Barren County

Horticulture Newsletter

Garden Gazette Issue #6 June 2020

In this Issue:

Victory Gardens

pg. 1-2

Mowing Height

Matters

pg. 2-3

Agent Greeting

pg. 3

Master Gardener

Feature:

Youth Outreach

pg. 4

Upcoming Events

pg. 5

Featured Recipe:

Fresh Corn with

Jalapeño Peppers

pg. 6

B Continued...

Even with the current events going on, we are lucky as

Americans to have a stable food supply system. Many of us

garden as a hobby and are able to supplement some of our

normal groceries with things we have produced in our own

gardens. In the early 1900’s many families solely depended

upon the gardens they grew in their own backyards. During

the First and Second World Wars these backyard gardens

played a much bigger role in the battle against food

insecurity.

Victory gardens were encouraged

by the US government in an effort

to avoid food shortages that had

occurred with the First World

War. Citizens were, at first,

encouraged to grow War gardens,

which quickly became called

victory gardens. These gardens

were grown in a variety of

locations; backyards, window

boxes, and even on top of

apartment roofs in cities.

Experienced gardeners assisted

new or green gardeners as they

went through their first growing

season. Even some of the first

Agriculture Extension Agents

were involved with helping

promote and grow these gardens.

It was recommended that garden plots be 1/10 of an acre for

each member of a family. Each one of these plots should focus

on succession planting where you can get the most out of that

one spot. Start with some early season crops like lettuce and

spinach, then follow in with your summer loving crops like

tomatoes.

Victory Gardens

C

Excess food was shared between

families and neighbors. Gardeners

were also encouraged to preserve

their items to make them last

throughout the winter months.

I want to encourage you to think

about growing a little extra this year.

Even if we were not in the current

situation that we are in, it’s always nice

to have a bountiful harvest to feed our

families. Think about sharing extra

produce with a neighbor (while practicing

social distancing) who may not be able to

get out as easily and make trips to the

grocery. Take this opportunity to get

outside, get your hands in the soil, relax,

and enjoy the rewarding feeling of

growing your own food.

Submitted by: Jessica Bessin, Mercer County

Extension Agent for Horticulture

Nothing signals springtime quite like the

smell of fresh cut grass wafting through

the neighborhood. With warmer weather

on the way, your annual lawn duties

begin. Of those tasks, mowing at the right

height can have a big impact on the

overall health of your turf and future

weed problems.

The first mowing makes the lawn look

spring-like and very attractive.

Subsequent regular mowing hardens the

grass for drought and heat stresses

later on. So when the first clump of

grass grows above the mowing height, mow

-- even if a lot of the yard doesn’t need

to be mowed yet.

If your lawn is not greening up as

quickly as your neighbors it’s important

to note that not all grasses start

growing at the same time. Grass that

wasn’t fertilized in the fall or early

spring has a delayed growth. Also, grass

on northern slopes, or in heavy clay soil,

will start growing several days later

than others.

Following recommendations for mowing

height and frequency will make your

lawn-care duties easier and result in a

more attractive yard. If your mower has

a fixed, all-year height, set it at two

and one-half inches for cool season

grasses. However, if you can easily vary

the height, set it at 1.5 to two inches for

the first several times you mow this

spring. The shorter mowing height will

help remove a lot of the winter-burned,

brown leaves. Exposing more dark green

growth will transform your lawn into

the most uniform, attractive one in the

neighborhood. Move the height up to 2.5

inches after you mow the grass several

times.

To protect your grass from summer heat

and drought injury, when summer

arrives raise the mower height to

three or 3.5 inches. Mowing grass a

greater height can also impact weed

growth. As the leaf blades are left

longer they overlap more and shade

the soil surface reducing the

amount of

sunlight

Mowing Height Matters

Photo by Skitterphoto

D

penetrating to the ground and

increasing competition for emerging

weed seeds. However, remember that extra

high grass, especially tall fescue, tends

to fall over and mat down during hot

summer weather causing increased

summer disease problems.

Once you get the mowing under way, how

often should the lawn be mowed?

Generally speaking, mow often enough to

remove no more than one-third to one-

half of the grass height. If your mower

is set for two inches, mow again when

grass height reaches approximately

three inches. Be sure not to scalp the

lawn by mowing off most of the green

leaves.

For tall fescue lawns, a rule of thumb

is to mow at five-day intervals during

the spring, and at seven-day intervals

the rest of the year. If you have a

Kentucky bluegrass lawn, a seven-day

interval usually is sufficient at a

mowing height of 2.5 inches. That

interval can probably be expanded

during hot, dry weather.

A sharp mower blade makes mowing

easier and results in a better-looking

and healthier turf. Dull blades will

tear at the tender new turf leaving

jagged and torn edges on the leaf

blades. These edges tend to dry out

leaving a brown look to the lawn and

exposing leaf surfaces to disease.

Submitted by Kelly Jackson, Agent for

Horticulture, Christian Co. Cooperative

Extension Service

As of June 1 we will be entering

Phase 1 of the University of

Kentucky’s reopening plan. Due to this

we will be operating at 50% staff

at the office

& 50% working

remotely with

the schedule

alternating as to

who is in the office. We are asking

clients who need to meet with a specific

agent to, please call ahead to arrange an

appointment. We will

work hard to help you

as quickly as possible

while following the

protocol sent down from

our supervisors. We are

happy to be able to help

clients to the best of our

abilities given the

current situation with the

pandemic. We ask that all

clients be patient with

and respectful of our staff as we adapt to

our new daily operations. We will still be

limiting access to the building and will

have no meetings over 10 people through at

least the end of June. We encourage our

clubs and volunteers to continue to use

virtual means unless it is 100% necessary to

meet in person. We care about our community,

volunteers, clients, and staff and want to

keep everyone safe while providing research

based information.

As for currently available horticulture

classes the statewide webinar series,

“Horticulture Webinar Wednesday” will be

continuing during the summer months. There

is a schedule of the upcoming topics on our

upcoming events page along with a link to

join. These are held every Wednesday at 1 PM

central time. If you have missed any of the

sessions and would like to go watch them you

can find them at: kentuckyhortnews.com

under the webinars tab.

Many of you have enjoyed the activities in

the grab and go Brown Bag kits. Our office

has enjoyed making these and plans to

release at least one a month to continue to

offer fun activities for you to do at home. A

new schedule will be released once our

agents have worked out the logistics. We are

glad that this project has reached so many

families in our community. Please remember

to share pictures of the activities you

complete to our Facebook page. We would love

to see what you have been up to & tell us

what your favorite project has been so far.

Agent Greeting

Youth Outreach

Our Extension Master Gardener

volunteers love to help educate our youth

on where their food comes from while

teaching them skills to learn to grow

their own. While the current environment

due to the pandemic does not allow them

to volunteer in a hands on setting I

would like to talk about some of the

community youth outreach they have done

previously.

The Barren River Area Extension Master

Gardener Association has helped many

different schools with their school

gardens. Helping them prepare raised

beds and then donating transplants and

seed to get them started. We try to

continue each partnership by going back

for weekly visits to check in and guide

them on the next steps in the garden. It

is always nice to

see where the

students start and

then see how proud

they are of

the final

outcome.

Our volunteers have also been very

instrumental in the programming

with the 4-H Horticulture Club.

This is a

club where

we do fun gardening activities while

learning to identify plants in 4

different categories. Our volunteers

help bring in samples and talk our

club members through easy

identification steps. The 4-H

Horticulture Club then

competes in the State

contest against other

counties at the state

fair.

Our Extension Master

Gardeners have shared

their knowledge and

expertise in previous

summers by offering a “Garden Day Camp”.

This is a full day of activities, crafts,

and games that all have some connection

to the horticulture world. We are

currently unable to offer the day camp

this summer

but we will

try to keep

everyone

posted on the

changes as we

move through

the reopening

phases.

Our Extension Master Gardeners also try

to offer youth activities when they set

up at community events such as the

farmers market and the Farm, Home, and

Garden Expo. This

helps give a little

bit of gardening

to everyone in the

community.

We can’t wait to be

able to offer these

activities again

in the future.

Master Gardener Feature Project

E

Upcoming Events

F

PLEASE STAY SAFE. CALL

(270) 651-3818 IF YOU NEED

INFORMATION OR HAVE

QUESTIONS!!

Fresh Corn with

Jalapeño Peppers

Directions:

2 cups water

1 cup jasmine rice

2 teaspoons cumin

6 ears fresh corn

2 to 4 fresh jalapeño peppers

2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers

1 large tomato

1/3 cup diced red onion

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch of black pepper

Ingredients:

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

2. Stir in rice and cumin, cover and reduce heat to low. Do not remove lid while rice

is cooking.

3. Simmer 12 minutes then stir. Cover, turn off heat and let rice set an additional

10 minutes or until tender and all the water is absorbed.

4. Wash all fresh ingredients.

5. Cut corn kernels off cob.

6. Dice jalapeño peppers and tomato. You may want to wear gloves while dicing the

hot peppers.

7. Combine corn, jalapeño, tomato, pimento peppers, onion, and butter in a

microwave-safe bowl.

8. Cover and cook in microwave oven on high until heated through, about 4 to 5

minutes. Stir every minute. Add salt and black pepper.

9. Combine corn mixture and cooked rice.

10. Fluff mixture with a fork.

Nutritional Analysis: 250 calories, 6 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol,

120 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 9 g sugar, 0 g added sugar, & 6 g protein.

Yield: 6 3/4 -cup servings

Seasonal Tips:

G

The best time to harvest most herbs is just before flowering, when the leaves contain

the maximum essential oils. Cut herbs early on a sunny day.

Yellow crook-neck or straight-neck squash tastes best when 4 to 7 inches long. Pick

when pale yellow (rather than golden) and before skin hardens.

To avoid the disappointment of finding a weedy, overgrown garden when you return from

vacation, hire a garden sitter. Young neighbors might enjoy making a few dollars by

weeding and watering. Adults may be willing to cooperate in exchange for fresh

produce.