Bring sample and place the sample along with client information in the drop box located in front of the WCEO entrance door.
- Contact the WCEO at (270) 842-1681 to notify our staff that you have a sample for identification.
- Please tell us the best way to reach you either via phone or email. Agents will get back to you as soon as possible.
Insect Identification:
- Email photos of the insect to www.warrencountyextension.com/ and tell us where the insect is located such as garden, home, landscape, lawn, or agriculture field.
- An insect sample may be needed if identification can’t be determined via email. Bring the insect sample along with client information to the Warren County Extension Office located at 5162 Russellville Road and leave in the drop box located in front of the entrance door.
- Contact the WCEO at (270) 842-1681 to let our staff know that you have a sample for identification.
- Please tell us the best way to reach you either via phone or email. Agents will get back to you as soon as possible.
Plant Identification:
- Drop a fresh plant sample at least 12 inches long or longer to the Warren County Extension Office located at 5162 Russellville Road along with client information and leave in the drop box located in front of the WCEO entrance door.
- Email photos of the plants to www.warrencountyextension.com/ and tell us where the plant is located such as garden, landscape, lawn, or agriculture field. It helps to have as much information on the plant as possible such as bloom color or shape, when the plant blooms, etc.
- Contact the WCEO at (270) 842-1681 to let our staff know that you have a sample for identification.
- Please tell us the best way to reach you either via phone or email. Agents will get back to you as soon as possible.
For questions on how to submit samples for identification, please contact the Warren County Extension Service at (270) 842-1681. Please note if you reside in another county to contact your local Extension office to see the best procedure for handling these services.
May Vegetable Gardening Tips
Home gardeners have finally gotten warm-season vegetable crops planted in their home vegetable gardens. Now, you may wonder, “What should I do next?” Today on episode 7 of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast, I am sharing 4 secrets on how to keep your garden looking attractive to finish strong for the month of May! Stay with me for more details right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast!
#1- Use Companion Planting Strategies.
Gardeners have planted several warm-season vegetables in the garden this month! They may have planted a nice mixture of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, and sweet corn. Alongside these vegetables, gardeners should consider planting culinary herbs since they serve as a great companion plant. Companion planting is defined as planting two or more crops near each other crops in the vegetable garden to gain benefits for the home gardener. It has been shown to maximize vegetable yields, improve pest management, increase nutrient uptake, and enhance pollination with some crops.
Planting herbs around vegetables invite beneficial organisms to the garden. Herbs like basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley attract beneficial insects to feed and find shelter to support various stages of predatory and parasitic insects. Lady beetles, lacewings, praying mantids, and spiders are among those organisms that are attracted to aromatic culinary herbs. Not only are companion plantings good for attracting beneficial insects, they also draw in native pollinators. Some examples of culinary herbs to make room for in the garden are basil and oregano. Basil is a good herb for planting around tomatoes and provides shelter for a number of beneficial insects such as lady beetles and lacewings. Oregano is the pizza herb to use for seasoning pizza dishes at home.
Another plant that comes to mind with companion planting is marigolds. Several gardeners plant this warm season flower every year in their garden to protect vegetables from harmful insects. Research has shown that the roots of marigolds produce biochemical that are poisonous to minute worm-like organisms that can cause damage to plants.
To discover other possibilities of companion plants to use in the home vegetable garden, make sure to see the show notes. I have included a table that lists crops that do well when planted next to each other in the home vegetable garden.
| Crop: | Companions: |
| Corn | Beans, Cucumbers, English Pea, Irish Potato, Pumpkin, Squash |
| Cucumber | Beans, Cabbage, Corn, English Pea, Radish, Sunflowers |
| Eggplant | Basil, Beans, Catnip, Lemon Grass, Marigold |
| Okra | Peppers, Squash, Sweet Potatoes |
| Pepper | Basil, Clover, Marjoram, Tomato |
| Squash | Nasturtium, Corn, Marigold |
| Sweet Potato | Okra, Peppers, Sunflowers |
| Tomato | Asparagus, Basil, Carrot, Cucumber, Marigold, Onions, Parsley, Rosemary |
Source: ATTRA publication on
Companion Planting & Botanical Pesticides: Concepts & Resources
#2- Provide vegetable plants with water after being planted.
It is important to provide plants with water after being planted in the ground. Carry out watering routines in the morning between the hours of 6am and 10am. This time frame allows plants plenty of time to dry off during the day. Avoid splashing the foliage with water to reduce foliar diseases.
While it may be expensive, drip irrigation is a convenient way to provide consistent soil moisture to plants. Water is targeted at the base of the plant which is then absorbed by the root system.
Here are critical times to water common vegetable crops in the home garden.
- Cucumber- flowering and fruit development
- Eggplant- uniform supply from flowering through harvest
- Melon- fruit set and early development
- Pepper- uniform supply from flowering through harvest
- Summer squash- bud development, flowering, and fruit development
- Sweet Corn- silking, tasseling, and ear development
- Tomato- uniform supply from flowering through harvest
#3- Apply fresh organic mulch.
Mulch can offer several benefits to the home gardener! It helps conserve soil moisture by creating a barrier between the soil and the air, controls weeds by blocking the sunlight, and is aesthetically pleasing and attractive to the garden.
Apply 2 to 4 inches of fresh mulch around plants to help conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds. If you desire an organic mulch, layers of newspaper or straw are good mulches to consider. These mulches will return nutrients into the ground after they have decomposed. Another option would be inorganic mulch like black plastic. This type of mulch will reduce weeds and encourage earlier planting for crops by 2 weeks.
#4- Side-dress vegetables at the correct time.
In order for vegetables to produce lush, continuous growth throughout the season, they require a uniform supply of nutrients. Gardeners should side-dress vegetable transplants at the correct time and at the recommended rate to give them an extra supply of nutrients needed for continuous growth throughout the season.
Here are the recommended times for side-dressing common vegetables in the home garden.
- Cucumber- apply 1 week after blossoming begins and Eggplant- after first fruit set
- Peppers- after first fruit set
- Squash- additional nitrogen might reduce yield or lower quality
- Sweet corn- when plants are 12 inches tall
- Tomatoes- apply 1 to 2 weeks before first picking and same amount 2 weeks after first picking
I hope that you found this information helpful today. If you would like additional information on other gardening tasks to perform this month, make sure to see the show notes on the blog at Warren County Agriculture to find the May Gardening Checklist that I have created. It lists other activities to do in and around the home garden. To view this checklist, visit me on the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have or make any additional comments on the blog.
As always, make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their gardening goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over their Kentucky garden. To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
Make sure to leave me a review on iTunes, so I can know what future gardening information to share with you each week. To help sweeten the deal, the first 10 subscribers to leave me a review on iTunes will receive a gardening prize.
Gardeners keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Resources:
Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, ID-128- http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:35 — 18.9MB) | Embed
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Top 10 Tomato Growing Tips
It is no wonder that tomatoes are the number one vegetable that every gardener makes room for in their vegetable garden! Tomatoes can be cultivated in different soil types and grown in many areas. The wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of tomatoes make it easy for gardeners to select their favorite variety based on taste. Today on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast, I am sharing 10 top tomato tips to give you better tasting tomatoes this season.
- Know your tomato type. Determinate type tomatoes, also called bush tomatoes, grow to a certain height and then stop. Generally they range in size from 2-3 feet in height. The fruits of determinate tomatoes also ripen all about the same time. For this reason, these tomatoes are ideal for gardeners who wish to can and preserve their tomatoes from the season. Determinate tomatoes work best for small gardens or even container gardens. These do not require support system or structure. Some examples of determinate type tomatoes include Mountain Spring, Mountain Pride, Patio, and Sunmaster. Indeterminate type tomatoes. This tomato type is also referred to as vining tomatoes. Vining type tomatoes keep growing and growing until they are killed by frost. Their mature heights can reach anywhere from 3 to 6+ feet. With that said, indeterminate tomatoes will require sturdy support system through caging, staking, or trellising. The fruit is also staggered throughout the growing season. Common examples of indeterminate tomatoes include Better Boy, Early Girl, Sungold, and Super Sweet 100. Semi-determinate plants. Plants are intermediate in size between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. These varieties produce fewer suckers than indeterminate varieties and reach a height of 3 to 5 feet. An example of a semi-determinate tomato variety is Celebrity. Dwarf indeterminate. This type is a new tomato classification where the tomatoes produce very short, bushy plants that are similar to determinate types, but keep flowering and producing fruit continuously like indeterminate tomato varieties. Some examples of dwarf indeterminate tomatoes are Husky Red Cherry and Husky Gold.
- Plant tomatoes in succession. It is easy to get carried away and plant all the tomatoes in the garden at once. Instead, stagger tomato plantings to help lengthen the season. Select an early maturing tomato for canning and preserving and then plant a mid-season tomato. The late maturing varieties are good to capture the last remaining harvests before fall frosts set in.
- Plant them deep and provide plenty of space. Set tomato transplants in the garden a little deeper than when it was growing in the container. The stems will form roots compared to other vegetables. If plants appear leggy, place the leggy tomato stem in a trench and place soil on top where the top part is pointed up. It is best to give plants plenty of space to grow and develop. For determinate type tomatoes, space them 24 to 36 inches between plants and 3 feet apart in rows. For indeterminate type tomatoes, space plants 36 inches apart with 4 to 5 feet in rows.
- Utilize a support system. Tomatoes will benefit from the use of a support system such as a cage, stakes, or even a trellis system. Using these support systems keeps fruit off the ground, which prevents fruit rotting and other harmful diseases. Staking tomatoes makes the job easier to care for them and helps aid in reducing fruit rots. Caging tomatoes gives the benefit of showing fewer cracks and sunburn on fruit. It also helps them ripen more uniformly and produces fewer cull fruits. Whatever the preferred method, gardeners need to implement the support system shortly after planting to avoid damaging the root system.
- Give them water. The best thing that you can do for tomatoes is to make sure to water them and water them consistently. I recommend watering early in the morning rather than later in the evening. A morning watering routine will allow plants to dry off during the day. If you water in the evening, plants stay moist and that can bring on more tomato diseases. When you water plants, target the stream of water directly at the root system so the root system can take up the water and transfer up the stem to the plant. Avoid hitting the foliage when watering to also help in decreasing tomato diseases. Deep, infrequent watering is strongly encouraged over light, frequent watering. This tip allows help promote a deeper root system for the plant.
- Mulch them. Apply 2 to 4 inches of mulch around tomato plants. Mulch conserves soil moisture, protects low growing tomatoes, and prevents water from splashing onto the foliage which spreads disease such as blight. It also helps to deter weeds from growing and it is also very attractive in the garden. Selecting an organic mulch such as leaves, straw, grass clippings, and even newspaper will return nutrients to the ground and help the soil structure after it decomposes. Lastly, mulch will also assist in reducing blossom end rot from occurring later in the season.
- Prune suckers. Indeterminate tomato varieties like cherry type tomatoes will benefit from removing suckers that grow below the first flower cluster. The sucker is a small plant that is located in the axil of each leaf of the tomato plant. It robs energy and nutrients from the tomato plant, so it is best to pinch it before it becomes too large.
- Side-dress them. Tomato plants benefit from additional fertilizer after the fruit has set. When first fruits reach golf ball size, scatter 1 TBS ammonium nitrate in a 6 to 10 inch circle around each plant. Water thoroughly and repeat every two weeks.
- Scout plants daily and perform health checks. Different insects and diseases can affect tomato plants throughout the growing season. Scout plants daily to determine if there are any plant pests. Look on the undersides of leaves for any aphid damage, watch for water soaked areas to form on the fruit from blossom end rot, and keep an eye on foliage for early signs of tomato blight. Blight starts at the bottom of the plant and eventually works its way up to the new growth of the plant. For questions on tomato pests, contact your local Extension Office in your area. They can help pinpoint the problem and help you come up with a solution.
- Enjoy the tastes of tomatoes! Tomato growers are often rewarded with more than enough tomatoes when they reach the harvest stage. Share the bounty with family, friends, and neighbors. I find that it is fun to try different tomatoes varieties to compare and explore their tastes. You can easily see which tomatoes that you want to add to your garden for next year!
Well, there you have it, Kristin’s top 10 tomato growing tips. With all these tips, I guarantee that you will be harvesting tomatoes quicker than you can say “BLT”! I hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast. If you would like additional information on growing tomatoes for the Kentucky garden, make sure to see the show notes for episode 6. I have posted the link to the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service publication for Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky. This is the gardening bible to help you learn more about gardening in Kentucky. To can find more information on tomatoes, turn to pages 42 and 43 in this publication. To view the show notes, visit the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have on the blog or make additional comments.
Make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their gardening goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over their Kentucky garden. To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
I would love it if you could leave me a review on iTunes, so I can know what future gardening information to share with you next time. To help sweeten the deal, the first 10 subscribers to leave me a review on iTunes will receive a gardening prize.
Gardeners, keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Resources:
Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, ID-128- http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:40 — 25.4MB) | Embed
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April Gardening Tips
Kentucky gardens are bursting with spring color this month! Flowering trees and shrubs are blooming beautifully in the home landscape, while various types of flowering bulbs are scattered throughout garden beds. April is chock full of gardening activities to perform! Outdoor temperatures are cool enough that it makes it an ideal time to work outside. Today on episode 5 of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast, I am sharing 4 quick tips of things to do right now in the garden for the month of April. Stay with me as I explain some of these much needed garden activities to help you get a jump start on the spring gardening season!
Soil Preparation
To rototill or not to rototill? That is the question. Excessive rototilling, year after year, can damage soil structure and reduce the benefits of organic matter. Beneficial soil health builders such as earthworms and soil microbes are also damaged by it.
If adding lime and fertilizers according to soil test recommendations, home gardeners will want to rototill the soil to a depth of eight to ten inches to prepare their garden for planting. Break up any clumps that may form during this process to help aerate the soil.
If garden soil has good tilth from previous compost or manure applications and lime or fertilizer is not needed, gardeners can skip rototilling. Instead, use a garden shovel to loosen the soil before planting. Later, use an iron garden rake for smoothing and leveling out garden soils in order to make a good seed bed for plants.
Remember to avoid working the soil when wet. The best test to see if the soil is too wet is to take a handful of soil and form it into a ball. If the soil crumbles readily after being pushed with your finger, the soil can be worked. On the other hand, if the soil does not break apart and stays in the ball form, the ground is too wet to be worked. Working wet ground leads to clods which make it difficult to loosen after being dried. Plus, clods greatly reduce the good seed to soil contact required for seeding germination of vegetable crops.
Cool Season Vegetables
Continue to plant cool season vegetables in the home vegetable garden. These plants like the cooler air temperatures of Kentucky and include plants such as spinach, lettuce, collards, turnip greens, onions, beets, broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, early potatoes, radish, and Swiss chard. Some plants do better when directly sown into the ground and thinned out after germination.
To have a continuous supply of vegetables, plant a succession of those crops every 2 weeks. For more information about home vegetable gardening in Kentucky, see the publication number ID-128 titled Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky. It has everything that you will want to know about growing home vegetables in Kentucky. To view the link to the guide, please see the show notes.
Plant a Spring Salad Bowl Garden
Try a new spin on growing salad greens this year—in a salad bowl! Choose a shallow container that contains several holes for drainage. Since this is a salad bowl garden, the container does not necessarily have to be round, but it does make for an interesting container. Window boxes and rectangular containers are also acceptable.
Next, select a good potting soil mix for growing lettuce greens in the container. Avoid potting mixes that contain lots of bark since this causes the pot to dry out quickly. A good potting soil mix will contain different soil less media components such as peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. Some potting mixes will have soil release fertilizers added in, but it is usually better to incorporate these fertilizers separately.
The fun part is deciding what plants to grow in your salad garden. Seeds can be started in your container, but it is easier to purchase transplants from a reputable garden center in your area. Several varieties of lettuce are available including arugula, romaine, spinach, and Swiss chard. Planting culinary herbs like cilantro, dill, and parsley will offer additional flavor as well.
Lastly, space transplants about three to four inches apart in your container. Make sure to locate your container in an area that receives at least six hours of sunlight and check every day for watering needs. A good rule of thumb is to perform the “finger test” where you feel around the soil with your fingers. If the soil feels dry, add water until it begins to run out the drainage holes in the bottom of the container.
Keep plants moist and well fertilized during the growing season. Harvest a month after planting by picking individual leaves from plants. If you enjoy growing lettuce for salads, make succession plantings two to three weeks apart to provide an adequate harvest.
Watch for Cabbage Maggot in the Garden
Be on the lookout for cabbage maggots, if you have newly transplanted cabbage in the garden. Cabbage maggots have white, legless bodies with a pointed head and a blunt rear. The pupae stage of this insect likes to overwinter in the soil where they enjoy feeding on small roots or tunnel into larger stems of plants. When the soil warms in the spring, adults emerge and then mate which leads to further egg laying of this insect.
Source: Dr. Ric Bessin, University of Kentucky Extension Entomologist
To control maggots, delay planting time if you know a long period of cool and wet spring weather is predicted. Cabbage planted during this time is placed at a greater risk for damage. Scout and closely evaluate around cabbage plants daily during favorable conditions. Young plants seem to be more easily damaged than established plants. Make improvements to make sure that the garden soil drains well. Raise the soil 4 to 6 inches like a bed and place plants directly into the raised garden area. Some gardeners may want to spend a little extra money by building a frame using wood boards or landscape timbers to support the soil around plants so they will not wash away after a heavy rain.
Practice Companion Planting Strategies for the Home Vegetable Garden
Utilizing companion planting strategies in the vegetable garden can give several advantages for the home gardener. In this practice, plant two or more plant species next to one another to gain benefits such as growth, pest control, or improved flavor. It has even shown to maximize vegetable yields.
Planting herbs around vegetables invite beneficial organisms to the garden. Herbs like basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley attract beneficial insects to feed and find shelter to support various stages of their predatory and parasitic insects. Lady beetles, lacewings, praying mantids, and spiders are among those organisms that are attracted to aromatic culinary herbs. Not only are companion plantings good at attracting beneficial organisms, but they also draw in pollinators. Bees really enjoy the blooms of basil, buckwheat, and clover.
If you are planting crops in the cabbage family, try planting other crops around it such as aromatic herbs, celery, beets, onions, spinach and Swiss chard. If you are planting lettuce, using crops like carrots and radishes. Remember that the key to success with companion planting is experimentation and observation in the garden. Write down those successes and failures in a garden journal to help remember that information to use for the next growing season.
Another plant that immediately comes to mind when talking about companion planting concept is marigolds. Several gardeners religiously plant this warm season annual flower every year for added diversity and to protect their vegetables from harmful insects. Research has shown that the roots of specific marigolds produce biochemicals that are poisonous to minute worm-like organisms that damage plants and reduce yields. This benefit is noticed after growing marigolds as a cover crop and turning them into the soil.
I hope that you found this information helpful today. If you would like additional information on other April gardening tasks to perform this month in the Kentucky garden, make sure to see the show notes. I have developed and compiled a checklist of garden activities to perform in and around the Kentucky garden for the month of April. Hopefully this guide will help you see the different jobs that are needed to be done now and get you a step ahead for future gardening tasks!
To view the show notes, visit me on the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have or make any additional comments on the blog.
Since April is National Gardening month, I would love to see what you are growing this year in your garden! To help showcase what you are growing this year in the garden, post a picture on Facebook and add the hashtag #sunshinegardening and #growinginWarrenCounty if you are a Warren County, KY resident. I would love to see how you are growing your garden this year! It doesn’t matter if it is vegetables, herbs, flowers, landscape trees or fruit trees. I want to see your garden plants!
Again, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their gardening goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over their Kentucky garden. To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
Make sure to leave me a review on iTunes, so I can know what future gardening information to share with you each week. To help sweeten the deal, the first 10 subscribers to leave me a review on iTunes will receive a gardening prize.
Keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Resources:
Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, ID-128- http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:50 — 18.2MB) | Embed
The Sunshine Gardening Podcast Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | TuneIn | Spotify | RSS | More
Do’s and Don’ts of Spring Lawn Care in Kentucky
Here is a quick list of do’s and don’ts for the Kentucky home lawn to use during the spring season. See the attached list below.
Do: Get your Mower Ready for the Season!
• Having your mower ready to go before the season starts will save you downtime during the growing season.
• Sharpen blade. Having sharp mower blades are very important to turf aesthetics and health.
Do: Apply a Pre-emergent Herbicide.
• Annual grassy weeds such as crabgrass and goosegrass begin to germinate in the spring. By applying a pre-emergent herbicide prior to germination, weed numbers can be drastically reduced and your lawn can have the chance to flourish without fighting weeds for space, nutrients, light, and water.
• In western Kentucky, a pre-emerge herbicide should be applied prior to around April 7. In central and eastern Kentucky, the spray before date is usually around April 15.
• A good indicator plant for knowing when to apply a pre-emergent herbicide is forsythia. Generally, a pre-emergent application should be applied before forsythia drops its blooms.
Do: Mow at Regular Height.
Because the grass grows at a high volume in the spring, it’s best to not let the height get too long before mowing. Ideally, never cut off more than 1/3 of the leaf in one mowing. For example, if you want to maintain your lawn at 3 inches, mow when the height reaches about 4.5 inches. Removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade results in a reduction in root growth.
• Mow at taller heights to reduce crabgrass populations without the
use of herbicides. Recommended heights for lawn grasses in Kentucky are:
Tall fescue- 3 inches or taller
Kentucky bluegrass- 2.5 inches or taller
Don’t: Apply Nitrogen.
• The vast majority of nitrogen fertilizer should be applied in the fall. Fall applications improve the health of the lawn and result in a greener lawn in the winter, less spring mowing, and less weeds, heat stress, need for water, and disease problems in summer.
• Nitrogen applied in spring and summer promotes growth of warm-season weeds such as crabgrass, goosegrass, and bermudagrass. Further, high amounts of nitrogen in spring and summer can result in increased damage from white grubs in the soil. Adult beetles are attracted to the lush lawns and high nitrogen levels restrict turf rooting which compounds the damage from the white grubs feeding on the turf roots.
Don’t: Apply Weed and Feed Products.
• Do not apply weed and feed products as we don’t want to be applying nitrogen to our cool-season lawns in the spring.
Don’t: Seed in the Spring.
• The best time of year to seed lawns is in the early fall. A spring planting has significant competition between seedlings and grassy weeds and the immature seedlings can struggle with summer heat and drought more.
For more information about home lawn care in Kentucky, please contact the Warren County Cooperative Extension Service at (270) 842-1681.
Source: Dr. Gregg Munshaw, UK Extension Turf Specialist
Hellebores- Lenten Rose
Flowers are like heaven to me. They brighten the darkest of days with their beauty and extensive variety of bloom shapes and colors. Today on episode 3 of the Sunshine Gardening podcast, I am sharing one of my favorite flowers for the garden! I guarantee after I am done talking about it, you will want this flower for your shade garden as well. Stay with me to find out the flower that I am referring to and learn the best growing tips to help it shine in your Kentucky garden.
Flower Characteristics
- The flower that I am covering today in episode 3 is Hellebore orientalis, is commonly referred to as Lenten Rose or Hellebores. While the rose family first comes to mind, this plant actually belongs to the Ranunculus or Buttercup Family.
- Helleborus xhybridus is a group of evergreen, late-winter or early-spring flowering perennials that are offered as ornamental plants for the garden.
- Blooms generally appear during Lent. Hence the name Lenten Rose. It is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring which earns it the name of “harbinger of spring”.
- Since the plant easily hybridizes, there is a wide variety of cultivars available in the marketplace. Colors include shades of pink, green, yellow, red, pure white, dark purple, and almost black. Other cultivars may have other interesting color patterns that are bicolor, speckled, spotted, and streaked with single or double forms. Some cultivars have picotee flowers where the color along the edge is darker.
- Lenten rose is hardy from zone 9 to zone 4. They will handle colder temperatures if some winter protection is provided.
- Lenten rose possess tough, almost woody stems. The leaves are described as being leathery, shiny and dark-green in color. They are palmate divided with 7-9 leaflets with coarsely cut leaf margins. These characteristics make it resistant to deer and rabbit feedings and the foliage will remain attractive all throughout the growing season.
- The flowers have an interesting growth habit. Flower buds form during the previous summer season. The flower spikes emerge from an underground rhizome in late winter.
- What we would call the petals are actually called sepals which is a modified calyx. There are 5 petal-like sepals that surround a ring of nectaries. The true petals are the nectaries that hold the nectar. Within the ring of petals are numerous stamens and pistils. After pollination occurs, the petals and stamens will then fall off leaving behind the sepals. They can remain on the plant for 1-2 months or sometimes even longer.
- Flowers reach about 1 to 3 inches wide and are described as being saucer like in appearance. The blooms are mostly downward facing.
How to Grow Lenten Rose in the Kentucky Garden
- Since hellebores are difficult to start from seed, it is best to purchase 2-3 year old plants. Position the plants in areas that receive partial to full shade.
- Plants will perform best when planted in moist, well-drained soil. They are sensitive to soggy soil, so make sure to provide good soil drainage. A good way to do this is to incorporate compost throughout the entire planting area prior to transplanting. They will also benefit from planting on a hillside, slope, or raised beds. It is noted that in these three areas it is easier to see the downward facing blooms.
- At first, hellebores are slow to establish. When they do reach maturity though, plants can reach 18 to 24 inches tall with a width of 24-30” inches. Mature plants can even have 50 or more flowers per plant.
- If planting multiple plants, space plants about 16 inches apart or more. Refer to the plant label to see recommendations on how far apart to space plants.
- Plants are self sowers so they put out a lot of seed. New seedlings will generally appear in the spring.
- Lenten roses are an outstanding plant for providing color and texture to the ornamental shade garden. Utilize them as a specimen plant where they are the star of the show, as a border plant, or even as a groundcover. They work great when planted in containers and in between deciduous shrubs and under trees or naturalized in woodland areas.
- If looking for companion plants to plant next to Lenten rose, consider other spring flowers such as snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) and wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa). Plants with contrasting foliage such as ferns and hostas would also work.
- No dividing is required like other perennials unless you want to acquire more plants. If yes, divide clumps in September or October. Water the plant a day or two before digging then work a shovel in a circle around the plant in order to dig it up. Wash off the soil around the plant and then divide it with a sharp knife between growth buds. Make sure to leave at least 3 buds on each division. Prepare the soil before planting and deeply since the plant has a deep root system. Position the crown where the stem joins the roots at soil level. Avoid covering plants with excess compost or mulch since this application can lead to rots.
Benefits of Planting Hellebores in the Kentucky Garden
Since flowers are actually sepals, they do not fall off of the plant quickly and can last up to 2 months or longer. They make a great cut flower. It is best to harvest stems when the stamens have fallen off and the flower feels papery and stiff. Cut them using a sharp pair of pruners and place them in a vase filled with clean water. Add floral preservative to the water to help extend the vase life. Since leaves contain alkaloids that can cause mild dermatitis with sensitive individuals, protect hands with gloves when cutting stems.
Once established, plants are relatively drought tolerant and considered low maintenance. Require little fertilization. A spring application of compost should be enough. The Perennial Plant Association voted it “Perennial Plant of the Year” in 2005. Plus, deer and rabbit won’t bother them due to the thick rough leaves.
I truly believe that Lenten Rose will make a great perennial flower for the Kentucky garden and work hard for the Kentucky gardener. Its wide variety of colorful blooms and shapes, easy growth habit, and low maintenance care make it a win win for gardeners to plant in their shade garden.
If you would like additional information on how to add Lenten rose in your garden or landscape, make sure to see the show notes. I have included some pictures of different varieties of Lenten rose found at Mammoth Cave Transplants. The wide variety of colors and blooms are breathe taking, so I invite you to check them out. Find the show notes on the blog at Warren County Agriculture.
That’s all the information for today. Hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! To see the show notes for Episode 3 and additional resources mentioned from today’s show, please follow me on the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have or any additional comments on the blog or contact me directly via email at kristin.goodin@uky.edu. Leave me a review on iTunes so I can know what information to bring to you each week. To sweeten the deal, the first 10 subscribers to leave me a review on iTunes will earn a gardening prize.
Make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their gardening goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over your Kentucky garden. To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
Keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Resources:
Kowalski, J. (2016, March 7). Heavenly Hellebores. The Ohio State University. Retrieved from https://bygl.osu.edu/node/99.
Mahr, S. (2018, March 23). Lenten Rose, Helleborus xhybridus. Wisconsin Master Gardener website. Retrieved from https://wimastergardener.org/article/lenten-rose-helleborus-xhybridus/
Perry, Dr. L. (n.d.). Hellebore: The Lenten Rose. University of Vermont Department of Plant and Soil Science. Retrieved from https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/hellebore.html
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March Gardening Tips
Getting the garden ready for the season can feel like such a daunting task. At this point, the lawn may be looking shabby and appears that it needs a good hair cut to knock down some weeds. Weeds may be eyeing you each time that you walk past the landscape and flower beds. The vegetable garden needs some attention too! If you already feel defeated, I have got just the solution for you! In episode 2 of the Sunshine Gardening podcast, I am sharing my top 3 spring gardening chores to help you finish strong for the month of March. Once you have completed these chores, I bet that the other tasks will seem less daunting to you. Stay with me as we march into those spring gardening chores!
Soil is the basic foundation block for gardening. All plants require essential nutrients to grow and this process is done by supplying nutrients through the root system which is then anchored into the soil. In Kentucky, soils are often times less than ideal with lots of red clay content which makes it difficult for soil drainage and nutrients to reach the plants root system. To help alleviate this issue, gardeners must first build good soil.
The first step to obtaining good soil is through the use of a soil test. Soil testing is one of the best practices to perform annually for your garden because there is simply no guesswork involved. A standard soil test will determine the current fertility status of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), pH, and cation exchange capacity. Soil test recommendations will also reveal lime and fertilizer rates to apply which makes it extremely cost effective for home gardeners and even commercial horticulture producers. Most vegetable gardens perform best under slightly acid conditions with a pH range of about 6.2 to 6.8.
When taking a soil sample for a home vegetable garden plot, take soil samples 6 to 8 inches deep. Next, collect 12 to 15 core samples using either a soil probe, spade, or trowel at the recommended depth. Make sure to take samples at random by scattering to different locations in the area to ensure a well, represented sample. After collecting samples, mix all the cores together in a clean bucket. Allow the sample to air-dry on newspaper for a day and bring contents in a bag to the Extension Office. Soil test samples generally take a minimum of a week to two weeks maximum to get back. Extension agents will review the soil test results, highlight the recommendations and sign it before returning to the client in the mail.
If you are sampling other areas around your home, contact the local Extension Office in your area. They will be happy to walk you through the proper steps in soil sampling different horticulture crops.
The spring season is the perfect time for breaking ground. Sometimes though, the spring weather can be a wet one. Wait to work the ground until the soil has dried. Working ground when wet hurts the overall soil structure by forming clods that are difficult to break apart. Some gardeners may want to consider planting their spring vegetable transplants in raised bed gardens since they warm up faster and dry out quicker in comparison to conventional gardening plots.
The best indicator in knowing when to break ground is when soil is moist and crumbles readily when formed into a ball. Loosen the soil to a depth of 10 to 12 inches with a spade or rototiller. Pulverize any clods that may work their way to the top, since large dirt clods can cause poor seed germination. Spread compost out and lightly work it into the soil.
Incorporating Organic Matter
Another secret to achieving good garden soil is by incorporating organic matter. Adding the right ingredients of organic matter will improve soil structure and take care of several issues. It helps to loosen and improve soil drainage of heavy clay soils and increases both the nutrient and moisture holding capacities. Organic matter also favors a buildup of beneficial organisms such as natural bacteria and fungi needed to help break down the materials.
Types of organic matter include composted leaf mold, grass clippings, manure, newspaper, and pine bark humus. When using manure, avoid applying fresh manure in the spring, since the high nitrogen content can injure plant roots. Aged or composted manure can be applied in the garden at any time, spring or fall.
Planting Cool Season Vegetables
Cool season vegetables are the crops that thrive in the cooler temperatures of Kentucky’s spring gardening season. These plants grow best with relatively cool air temperatures between 50 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and are raised either for their leaves, stems, or flower buds. If you have produced transplants indoors, remember to “harden off” vegetable transplants two weeks before planting outdoors by gently exposing them to the outside temperatures. To do so, take your transplants outside in the day time and bring them in at night. If you want to learn more about hardening off, check out episode 1 on starting seeds indoors.
Early bird gardeners can move their cool season vegetable transplants out into the home vegetable garden beginning in March. March 25th happens to signal the time for planting cabbage, lettuce (leaf), Bibb lettuce (plants), head lettuce (plants), and onion (plants) outside. To know when to plant other future cool season vegetables crops in Kentucky, check out the Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky publication #ID-128. For a link to this guide, please see our show notes.
Photo Source: Mammoth Cave Transplants
To avoid transplant shock and wilting, first soak the roots thoroughly an hour or two prior to transplanting in the ground and choose a shady day in late afternoon or early evening. Next, dig a hole that is large enough for the root system to spread out evenly and establish itself. Handle the plants carefully and set the plants to the lowest leaf at the recommended spacing for that specific vegetable being grown. This information can be found on the plant label or seed tag where you purchased plants. In each planting hole, pour 1 cup of starter solution such as a 20-20-20 analysis at the rate of 2 tablespoons per gallon of water around the plants. If you desire an organic source, fish emulsion is a recommended organic fertilizer starter solution.
Lastly, place more soil around each plant and press the soil firmly with your hands around the roots to get rid of any air pockets. After setting out the cool season vegetables, it is a good idea to check plants daily for moisture or insect pressure.
Getting the Mower Ready!
Before firing up the mower, spend some time to make sure that your mower is running in tip-top shape for the spring. Change the oil and air filter to help improve engine performance. This step can also help save on fuel and reduce emissions into the air. Refer to the owner’s manual if you have any questions. It is especially important to check the mower blades. If lawn mower blades are not sharp, dull blades can cause the engine to work harder since it takes more energy for the blade to run through the grass. Dull mower blades can also damage grass leaves which results in a ragged lawn appearance and can increase turf diseases. Depending on how often you mow, blades should be sharpened at least a couple of times each year. If this is not something that you feel comfortable in doing, take to a mechanic shop to have sharpened.
Lowering the Mowing Height in the Spring
Grass starts to grow again in the spring when temperatures start to increase. There may be an accumulation of dead grass leaves throughout the lawn that will encourage the soil temperature to stay cool. By removing this dead grass with lower the mowing height, sunlight can reach the soil surface better and promote the grass to grow earlier. Shorter mowing heights in spring may also help improve the density of the grass, which helps it have a better defense system for fighting annual grassy weeds like crabgrass. Remember to gradually lower the mowing height since a quick reduction in the turf canopy can cause an increase of crabgrass to germinate.
Applying pre-emergent herbicide to help control crabgrass and goosegrass
- Annual grassy weeds such as crabgrass and goosegrass begin to germinate in the spring. By applying a pre-emergent herbicide prior to germination, weed numbers can be drastically reduced and your lawn can have the chance to flourish without fighting weeds for space, nutrients, light, and water.
- In western Kentucky, a pre-emergent herbicide should be applied prior to around April 7. In central and eastern Kentucky, the spray before date is usually around April 15.
- A good indicator plant for knowing when to apply a pre-emergent herbicide is forsythia. Generally, a pre-emergent application should be applied before forsythia drops its blooms.
Forsythia shrub in bloom during the spring. I hope that you can focus on other gardening tasks better now that I have covered areas like the soil, how to prepare the soil for planting, what vegetable plants are best for planting now, how to get the mower ready for the season, and other chores needed to help the spring lawn.
If you would like additional information on other tasks to perform for March, make sure to see the show notes. I have developed and compiled a checklist of garden activities to perform in and around the Kentucky garden for the month of March. Hopefully this guide will help you see the different jobs that are needed to be done now and get you a step ahead for future gardening tasks!
Contact the Extension Office for a copy of this guide.
Hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! To see the show notes for Episode 2 and additional resources mentioned from today’s show, please follow me on the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have or any additional comments on the blog or contact me directly via email at kristin.goodin@uky.edu. Leave me a review on iTunes so I can know what information to bring to you each week. To sweeten the deal, the first 10 subscribers to leave me a review on iTunes will earn a gardening prize.
Make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their gardening goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over your Kentucky garden. To stay up to date on all the latest episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.
Keep digging into gardening and remember to add a little sunshine!
Helpful Resources:
- Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf
- Weed Control for Kentucky Home Lawns, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/AGR/AGR208/AGR208.pdf
- Video for knowing how to sharpen lawn mower blades, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMy1j9NR89o&list=UUMFY6zEWe6uJEYakzOofhIg
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Starting Seeds Indoors
Have you ever started seeds at home? What was the outcome? Were the seedlings leggy and stretched? Did the seedlings die?
If these are some experiences that you have had, no more! Today, on episode 1 of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast, I will share secrets to growing seeds indoors successfully. This information will make the difference and I assure that you will have healthier plants to transplant later into the garden. Stay with me to hear what secrets I have for starting seeds indoors for the Kentucky garden.
The joys of starting seeds
Starting seeds indoors can be such a rewarding experience for many gardeners! The thought of planting small seeds in the soil, watching them emerge each day, handling the tiny seedlings, and seeing them develop into young plants just warms my soul! Then, when the time is conducive for planting outdoors, gardeners can transplant their seedlings into the ground to watch it grow and mature further into an adult plant. This process from seed to plant is pure satisfaction and gratification for avid home gardeners!
Home gardeners are able to grow new, improved, and unusual plant varieties that they might not find available at local garden centers or nurseries. For instance, if you can’t find an heirloom tomato variety called ‘Hillbilly Potato Leaf Tomato’, get seed from another grower and grow it yourself. Gardeners can be the best source for heirloom varieties. Another added benefit with starting seeds at home is that gardeners reduce the amount of time required between planting and harvesting of at least 4 to 8 weeks. This my friends is music to my ears!
What to know ahead of time?
While starting seeds indoors is fun, it does require time and patience from gardeners. Regular monitoring of transplants is essential. Check seedlings daily for water and to see if any additional fertilizer is needed. Growing seeds at home will require equipment such as grow lights, maybe a plant stand if growing several different plants, trays to support the developing plants, and possibly a timer system. Cost of this equipment be based on your needs, so make sure to budget for them.
List of materials for starting seeds indoors
1. Seed
- Find a reputable source for seed. Companies that are reputable will stand behind their product and replace seed if there is a problem.
- Make sure seed varieties are locally adapted to the area.
- For recommendations on vegetables, check out ID-133. It lists vegetable cultivars that are suitable for Kentucky.
- Seeds sold in packages should display the crop, cultivar, germination, percentage, and chemical seed treatments, if any.
- Make sure to pay close attention to the sell by date.
- Inspect the seed before starting.
- Buy new seed since some seeds over a year old will not germinate (sprout) well.
2. Artificial Lighting
A lot of gardeners that I talk to one on one at the Extension Office mention to me that they start their seeds in the windowsill. In other areas of the United States, this area may be fine, but for Kentucky, we get poor results when starting seeds in the windowsill. Seedlings turn out leggy and stretched where they are trying to reach the light.
- Options may be to use cool white fluorescent lamps alone, use a mixture of cool white and warm white fluorescent lamps, or a mixture of cool white and plant growth fluorescent lamps. All of these options are acceptable.
- Position the lamps 5 to 10 inches above the foliage.
- Operate them 12 to 18 hours/day. It might be a good idea to purchase a timer that will allow the lights to come on and off automatically.
- Keep seedlings cool enough about 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit for strong, sturdy growth after germination occurs.
3. Soil Media Mix
A desirable soil medium for starting seed should be loose, well-drained and fine-textured. It should not contain any disease causing organisms or significant amounts of fertilizer. Prepared media possessing these traits are available commercially, or component material can be purchased individually and mixed at home.
Soilless mixes are inert mixes containing no soil that are available for starting seeds. They are usually composed of a combination of peat moss and vermiculite or perlite. These can be purchased ready-made or can be mixed at home. Note that if using these mixes, they have little fertility, so seedlings must be watered with a diluted fertilizer solution.
4. Containers
Containers for starting seeds should be sterile and free from harmful chemicals. Previously used containers should be sterilized before use. Wash plastic or wooden containers thoroughly with soapy water to remove all debris. Then rinse containers by dipping them in a solution of one part chlorine bleach to nine parts water, and allow them to dry before filling with germination medium. Containers should also be sturdy and fit into the space available for growing plants in the home.
Plastic trays, fiber trays, or wooden flats
- Plants that are easy to transplant may be seeded directly into trays or flats for later transplanting into individual packs or pots, or wider spacing in flats.
- Starting seed in such containers saves space when compared with seeding directly into individual pots.
Peat pots
- Biodegradable pots made from peat or paper waste fibers can be purchased individually or in strips or blocks.
- They are porous and provide excellent drainage and air circulation to the root zone.
- The entire pot can be planted.
Compressed peat pellets
- Before hydration, peat pellets are about the size of a silver dollar but somewhat thicker.
- When placed in water, they swell to form a cylindrical netlike container filled with peat moss, ready for seeding or transplanting.
- Plant them directly into the garden.
Proper Planting Techniques
Step 1: Moisten the germination media. Fill the container to within ¾ inch of the top with the medium. Use a clean, small board to level the germination media and gently tap the container on a table or hard surface to remove any air bubbles.
Step 2: If seeding in a tray or flat, use a ruler or even a large wooden plant label to make shallow rows 1 to 2 inches apart. If using only one variety of seed, scatter or “broadcast” the seed evenly over the soil surface. Now, if using different seeds in the same tray, make sure to label the rows with a plant label marked with the name of the cultivar.
Step 3: Sow the seeds uniformly and thinly in the rows. For many small round seeds, drop them slowly in the rows by tapping the seed package over the row. Again, use a plant label for each row to distinguish the plant type, variety, and date of planting.
Step 4: For large-seeded vegetables such as cucumber, cantaloupe, and watermelon, plant directly into containers such as peat pots. Other seeds may also be handled this way to save the gardener on transplanting.
Step 5: Next, cover seeds with dry vermiculite or milled sphagnum moss. The depth of covering depends on the size of the seeds. Most fine seeds, like lettuce and petunia, need light to germinate and should not be covered. As a general rule, seeds other than especially fine seeds should be covered to a depth of 2 times their diameter.
Step 6: Moisten the surface of the media with a fine mist. You can do this with a spray bottle of water.
Step 7: Place the seeded container in a warm location under grow lights for germination. Generally, a range from 65 to 75 degrees F is best.
Step 8: Inspect daily for germination. Seeds are quickly killed if allowed to dry during germination. Watch closely for development of any disease and, if evident, take control measure promptly.
Other successful tips
- Moisture
- Good humidity and adequate water are necessary for producing good plants. Adequate watering implies keeping growing medium moist at all times but never soggy. Allow some drying between watering, but don’t allow seedlings to wilt at any time.
- Fertilization
- Seedlings will need some fertilization for best development. It is best to use a soluble houseplant fertilizer that is sold in garden centers, nurseries or plant supply sections of department stores.
- Apply fertilizer at about half the recommended strength a few days after seedlings have germinated. After that, fertilize according to the recommendations listed on the fertilizer label. Water and fertilize carefully.
- Thin out other seedlings to make more room in the plant row.
- Hardening-off
- The process of hardening-off involves exposing transplants to cooler temperatures and giving them less fertilizer and water to “toughen” them.
- Begin the hardening off process about two weeks before planting in the garden. If possible, move plants to a shady, outdoor location with cooler temperatures. A cold frame is excellent spot for this purpose.
- When plants are first put outdoors, keep them in the shade, but gradually move them into sunlight for short periods each day, gradually increasing the length of exposure.
- Don’t put tender seedlings outdoors on windy days or when temperatures are below 45 degrees F. Reduce the frequency of watering to slow growth, but don’t allow plants to wilt.
- After proper hardening, plant transplants outdoors and light frosts will not damage them.
By having the right materials and following the proper steps to growing seeds at home, gardeners can be more successful when starting seeds indoors. If you would like more information on starting seeds indoors, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of the Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky publication also known as ID-128. This resource is great for learning more about home vegetable gardening in Kentucky from asparagus all the way to watermelon. For a link to this guide, make sure to see the show notes.
Hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! To see the show notes for Episode 1 and additional resources mentioned from today’s show, please follow me on the blog at Warren County Agriculture, https://warrencountyagriculture.com/. Feel free to leave any questions that you might have or any additional comments.
Make sure to tune in with me for more gardening information each week right here on the Sunshine Gardening Podcast! To be notified of other future episodes, hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts to stay up to date on all the latest episodes. Each week, I plan to share seasonal gardening tips and tricks to help gardeners reach their goals and to help the sun shine a little brighter over their Kentucky garden.
Happy Gardening!
Helpful Resources:
ID-133, Vegetable Cultivars for Kentucky Gardens 2013, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id133/id133.pdf
ID- 128, Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf
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