The Gardening Thymes

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Master Gardener Association of Grayson County The Gardening Thymes Summer 2017 Note from the President Our 8 th Annual Plant Fair and Spring Fling is in the books and it was a success.

By noon, we saw the sun peeking out and I watched as one of our Master Gardeners did a happy dance! Spring has slipped away and summer is here.

Martha Higgs, President MGAGC Congratulations Master Gardener Association of Grayson County is proud to announce our 2017 Scholarship Winner!

1 Master Gardener Association of Grayson County The Gardening Thymes Summer 2017 Note from the President Our 8 th Annual Plant Fair and Spring Fling is in the books and it was a success. The weather was anything but cooperative, but you, the vendors and attendees, came out donning umbrellas, ponchos and rain boots. By noon, we saw the sun peeking out and I watched as one of our Master Gardeners did a happy dance! Spring has slipped away and summer is here. We here in clay soil country had to plant our crops and gardens, as well as beautify our landscapes with the colors of annuals and perennials, in between the periods of rain. Happy Gardening! Martha Higgs, President MGAGC Congratulations Master Gardener Association of Grayson County is proud to announce our 2017 Scholarship Winner! Zayne Priddy Zayne is a sophomore at Western Kentucky University majoring in Agriculture Education. He has been recognized for his achievement, career goals, and leadership qualities with a scholarship in the amount of $1,000. Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden. Robert Brault University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Cooperative Extension Service Zayne was presented his MG scholarship by Master Gardener President Martha Higgs and Scholarship Chairperson Julie Bessinger.

Monthly Garden Tips! These tips are based on our average frost dates. Please use them as a general guideline.

July: Replace crops that have finished producing with quick growing crops that are ready to harvest in less than 60 days.

Use cuttings fresh, dry, or chop and freeze to preserve. Remove damaged and dead plant debris from garden to help protect against pest infestation and spreading diseases.

2 Monthly Garden Tips! These tips are based on our average frost dates. Please use them as a general guideline. Our weather can vary greatly in Kentucky, not only from year to year, but also within the various zones. Check weather forecasting sources regularly for extended outlooks. July: Replace crops that have finished producing with quick growing crops that are ready to harvest in less than 60 days. This helps keep weeds from taking over the bare spots and prevents soil erosion. Harvesting vegetables frequently encourages plants to continue producing. Pinch back herbs to maintain a compact size. Use cuttings fresh, dry, or chop and freeze to preserve. Remove damaged and dead plant debris from garden to help protect against pest infestation and spreading diseases. Make sure climbing roses and other vining plants are secured to protect against the wind. This is a good time to root houseplant cuttings, as they will root quickly outside in the summer heat in a shaded area. Sow seeds for broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower for fall planting. Plant your fall garden late July through the middle of August. Good choices would be bush beans, carrots, bush cucumbers, sugar snap peas, yellow squash and zucchini. August: Watering is so important during the heat of the summer. It s better to water at soil level and try to avoid getting the foliage wet. Plants need about an inch of water every week. Set out broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower transplants. Deadhead regularly to trim away faded blooms, dead leaves and cut back leggy flower stems. This will create nicer looking plants and prolong blooming. Set your mower blades a little higher during a prolonged heat wave. The taller grass will help keep the soil cooler, which will help conserve moisture. September: Plant leafy greens, such as kale, lettuce, spinach, etc. Plant some every two weeks for a continued harvest through the fall. As you empty rows or beds in your garden, planting a cover crop will help prevent soil erosion and will also help protect against weed seeds claiming the bare spots. In the spring, this green manure will also greatly improve your soil structure when tilled into your garden soil and will naturally fertilize your garden crops. Be prepared to cover summer crops that are still producing well to extend the harvest. Start gathering and cleaning garden tools, so they are ready for use in the spring. Start preparing houseplants and annual herbs for moving into the house. We are on Facebook! Keep up to date with the latest local gardening news plus upcoming workshops and seminars by liking us on Facebook. Master Gardener Association of Grayson County Kentucky

Garden Bugs: Do you Control Them or Do They Control You?

Here are the insecticides you are most likely to need in a vegetable garden.

Toxic primarily to caterpillars Cabbageworms and cutworms. Use B. t. tenebrionis for Colorado potato beetle. Bacterial toxin; causes caterpillar death usually within 24 hours.

3 Garden Bugs: Do you Control Them or Do They Control You? By Luke Jacobs, Kentucky Master Gardener Intern After you plant your seeds and vegetable plants in the garden, it is time to be watching for signs of insect damage. Here are the insecticides you are most likely to need in a vegetable garden. Note that many others are available and sometimes recommended, but these are the safest and most effective for most home gardeners: Name Used Against How It Works; How Long It Lasts How To Use It Bt: Toxic primarily to caterpillars Cabbageworms and cutworms. Use B. t. tenebrionis for Colorado potato beetle. Bacterial toxin; causes caterpillar death usually within 24 hours. Dissipates in 2 days or less. Available as spray or dust. Apply late afternoon and reapply after rain. Mix with insecticidal soap for better coverage. Diatomaceous Earth (DE): Toxic primarily to soft-bodied insects, snails and slugs Discourages aphids, juvenile Colorado potato and bean beetles, leafhoppers, and thrips. Sharp-edged diatom skeletons scratch insect exteriors, causing them to dry out. More effective combined with pyrethrins. Use natural grade DE, not the kind used in swimming pool filters. Wear a dust mask. Particle Film Dust: Coats leaves and repels insects Japanese beetles, tarnished plant bugs, and Colorado potato beetles. Specially refined kaolin clay uses microscopic particulates to form a barrier film on leaves. Apply with a pressure sprayer. Mix with Bt or pyrethrins. Horticultural Oils: Toxic to many insects and mites Kills aphids, corn earworms, leafhoppers, spider mites, whiteflies. Kills pests by suffocating them Use highly refined summer oils. Do not apply to drought-stressed plants, or on hot, cold, or very humid days. Insecticidal Soap: Toxic mostly to soft-bodied insects Kills aphids, earwigs, grasshoppers, Japanese beetle adults, leafhoppers, spider mites, whiteflies. One of the safest insecticides. Fatty acids destroy the cellular membrane of insects on contact. Mix with warm soft water and be sure to cover both sides of leaves. Can burn leaves during hot weather. Neem: Toxic to juvenile forms of some pests; also, a repellent Pyrethrin: Toxic to a broad spectrum of pests Kills juvenile aphids and Colorado potato beetle. Repels whiteflies, Japanese and Colorado beetle adults. Controls most vegetable pests including flea, potato, and bean beetles. Affects growth hormones of some insects causing them to stop feeding. The effect lasts about 1 week. A nerve toxin, often combined with DE. Degrades rapidly. Apply liquid spray morning or evening when humidity is high. Apply dust during cloudy weather or early evening. Chemical control of insect and mite pests should be the last tactic and only used when needed. Other techniques to reduce the impact of insect and mite pests include: Using recommended planting dates and other horticultural recommendations will help to produce plants that can be more tolerant of pests. Do not over fertilizing plants, as this may make them more susceptible to aphids. Control weeds in the garden as they can harbor many types of vegetable pests and pathogens that can transmit to vegetable plants. If only a few pests are seen, handpick them and toss them in soapy water. Consider using row covers over seedlings or small transplants. Read, understand and follow label directions with insecticides. Make sure the vegetable being treated is on the label. Info from: UK Pub ID-128 Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky

Insects that harm your plants can be deterred by certain companion plants, while beneficial insects will be attracted to others.

4 Create an Edible Landscape By Robin Mundy, Kentucky Master Gardener An edible landscape mixes edible plants with herbs and ornamental plants. Adding specific companion plants for your vegetables will not only help with the health of your plants, but will be attractive as well and smell wonderful. Insects that harm your plants can be deterred by certain companion plants, while beneficial insects will be attracted to others. While planning your edible landscape, choose plants that are most productive, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and beans and are of different sizes and leaf shapes to make a pleasing visual, much like you would for an ornamental garden. Choose tall plants for the back and ends of the space, medium size plants for the center area and low growing for a border across the front. Herbs are wonderful for filling in between vegetables, but some may tend to be invasive. Plant those in plastic nursery pots, and then sink the pot in the garden soil to keep them from spreading too much. Use plants that have sprawling tendencies to fill in thin spaces. Some vegetables, such as beans, salad greens, radish, beets and carrots, are good for succession planting that will keep your space looking lush and full. For the background, look for tall or vining plants for the back, such as tomatoes, green beans or cucumbers. These can be grown on a simple trellis or on a fence. Attach sturdy strings if necessary for the vines to grow up. Maybe grow a few sunflowers along the back, too. If you don t want plants that tall, look for bush varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers. They will still need some sort of support to keep them off of the ground, but should only grow 3 to 4 feet tall. Tuck a couple of pepper plants in between leaving a little space so that everyone gets sufficient sunlight. Summer squashes are beautiful large leafed plants that can be grown upright in a cage to take up less space, or allowed to sprawl. Either way, they will produce well, but if not training to grow upright, be sure to leave plenty of room for when they become full size plants, A great choice for the center would be Bush beans, which are an attractive plant that only grows a couple of feet tall. You can find them in several different colors. Rainbow Swiss chard, which has beautiful colors and gorgeous leaves, is another good choice. Plants for the front border would include salad greens, spinach, and maybe some carrots and beets. Companion plants that are suggested by organic gardeners include: nasturtiums which might help to repel aphids, bean beetles and cucumber beetles, radishes planted around squash plants helps repel squash vine borers, basil to repel tomato hornworms, marigolds are believed to be good for repelling Nematodes, hornworms and bean beetles, and petunias for aphids, leafhoppers and bean beetles. To make your vegetable garden look less like a vegetable garden, avoid planting in rows and plant a few of your favorite flowers among your vegetables. A few stepping stones would also be nice. Choose flower placement based on the heights of the mature flowers. If needed, use garden art to fill in bare spots. Paint your own rocks or signs, or you could even leave a couple of bright colored plastic watering cans sitting amongst the plants. You can find all kinds of painted metal garden art at dollar stores, or look for more formal looking metal objects, outdoor statuary or even a few nice looking rocks. Have fun and make your garden a reflection of you and your taste! Grayson County Extension Service (270) Commerce Dr. Fax: (270) Leitchfield KY graysonext.org Whitney Carman Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent Grayson County Cooperative Extension Service To file a complaint of discrimination, contact Tim West, UK College of Agriculture, ; Terry Allen or Patty Bender, UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, ; or the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Bldg. 14th & Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC ( ).

More Pruning Tips! Discovered by Sharon Flynn, a Grayson County Master Gardener On May 13, 2017 Ken Spencer wrote a column in the Virginian-Pilot (Pilot-Online.

I immediately sent out the link to our Master Gardener Group, because it was timely and important, right on the heels of thinking about shrubs such as lilacs, which set buds immediately after

5 More Pruning Tips! Discovered by Sharon Flynn, a Grayson County Master Gardener On May 13, 2017 Ken Spencer wrote a column in the Virginian-Pilot (Pilot-Online.com) titled Nip It in the Bud with Azalea Pruning. I immediately sent out the link to our Master Gardener Group, because it was timely and important, right on the heels of thinking about shrubs such as lilacs, which set buds immediately after blooming, so they would need to be pruned before the next year s buds are set. He suggests that you feel your azaleas, and if they have buds on them, leave them alone until just after they bloom next year, or you will have no blooms. I liked this short column so much, that I plan to check The Virginian-Pilot often to see what other tips he has. Here is the link to the column: -with-azalea/article_f1d60176-a7a1-57ab-819e-0673b46438be.html Mr. Spencer also included a link to a cheat sheet from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service that will help you decide when it would be best to prune. This link offers a shrub pruning calendar which may be a bit ahead of us though, Virginia ranges from zone 5a in the western mountains, to 8a on the eastern shore. Kentucky is primarily zone 6a to 7a, with Grayson County being mostly zone 6b. (The higher the number the warmer the zone). If you use the calendar, remember to check your plants before you assume that July is fine for pruning azaleas. The University of Kentucky also has a very informative guide, PUB HO-59, PRUNING LANDSCAPE SHRUBS, written by R.E. McNiel, W.L. Mesner, W.M. Fountain, and W.D. Dunwellt. This guide has lots of great tips for various methods of pruning, including pruning too thin, for shaping or restoring and for best flower production. It can be found online at There are basically two rules to remember about pruning: Prune shrubs that flower before the first of June (on older growth) during or right after flowering. Prune shrubs that flower after the first of June (on new current year growth) during the winter or spring before new growth begins. Happy gardening, happy mood, as we dip our fingers into the soil. Flower Bulbs for Fall Planting We have searched high and low for some beautiful bulbs, perfect for fall planting. We will have these available for purchase when we are out and about this fall. Buy some for yourself or for a special friend or relative! We ll let you know when and where later!

The Children s Garden Workshop Bugs, (seed)bombs & Butterflies was a huge success! We had a good mix of learning and fun with lots of laughter. Thanks to all that attended! Save the Date!

July 26, 2017, Wednesday Garden Toolbox Series, All About Peonies, 1 pm only Please call 270-259-3492 to pre-register.

6 The Children s Garden Workshop Bugs, (seed)bombs & Butterflies was a huge success! We had a good mix of learning and fun with lots of laughter. Thanks to all that attended! Save the Date!!! July 14-15, 2017, Freedom Fest The Master Gardeners will have a booth on Friday evening (July 14th) only. Stop by to chat and see what is new with your local Master Gardeners. July 26, 2017, Wednesday Garden Toolbox Series, All About Peonies, 1 pm only Please call to pre-register. Class held at the Grayson County Extension Office, 123 Commerce Drive, Leitchfield, KY. Please use the West entrance in the back of the building. (Some classes in the Garden Toolbox Series may require a small fee of $5 for take home goodies.) August 30, 2017, Wednesday Garden Toolbox Series, Pollinator Gardens Choose 1 pm or 5 pm class. Please call to pre-register. Classes held at the Grayson County Extension Office, 123 Commerce Drive, Leitchfield, KY. Please use the West entrance in the back of the building. (Some classes in the Garden Toolbox Series may require a small fee of $5 for take home goodies.) September 27, 2017, Wednesday Garden Toolbox Series, Sustainable Gardening Choose 1 pm or 5 pm class. Please call to pre-register. Classes held at the Grayson County Extension Office, 123 Commerce Drive, Leitchfield, KY. Please use the West entrance in the back of the building. (Some classes in the Garden Toolbox Series may require a small fee of $5 for take home goodies.) October 25, 2017, Wednesday Garden Toolbox Series, Maintenance & Storage of Garden Tools Choose 1 pm or 5 pm class. Please call to pre-register. Classes held at the Grayson County Extension Office, 123 Commerce Drive, Leitchfield, KY. Please use the West entrance in the back of the building. (Some classes in the Garden Toolbox Series may require a small fee of $5 for take home goodies.) For more information contact the Grayson County Extension Office at , Or check us out on facebook: Master Gardener Association of Grayson County Kentucky

Virginia Cooperative Extension- York County

Virginia Cooperative Extension- York County Pruning Deciduous Shrubs Need to know your shrubs Spring Blooming Summer Blooming Virginia Cooperative Extension York County Invent the Future www.yorkcounty.gov/vce