Vegetables Used to Not Be Cool

You know that (old) country song by Barbara Mandrell, 'I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool'?  Well, in a much less vocal way, I feel much the same way about vegetable growing.

Eggplant, look at those dark stems!

As a student at the University of Kentucky in 1994, I found that very few of my fellow students were into vegetables, and I mean very few.  There was me and this one other guy.  That's it.  But that's exactly where I wanted to be!   Most students knew at that time more money could be had in knowing about turf or landscaping.  And I'll bet they are making more money than me.

I've always loved vegetables and the notion that feeding yourself is important. And everyone seems to have finally caught up with me 20 years later (I understand I am not the only one, but sometimes you feel like you are).  The latest issue of Horticulture magazine is all about Edible Gardening.  This is a magazine I get because of its ornamental slant (Organic Gardening mag -- you have been there the whole time!).  But this issue is saying feeding yourself is now somehow hot. I just hope it is not a fad.

It has been pure delight over the last 5 years or so to see examples of this all over the place:

•  The White House vegetable garden
• Pulaski Co Children's Garden (this is a link to the Children's Library Facebook page)
• Edible landscaping websites all over the place
• School vegetable gardens
• Blogs everywhere

Eggplant flower

My Square Foot Gardening class even sold out earlier this month and we had people on the waiting list.  That would not have happened 10 years ago.  I absolutely love it.

Welcome to my vegetable world, everyone!  Good to see you here!

Redbud Bloom Over the Years

Here are various pictures and dates of redbuds in bloom over the years either at the Children's Garden at the Pulaski Co Library or at the Pulaski Co Extension Office.

3/20/12

4/11/11

4/10/10

4/14/09

4/11/08

3/28/07 -- Easter freeze came and killed everything 4/5/07

3/28/07

These pictures chronicle our 'normal' bloom time over the last 5 years.  Or maybe late March is the new normal.  We are very, very likely to have a killing frost over the next 4 to 5 weeks.  Just keep that in mind as you are planning and planting your garden.

Be prepared to cover tender plants.  Strawberries are blooming.  There will be strawberries in April at the rate we're going.  Brambles have broken bud.  Any freeze will knock out berries for this year.  Peaches are beginning to bloom and apples aren't that far behind.

I'm not sure what I will do if there are no Kentucky peaches this year....I can eat my weight in them!

Turf Short Course Part 2

Dr Tim Phillips presented a talk on roses at the Turf Short Course during the landscape track.  Dr Phillips is a fescue breeder at UK, but his sideline is roses.  He's in charge of the rose garden at the UK Arboretum.  Here are some tidbits from that talk:

• There are over 1700 varieties of roses at the Arboretum
• Knockouts came on the scene in 1999
• AARS (All America Rose Selections) have conducted no-spray trials for a number of years, winners have had no fungicides or insecticides sprayed.  Here are some of the winners:
• Carefree Spirit
• Carefree Celebration
• Secret's Out!
• Pink Flamingo
• Adobe Sunrise
• Citrus Burst
• Sunshine Daydream
• Francis Meilland
• All A Flutter
• Cheap roses from box stores -- 80% of the time they are mislabeled or have rose mosaic virus
• Roses do much better in the sun, minimal amount if 4 hrs sun each day for OK flowering
• 8 hours of sun per day -- you get twice as many roses than at 4
• 12 hrs of sun per day -- get more flowers but individual flowers don't last as long, may bleach out color
• If planting bare-root roses, do not skip this step -- soak roots for 24 hours before planting
• Don't prune weak plants as hard as you might robust plants
• Climbers should be pruned after they are done flowering, usually around late June
• Roses do not like wilting at all
• After a couple of freezes (<25F), trim roses back to 2-4' tall
• Rose rosette is becoming a huge problem.  Be on the lookout and prune out early, otherwise it will become systemic and you must remove the entire plant

Turf Short Course

I attended one day of the Turf Short Course in Louisville yesterday.  As it turned out, I went to sessions on Landscapes, but came away with some very interesting info.

Steve Higgins presented on water quality and how what landscape professionals do affects our water supply:

• We all live downstream.
• KY has over 7000 impaired streams (2010)
• Test your soil, don't guess.  Only put down the nutrients that are deficient.  Over fertilizing with phosphorus and nitrogen are huge problems, creating dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Landowners with streams or creeks or ponds -- establish no mow areas around them.  Mowing close to water's edge destabilizes the soil and allows tons of sediment erosion.  For ponds, this leads to a dying or fast-aging pond.
• He argues that in subdivisions, just about all areas (even grassy areas) are impervious to water.  Compaction of soil during construction is a huge issue.  Also, contractors regularly bury construction debris.  
• To reduce runoff, the UK Hospital has created a rooftop garden, very cool.
• Buy only the pesticides you need.  If your pesticide storage areas are overflowing, get rid of unused or old pesticides by calling the KY Dept of Agriculture's Pesticide Division.

Lynn Rushing presented a wonderful presentation on ponds:

• Ponds go through natural cycles each year.
• Ponds, especially those near subdivisions, are the trash cans for the entire area -- pesticide and fertilizer runoff all collects in ponds.  Sediments collect there as well.
• Healthy pond has good digestion of organic matter -- each year, 1 to 5" of muck accumulate if the pond is not digesting well.
• Ponds should not be swimming pools -- it's an ecosystem unto itself.  Many life forms share the space and we must respect them all.
• Algae are very common problems in ponds when the ecosystem is out of balance.  If you use a herbicide to kill 100% of the algae all at once, you will get a fish kill.
• To manage algae, dredging helps, but only one part of the solution
• To manage algae, bottom aeration is a great help because it's basically constant dredging.
• Ponds die every 12 years or so.
• Canada geese are terrible pests -- one goose can produce 1200# of poop each year, 8 produce as much as a cow.
• Mallard ducks are wonderful additions to ponds because they eat algae and pond weeds, plus their poop actually inhibits algal growth!  Amazing.
• Aeration is key, bottom aeration is best, fountains are just for show.  Oxygenating the pond prevents anaerobic digestion and bad odors.  They should even during the winter.
• Grass carp eat crass, not algae or pond weeds that indicate a healthy pond -- they actually can increase algae growth
• If you see blue or black lumpy globs of algae, these could be TOXIC.  Cows, horses, dogs can be killed.

Hope you find this as interesting as I do.  Good conference.

You Can't Stop an Early Spring

You know, I'm the first person who would like to see spring come early.  However, during the winter, if it's going to be cold, I like it to stay cold.

There is plenty of evidence of plants resuming growth during this stint of temperatures in the 50s.  Take a look at our daffs. 

Feb 1, 2012

Last year, our daffodils here at the office weren't at this stage until March 1.  A whole dang month.

March 1, 2011

In 2010, daffodils were at the stage they're at right now on March 9.  More than a dang month.

March 9, 2010

Even fennel is putting out new growth.

Fennel emerging Feb 1, 2012

Freezing temperatures are far from over.  I'm discouraged, especially for fruit growers.  Apple, pear, and peach buds are beginning to swell, making them less hardy.  Blackberries and raspberries will also start growing.  When flower buds are killed, fruit crops are gone.  Let's hope we get back to normal temperatures and stay there.  Or the flip side would be to stay warm -- I like that a little better!

Beginning Beekeeping Program

A Beginning Beekeeping school will be held in Pulaski County starting February 14 at 6pm.  Three other sessions will be held:  Feb 21, Feb 28, and March 13.  All begin at 6pm, all at the Pulaski County Extension Service office.  Fee for the program is $20.

Beekeeping in this day and age is not like your father's or your grandfather's beekeeping.  We have many pests and diseases of which some are relatively new.  As much as I used to think that honeybees should be left to do what honeybees do, I am beginning to become a convert.

Now, it is not my style to micro-manage the bees. I tend to let the bees be bees.  However, from the discussions I hear around the table at our beekeeping association meetings, you must be more proactive than reactive.  Dispensing some sort of pesticide for varroa mites is part and parcel of beekeeping in the 21st century.  So is feeding them to get them through the winter.

I'm sure, if I were a good beekeeper, there are many other jobs I should be doing in my hives.  But for now, I'm just a mediocre beekeeper.

Here is the best part about keeping bees!!!  Taking them to classrooms.  Bees make you cool, you feel like a rock star in those elementary schools.

Come to our beginning bee school starting February 14 and you too, can become a bee rock star!

Info from the KY Fruit and Vegetable Conference

I go to the Kentucky Fruit & Vegetable Conference every single year.  It is THE meeting for KY growers of fruits, vegetables, organics, grapes, and wine.  Over the years, I have seen such a shift, in a good way, in regards to participant age.

I was usually considered one of the younger participants.  Of course, every year I go adds a year to my life, but as a 44 year old, I am now one of the older ones.  This is SO GREAT!  I see more and more younger people at these meetings and it encourages me, it should encourage all of us.

So, new info that might be of interest follows:

• For decreasing soil pH (this was in the blueberry talk), Sulforix is now on the market.  You use much less Sulforix per acre than you would elemental sulfur to get the same desired effect.
• If you think you might try to find some grant funding for what you're doing, your first stop should be the Kentucky Agribusiness Grant Facilitation Program.  Great info here!
• For those of you who want to process food, the Kentucky Food Systems Innovation Center is worth looking at. They hold Better Process Schools and other pertinent trainings for food entrepreneurs.
• School tours at your fruit or vegetable farm can make good business sense.  Go to Kentucky Farms Are Fun website to get resources.  Ever hear of motor coach tours?  They're looking for interesting stops all the time!
• Sweet corn growers now have Roundup Ready and Bt sweet corns.  By using these corn varieties, they can decrease their pesticide use by up to 85%.
• I was amazed (and dumbfounded) by a blackberry training system called Rotatable Cross Arm Trellis.  If the yields they reported were correct, we all should be growing blackberries this way.  Incredible. I'm sure UK will have some local yields to report in the future.
• Lastly, but certainly not least, NRCS is now funding high tunnels in Pulaski Co.  We were one of the last counties in KY to get this funding.  Contact your local NRCS for more details. First application deadline is February 3, 2012!!