Manure Use on Home Gardens -- Watch Out!

Manures can be a great way to add organic matter to a home garden.  I'm for it.  However, be mindful of a few things:

1. Cow manures that are not well-composted should be used sparingly on gardens where crops like potatoes or onions will be grown.  E. coli is the big deal, and it is a very big deal.
2. Adding too much of a good thing can be bad.  Manure is a great source of nitrogen.  If the manure is still 'hot' -- not well composted -- you will grow a lot of plant but not many fruit or melons or whatever it is you are growing in your garden.
3. Lastly, herbicide carryover in manures is a reality.  Some farmers manage their hayfields with herbicides.  Cows eat the hay.  Cows poop.  You gather tht poop up to spread on your garden.  Bad things can happen.  Take a look at this great publication from NCSU. 

I know this may not be the most interesting subject, but be wise when using manures on your home garden!

2011 Gardener's Toolbox Classes

Are you ready for 2011 Gardener's Toolbox Classes?  Well, here they are!

Bill Best will be teaching the class on Heirloom Vegetables.
UK Meteorologist Tom Priddy will teach the Weather class.
Tom Barnes, UK Extension Specialist in Forestry and well-known author, will be teaching the class on Photography in the Garden.

All classes are $5 except for the class on making cheese.  It will be $20 to $25.  Pre-payment is very much appreciated as is pre-registration in general.  This makes my life easier.

Hope to see you at some of the classes!

Atlanta Botanical Garden

This past weekend I had a very quick tromp through the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We left the truck at 3:30pm and I promised my kiddos that we'd be back in the truck by 4:30. Well, I was an hour off. We had to hurry through so I just got glimpses of things, but you can find a few pictures on the Pulaski County Horticulture Facebook page.

Gnome Management in the Garden

Fall Images from the Extension Office Gardens

Redosier dogwood (red-twig dogwood)

Carolina sweetshrub

Nikko Blue hydrangea on left, Annabelle on right

American beautyberry

American beautyberry fruit


Asian species of beautyberry, fruits are much more prominent than the American!

Trifoliate orange

Look at what got brought in the office this morning!



Is this cool or what? I was stumped. This was in the edge of the woods, not generally where I think citrus would be located. But anyway, this is a trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata).

I tasted the pulp. Boy, was it sour. Don't try that at home.

Skunked

Our dog Lily, once again, has given me an experience I never wanted.

I've had to call the emergency vet number at least 3 times with her. And she's not a bad dog at all. She just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This weekend, we stayed overnight in Paris, KY at my parents' house. We came back in the house around 10pm after watching a soccer game and let out the dogs. I heard a lot of commotion, knew something was up, and then I smelled it. That lovely smell of skunk.

Lily finally came back in the house and immediately knew she stunk of skunk. She didn't get a full-blown attack, but she definitely went through the bushes where the skunk had just let loose.

We gave her a bath of tomato juice, which totally grossed me out. Almost more than the skunk smell. We did it twice and she seemed to smell better.

My mom looked on the internet and found a different concoction to try. Turns out it worked pretty good. It was a mixture of vinegar, baking soda, and dish detergent.

After a couple of wash downs with that, we were all worn out, especially Lily. We half dried her off and she smelled pretty good. She may have a hint of that smell left on her but it's mostly gone. Incredible.