Summer 2025
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Summer 2025 Horticulture Newsletter
Around and About the Garden with Annette
TIPS FROM ANNETTE
Make the most of the garden and keep on enjoying it!
· The weather has certainly affected our vegetable gardens. The high temperatures, the cloudy days, and wet periods earlier all have an impact on the plants’ ability to set fruit and pods.
· Avoid fertilizing trees and shrubs at this time to encourage them to slow down growth and get ready to harden off for the winter. The best time to fertilize them, if needed, is in the fall when they are dormant which may be after Thanksgiving.
· Mid-August through September is best time to plant a cool season grass such as the recommended turf type tall fescue.
Remove weeds before they go to seed.
EVENTS
The Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market is still open! Their hours are 8:00 a.m. to noon Saturdays through November 1, and Tuesdays through September.
Monarch Day at Western Kentucky Botanical Garden
Saturday August 23 10 am – 2 pm
All activities are free!
Tox Away Day
Saturday, September 27 8 am – noon
Daviess County Operations Center
2620 KY-81, Owensboro
Complete list of accepted and not accepted items at daviessky.org
TIME TO PLANT YOUR FALL GARDEN
by: Rick Durham, UK Extension Horticulture Specialist
As the summer warmth begins to wane, you don’t have to bid farewell to the joys of cultivating your garden. This time between seasons offers a golden opportunity to plant a vibrant fall vegetable garden, promising an uninterrupted flow of produce throughout autumn. Alternating balmy days and brisk nights support a variety of cool-season vegetables for your family to enjoy.
Some of the best quality vegetables are produced during fall’s warm days and cool nights. These environmental conditions add sugar to late-season sweet corn and cole crops, such as cauliflower and cabbage, and add crispness to carrots.
When planting a fall garden, group crops the same way you would in the spring; plant so taller plants don’t shade out shorter ones. To encourage good germination, fill each seed furrow with water and let it soak in. Keep the soil moist until seeds have germinated. Be aware that cool nights slow growth, so plants take longer to mature in the fall than in the summer.
You may use polyethylene row covers to extend the growing season of frost-sensitive crops, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. This helps trap heat from the soil and protect the crop from chilly night temperatures.
Often Kentucky experiences a period of mild weather after the first killing frost. If you protect frost-sensitive vegetables at critical times in the fall, you could extend the harvest season by several weeks.
Once these vegetables die due to lower temperatures, you may be able to plant cool-season crops in their place. Leafy greens like lettuce and spinach may grow into November or December under polyethylene row covers if outside temperatures do not drop below the teens. Be sure to allow for ventilation on sunny days to prevent overheating.
You may successfully seed or transplant the following vegetables now for fall harvest: beets, Bibb lettuce, broccoli, carrots, collards, endive, leaf lettuce, kale, mustard greens, spinach, snow peas and turnips.
EXTENDING THE GROWING SEASON
From: ID-128, Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, Rick Durham, UK Extension Horticulture Specialist, Editor
Typical planting dates for vegetables in Kentucky as well as season production times provide a guide for conventional production, however there are methods for extending production beyond the traditional season. Polyethylene row covers have been used for a long time to help vegetables grow and ripen early in the spring. However, Kentucky’s springs are often too warm to benefit much from early season row covers. During the fall, on the other hand, these covers might prove useful to gardeners wishing to extend the harvest of frost-sensitive crops (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers). The objective of using a row cover is to trap heat from the soil and protect the crop from cold night temperatures which might deform fruit or kill the plant.
Many times in Kentucky, a period of mild weather will follow the first killing frost. If you protect frost-sensitive vegetables at critical times in the fall you could extend the harvest season by several weeks. However, the tall stature of some of these crops (tomatoes) makes it more difficult to protect them using row covers.
A second use of season extension might be to grow certain frost tolerant vegetables during the winter months. Vegetables like carrots, turnips, leeks, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, kale, and other leafy greens, are generally planted in the spring garden where they tolerate frost and freezing conditions. These vegetables are fairly low growing which would allow them to mature under row covers and their proximity to the ground helps protect them during extremely cold weather. Using solid plastic covering (low tunnels, see Figure 20.7), these greens may grow well into winter or even all winter long when temperature are not extreme (subzero F). But the nature of the low tunnel will require the growing beds to be ventilated during sunny conditions.
Gardeners have a choice of self-ventilating covers (slitted or perforated), low tunnel covers, or floating row covers. The slitted and perforated types as well as the plastic used for low tunnels are available in clear and opaque polyethylene and require wire hoops or PVC pipe for support.
To construct such tunnels after planting, push hoops (made from no. 9 galvanized wire or PVC pipe) into the ground, and spaced 5 feet apart over the row (Figure 20.7). Then when frost or freeze is predicted, cover them with clear polyethylene. Bury the edges of the plastic in the ground. For floating row covers, simply place the fabric directly over the crop and secure at the edges.
The slitted sides of perforated covers and the loose nature of floating row covers allow needed ventilation on sunny days to prevent overheating. However these season extension devices provide less protection from cold at night. Low tunnels made with solid plastic offers the best protection at night but must be ventilated by loosening the sides or ends during sunny days. Without ventilation, temperatures under the cover may quickly reach crop-damaging levels on sunny days. Raised bed gardens are generally easily adapted to low tunnel culture.
LIGHTNING SAFETY
By: Derrick Snyder – National Weather Service Paducah, KY
While the risk for severe thunderstorms that produce tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds is greatest during the spring across most of the country, the dangers of lightning can occur during all times of the year. Every year, hundreds of people are seriously injured from lightning strikes. The good news is that lightning deaths have trended downward in recent years thanks to greater preparedness and education. However, numerous people are still killed every year. Looking at the statistics for lightning fatalities, the majority of lightning deaths occurred while people were doing outdoor activities.
The deadliest activity when it comes to lightning strikes is fishing, followed by beach going, boating, camping, farming/ranching, riding bikes/motorcycles/ATVs, roofing, gathering outside, working construction, walking to a vehicle, yardwork, and playing soccer or golf. If you are caught outside during a thunderstorm, remember that there is no safe place outside from lightning. If a thunderstorm is occurring or nearby, seek shelter inside a sturdy enclosed structure. A hard-topped vehicle can also provide good shelter.
Keep these things in mind when it comes to lightning safety:
1. Your chances of being struck by lightning depend on how you react when storms are in the area.
2. Remember: “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!” If you can hear thunder, you are close enough
to be struck by lightning!
3. The threat of lightning increases as a storm approaches, peaks when it is overhead, and gradually
diminishes as it moves away.
4. Many people wait too long to get to a safe place and then go back outside too soon before the
threat is over. Wait about 30 minutes after you hear the last rumble of thunder to return outside.
LATE SUMMER LAWN CARE PROMOTES TURF HEALTH
By: Rick Durham, UK Extension Horticulture Specialist
Many lawns in this area are planted with cool-season grasses including Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass and fine fescues. They typically withstand cold winters, but each summer their growth slows. But a few simple steps can revive them in late summer.
You’ll often see lawns planted with these varieties begin to brown out in the summer. This is the time to raise that mower deck, because short mowing heights promote shallow roots, which makes it harder for the plants to access water and nutrients in the soil. Cutting your grass at a height of 3 or 4 inches will help promote deeper roots, as well as allow the grass to out-compete weeds, such as crabgrass. Research has shown that tall fescue lawns mowed at 3 or 4 inches will naturally inhibit 85% to 100% of crabgrass germination.
Though a healthy lawn requires little irrigation during ideal weather conditions, during times of drought, lawns may require a little help in this area. There are two thoughts to this. You could choose not to water at all. Kentucky bluegrass will go drought-dormant, but it will green up when it receives rain. Tall fescue has a deep root system and can usually continue through a drought. However, if the drought is too sustained, grasses may not emerge from dormancy. And a drought-dormant turf cannot compete against weeds.
The best practice is to water infrequently but thoroughly. A daily or periodic light watering will only develop a shallower root system. Wait until the lawn is dry enough that you leave footprints. This indicates that the lawn is just beginning to wilt. Water until puddles begin forming on the surface. At this point you have reached the maximum percolation rate of the soil. Don’t water again until the soil dries and footprints are once again visible. This practice will create the deepest possible root system and the healthiest plants in terms of drought tolerance.
It is best to water lawns in the predawn hours. Watering in early morning will greatly reduce losses to evaporation. And remember, excessive watering is every bit as bad as not watering enough. Water will fill up the air spaces in the soil. Roots require oxygen to grow, and shallow roots will result from low soil oxygen levels.
Autumn is the best time to supply nutrients to lawns in Kentucky. Many soils in Eastern and Central Kentucky have adequate levels of phosphorous and potassium, so only nitrogen will be needed. Applying phosphorous and potassium when not needed is a waste of money and can damage the environment. Conducting a soil test every three to five years is a good way to provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs.
Nitrogen applied in the autumn results in better winter color, less frequent spring mowing, fewer weeds, less disease pressure and less heat stress in summer and less water required in summer due to a more extensive root system. Following an appropriate fall fertility program can greatly reduce the need for additional environmentally unfriendly inputs such as herbicides, fungicides and, most especially, water.
Autumn is the ideal time to plant a cool-season lawn, with the best chance of success being from mid-August until the second week of September. Temperatures are cooling down, and there is less competition from summer annual weeds such as crabgrass and goosegrass. Planting in the autumn gives the grasses six to eight months to mature and develop a deep root system before the onset of the summer stress period.
A little care in August and September this year will provide you with a lawn that requires less maintenance next year.
APPLE BERRY SALSA WITH CINNAMON CHIPS
Yield: 12 servings
Serving Size: 3 Tablespoons Salsa/4 chips
Ingredients:
· 1 medium granny smith apple
· 3/4 cup strawberries
· 1 small orange
· 1/2 can crushed pineapple
· 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon orange juice
· *12 (8-inch) fat free tortillas
· *2 teaspoons cinnamon
· *1/4 cup sugar
· *Vegetable cooking spray
Directions:
Apple Berry Salsa
1. Wash, core, and dice apple, with peel.
2. Wash, hull, and dice strawberries.
3. Wash, peel, and dice orange.
4. Pour pineapples in a bowl along with the apple, strawberries, and orange. Stir gently.
5. In a small separate bowl, mix orange juice and brown sugar with a fork until combined.
6. Pour over fruit and refrigerate while making cinnamon chips.
***Cinnamon Chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray each side of tortillas with vegetable spay.
3.Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
4. Cut into 4 wedges.
5. Place on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes.
Nutritional Analysis per serving:
Salsa: 30 calories; 0g total fat; 0g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 0mg sodium; 8g carbohydrate; 1g fiber; 7g sugar; 0g protein.
Chips: 150 calories; 3.5g total fat; 1g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 320mg sodium; 27g carbohydrate; 0g fiber; 4g sugar; 4g protein.
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Asclepias incarnata
Common Name: Swamp milkweed
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Apocynaceae
Zone: 3 to 6
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Spread: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: July to August
Bloom Description: White, pink, mauve
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, fragrant
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies
Source: Missouri Botanical Garden
FOOD PRESERVATION
Our office often gets asked for recommendations of resources for food preservation.
We recommend the Ball Blue Book and the National Center for Home Food Preservation which is with the University of Georgia: https://nchfp.uga.edu/. You can also contact your local University of Kentucky Extension Office for recommended publications on the topic.
