As the end of the warm weather garden season rolls to a close and fall and winter grow closer, many gardeners harvest the last of the summer produce before planting the fall crops or putting the garden to bed. But how do you store all of the extra produce at the end of the season? Especially those things you don’t freeze or can to preserve? … Continue reading Putting food by: Storing the Harvest
Now that summer has “officially” concluded with the celebration of Labor Day, it is time to turn attentions further to preparing for the oncoming winter. There’s lots to do outside — seeding the lawn, testing soil, composting, cleaning up the summer garden, sowing the fall garden. But there’s also plenty to do for indoor gardening. While most of my gardening pursuits are concentrated in the … Continue reading Repotting houseplants before winter
Good gardeners and farmers know how to tend the plants they grow. They know what and when to plant, and how to respond to issues like pests, diseases, and abnormal weather to have good results. Great gardeners and farmers, on the other hand, know that tending the soil where their plants grow is the first, and most important, step to growing with the greatest results. … Continue reading Tending the plants you grow: Soil Testing
The tomatoes hold on for their last hurrah – a feverish push before they succumb to disease or the icy grip of frost. Cucumbers and squash, looking ragged after a long season, produce as fast as they can as the season comes to a close. Gardens this summer have had it rough. From a water-logged beginning to a scorching summer, some people have just had … Continue reading Garden Do-over – Reinventing the garden for fall
One of my favorite things to do is to visit the state fair. One of the great things about my job is that I get to do it for work. This past week I had the privilege of once again heading to Lewisburg for the State Fair of West Virginia. My usual job is representing WVU Extension at the WVU Building, where we interact with … Continue reading The state fair is a veritable smorgasbord of learning, thanks to Master Gardeners
Most of us know the plants we want to steer clear of, those we don’t want to tangle with. Experience and knowledge tells us there are some plants that fight back through either chemical or physical means. These defenses have evolved over time to protect the plants from their major enemies — most often grazing/browsing animals or insects that would eat the plant. There are … Continue reading Giant hogweed (and relatives) causes a rash of skin rashes
When you talk about killer plants, your mind may conjure images of a man-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors,” insect-eating Venus flytraps or poisonous plants like deadly nightshade. While all of those scenarios are interesting in and of themselves, what about plants that attack other plants? I’m talking, of course, about parasitic plants. These plants thrive on stealing nutrients from other plants, either weakening … Continue reading When plants attack! (each other)
The heat of summer has finally arrived. The blazing sun and sticky humidity are enough to make you want to stay in the cool breeze of the air conditioner. It seems an odd time to be thinking about fall, but it is time to plant a few things in the garden so that you can have a last hurrah in the veggie patch. Most people … Continue reading Plant now for fall vegetables’ last hurrah
Last week I made my way to South Dakota for the annual meeting of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. It is a fun conference made even more special this year by the fact that WVU President E. Gordon Gee was in attendance as the conference co-keynote speaker and recipient of the Service to American/World Agriculture award. Two days into the conference, though, something … Continue reading Pollination strategies can lead to allergy woes
Our region has certainly suffered under an overabundance of rainfall in the last few months. As I traveled this past week to the National Association of County Agricultural Agents conference in South Dakota, I heard from many of my colleagues in the Eastern states who have been suffering with rain as well. It seems we are not alone in this shift of weather patterns. Those … Continue reading Flooding and storms are a serious risk to gardens
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