tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236Sun, 19 May 2013 06:30:49 +0000weatherforeststurffloodingornamentalspondsdiseasesproduceoddballfruitsfarmers marketweedswormsmushroomsbirdswinternative plantsagritourisminsectsmaster gardenerraised bedsornamentalbeescontainersgreenwater qualityfruit treestreeswoody plantsvegetablestropicalssustainableflowerspruningpesticidesherbsshrubsroseswildlifePulaski County Kentucky's home gardening blog!http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Beth)Blogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-2556615420399494733Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:30:00 +00002013-01-18T08:30:01.664-05:00oddballornamentalsnative plantswoody plantstreesThis is not a post about doing germination tests on your old flower or vegetable seeds.  This is a story of forgetfulness. Back in the fall of 2010, I was hiking at the Yahoo Falls area in McCreary Co, KY.  Great place to hike by the way.  I collected some seed from a cucumber magnolia.  I absolutely love our native deciduous magnolias!  I gathered between 15 and 25 seeds. When I got home, I http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2013/01/old-seeds-and-jack-you-have-to-read-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7990438858902423605Mon, 24 Dec 2012 15:55:00 +00002012-12-24T10:55:00.812-05:00ornamentalwoody plantstrees In honor of 12/12/12 a couple of weeks ago, I'm rounding out my '12 New _____ Plants' to try during 2013 with a list of trees or shrubs.  You can see the other two 12-lists by scrolling down. 12 New or Different Trees or Shrubs to try in 2013 Yellowwood -- a spring-flowering, overlooked native plant, yellowwood was featured in the UK College of Ag's AgMag this fall. Cryptomeria (Japanese http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-new-trees-and-shrubs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-2966086602198421373Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-12-18T08:00:13.000-05:00ornamentalsnative plantsflowersIn honor of last week's date of 12/12/12, in this 2nd week, we'll be talking about 12 new annuals/perennials for home landscapes.  Last week I listed 12 fruits and vegetables. 12 New or Different Annuals and Perennials to try in 2013 (A) designates annual, (P) perennial Amaranth -- 'Love Lies Bleeding' is very cool. And if you want some art in the garden, try the very sculptured-looking 'http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-new-annuals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-320381828015952191Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:54:00 +00002012-12-12T12:56:53.025-05:00fruitsvegetablesproduceherbsOn this unique date, let's use it to think about 12 new varieties of vegetables/fruit (today), 12 new varieties of annuals (week of Dec 17), and 12 new types of trees or shrubs (week of Dec 24) for our landscapes. 12 New or Different Vegetables or Fruits to try in 2013 Sprouting broccoli Shell beans -- I know that beans are one of the cheapest things in the store, but you can't buy Vermont http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/12/121212-lets-do-12-new-plants.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-5811293131911405482Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:05:00 +00002012-11-13T16:05:45.193-05:00ornamentalscontainersflowersI will be the first to admit, daffodils are not my favorite flower.  In fact, I'm not sure how I would answer that question anyway, but it would not be with 'daffodil'. But I am now addicted.  To daffodils.  Daffs, as the familiar call them. But I can't afford them, at least not in the amounts I'd like.  So, as with some addictions, I'll take my daffs in small, annual doses. Have you ever http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/11/daffodils.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-2029090181612556039Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:12:00 +00002012-09-28T08:12:14.116-05:00floodingwater qualitywildlifegreenIt was raining this morning, so I thought I might do a post on rain gardens.  Makes sense at 5:15am.... A rain garden is a strategically located low area planted with (usually) native plants that intercepts runoff from rain events and allows it to infiltrate the soil. Just think of all the paved areas we have...rain will not penetrate into soil but is directed into storm sewers where this http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/09/rain-gardens.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-1803967637653599461Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-07-19T14:27:37.771-05:00raised bedsvegetables At the office, I planted potatoes using a couple of different methods a home gardener might try. One was the square foot gardening method where I planted potatoes in 2 squares side-by-side.  I used the 'high-rise' method where I built another 1' x 2' x 6" square so that I could add more soil as the potatoes grew.  In total, the square foot gardening method gave me about 12" of depth in which http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/07/potato-harvest-for-home-gardeners.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-3749948385934953577Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:52:00 +00002012-07-16T14:59:48.747-05:00vegetablespesticidesinsectsBlister Beetles Appearing   Margined blister beetles Blister beetles can be quite a sight in the home garden.  About this time of year, their populations build up to incredible numbers.  They amass on and can defoliate plants in a day or two if the infestation is severe enough. They seem to prefer plants in the Solanaceous family like tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Beetles are about a http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/07/blister-beetles-now-appearing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7304339589548687967Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +00002012-04-26T13:59:50.988-05:00vegetablesYou 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.  http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/vegetables-used-to-not-be-cool.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)01865-1873 Tucker Rd, Somerset, KY 42503, USA37.09136948359067 -84.6381998062133837.089785983590666 -84.64066730621337 37.09295298359067 -84.63573230621338tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-1354644914723782129Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:34:00 +00002012-03-22T14:05:43.898-05:00fruitsornamentalsnative plantstreesHere 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 newhttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/03/redbud-bloom-over-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-6659761869505497185Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:03:00 +00002012-02-25T12:03:00.229-05:00ornamentalsrosesDr 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 http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/02/turf-short-course-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7588579270659727465Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:26:00 +00002012-02-24T09:26:04.789-05:00pesticideswater qualitypondsI 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 http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/02/turf-short-course.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-109937220106898307Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:32:00 +00002012-02-01T15:32:49.371-05:00fruitsfruit treesornamentalweatherYou 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. http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/02/you-cant-stop-early-spring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7581641888683895001Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-01-17T08:00:09.934-05:00beesA 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 arehttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/beginning-beekeeping-program.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-4419710766391361442Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +00002012-01-10T11:38:10.434-05:00fruitsvegetablesagritourismI 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 http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/info-from-ky-fruit-and-vegetable.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-4378439815837634562Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:55:00 +00002011-12-09T10:55:40.162-05:00birds Every time I write something about bird feeding, I wonder why most people who love horticulture-y things, also love to feed birds.  I might know a handful of plant people who don't, but all-in-all, we plant people are bird people too.  With plants, we appreciate nature and not just the green parts of nature but all the interconnecting parts.  Many of the plants we enjoy looking at provide the http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter-bird-feeding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7200547612523194205Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:59:00 +00002011-12-02T08:59:33.825-05:00Got out my camera on the morning of Dec 1, 2011.  Looking pretty out in the garden. River oats seedheads River oats Oakleaf hydrangea Daphne Contorted filbert Catkins on contorted filbert Coneflowers False blue indigo Black-eyed Susans http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/12/frosty-morn-pictures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-6165850739223741399Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +00002011-11-05T08:00:01.273-05:00raised bedsvegetablesproduceAfter 4 harvests of some greens (and I'm not done harvesting yet), here's what I've gotten off of 3 beds of mustard, turnips, and kale. Harvests took place on 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, and 11/1Kale total = 3.27# Mustard greens total = 9.94# Turnip greens total = 4.56# TOTAL = 17.77# Here's what the last harvest looked like: Mustard (2.11#) is on the left, turnips (0.90#) in the middle, kale (0.86#) onhttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/11/4-harvests-of-greens.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-615619855583766812Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +00002011-10-12T08:00:03.450-05:00raised bedsvegetablesHere at the Extension office, I have raised beds that contain mustard, turnips, and kale.  Today I harvested about 7.5# of greens.  Here's the breakdown: Mustard -- 5.05# Turnips -- 1.61# Kale -- 0.88# TOTAL = 7.54# The picture to the right shows kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens, the entire first harvest from 67.5 sq ft of raised beds. Mind you, this is only my first harvest. Mustard http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/10/greens-harvest-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-5342449597225927521Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:55:00 +00002011-10-11T07:55:57.729-05:00beesfruitsvegetablessustainableproduceforestsOur Living on a Few Acres class has been postponed for 2 weeks.  It seems people keep signing up so we figured we'd do more advertising, try to get several more farms/homesteads to sign up.  The original start date was to be tonight, Oct 11.  However, the first class will now start on Oct 25. This class is not designed to teach you to be a full-time farmer.  What we want you to get out of it is http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/10/living-on-few-acres-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-3918721762330120414Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:29:00 +00002011-09-28T08:29:51.504-05:00raised bedsvegetablesproduceAnyone, anywhere, can grow (almost) anything, in a square foot garden.  The concept goes by many names:  no-till gardening, raised bed gardening, etc.  But the fact is, you can feed your family using any number of different raised bed techniques.  Square foot gardening is just one. Here are some pictures of my fall vegetables in a square foot garden.  This garden is located at the Pulaski Countyhttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/square-foot-garden-fall-veggies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-3393785291731355293Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +00002011-08-26T08:31:06.275-05:00beessustainablefarmers marketproduceforestswildlifeI think people in general believe farm life to be a tranquil, solitary existence.  Many people after working for 30 years want to retire on a farm or at least on a few acres out in the country.  Maybe you're not at retirement age yet but want to prepare for a life away from the city after you're done working. That's why the Ag Agent and I have teamed up on a program called Living on a Few Acres.http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/living-on-few-acres.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-7911481526950699817Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:10:00 +00002011-07-25T11:10:26.283-05:00I hope that everyone living in Pulaski Co (and maybe even some surrounding counties) have had a chance to visit the Children's Garden located at the Pulaski Co Public Library in downtown Somerset. Yes, it's not new, but yes, it's a delight to walk around in. Two years after its grand opening, volunteers are still working extremely hard.  We forget a lot of times but a garden is not fixed.  Oncehttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/07/childrens-botanical-garden-of-south.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-6058130021738472856Tue, 03 May 2011 23:42:00 +00002011-05-03T18:42:01.205-05:00ornamentalsdiseases    Knockout Roses have been all the rage for the last few years.  Even as a non-rose person, I have been impressed.   No black spot (or very little) and pruning?  Prune whenever you feel like it!  The plants will live and bloom and bloom and live!     However, like all good things, they must come to an end.  Case in point:  Several calls and many rose specimens in the disease diagnostic lab withhttp://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/redundant-rose-rosette.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31756236.post-1391841751430757056Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:40:00 +00002011-04-12T09:40:22.417-05:00Spring is springing up!  It's all very exciting.  And so are a bunch of new ways to communicate.  That being said, I wanted to make everyone aware that I am on Facebook and Twitter.  I won't wear you out with posts and tweets.  I will do my best to make sure it's relevant or funny or relevant and funny.  I will do my best to have at least one post or tweet a day.  However, if any pest alerts or http://pchomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/04/pulaski-horticulture-is-everywhere.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0