Most Plants are Looking up but some still have a long way to go

Most plants are recovering nicely from the big freeze around Easter. Hosta plants are beginning to show new life and several of our shade trees are beginning to show new life. However there are some plants that we must wait to see what will happen.

The plant stressing me the most is 12 year old specimen Japanese Maple that is showing very few signs of life. I don't fear so much about losing the tree as I do the overall shape that has taken the twelve years to get the way I wanted. For many of these type plants we must wait to what Mother Nature will accomplish.

Things that would benefit from a haircut are:
Daylilies
Boxwoods
Some Hollies
Hosta's (remove the browned leaves)
Monkey grass
etc.

Freeze Damage to Ornamentals

It has been eleven days since the Easter freeze and we are still in a wait and see pattern. Many plants were very successful, an example would be the Hawthornes on Stephen Foster that are in full bloom today. I received word this morning that apples may end up with a crop after all. Flowers were open yesterday and Bees were in a flurry of activity.

For most ornamental plants we need to wait and see what happens before we take action. Do not fertilize this spring that will only make the problem worse however fertilization will be important this fall. There will be some plants like Japanese Maples that will likely have stem dieback which will require heavy pruning and as I said before other plants weren't affected in the least.

For much more information on this subject see the following link: http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/KYPlantDamage2007.html

Nelson County Soil Conservation District Annual Field Trip

Let me just tell you about my day. AsI said in the title the Nelson County Soil Conservaiton District sponsored a field trip today to visit some of the regions agriculture entrepeneurs. In Nelson County we visited Robert Mayer's aquaculture farm dedicated to the raising of large mouth bass. The unique thing about this operation is the marketing aspect. The fish are shipped live to Toronto Canada to be consumed by an ethnic market. Robert and his family have realy done their homework and created a very nice business niche for themselves. For more information on aquaculture visit the Kentucky State University Aquaculture website.

Second stop on the tour took place at the Roundstone Native Seed LLC. facilities in Upton,KY. Another entrepeneur that has created quite the business with one goal in mind; To be The Best in the Business. An from all indications they seem to know what they are doing. Their main business is seed production of our native grasses such as Big Blue Stem, Little Blue Stem, Eastern Gamma Grass, etc. They also produce over thirty different varieties of wild flowers and other wildlife friendly plants. For more information on this company check out their website by clicking on Roundstone Native Seed LLC.

Pumpkin Picking Time of Year

This has to be my favorite time of year. The night temperatures begin to fall and the mornings are crisp and fresh. The past two days have been pumpkin picking time at the Smith household and this family farming activity is a wonderfully anticipated time for everyone involved two years old and up. Pumpkins should be in full orange color when harvested with a fresh green stem. However, if necessary(insect damage, fruit rot occurring, heavy disease pressure, etc.)you can harvest pumkins when they are slightly green and theywill go ahead and orange-up. Click on Picking Pumpkins for some interesting pumkin picking facts.

Commercial Vineyard Establishment

What a beautiful almost fall day in central Kentucky. Today I participated in an all day workshop dedicated to the establishment of commercial vineyards and beginning winemaking. The event was hosted by the Kentucky Vineyards Association and the Kentucky Cooperative extension Service. Dr. Tom Cottrell and Dr. Kaan Kutural made their speaking debuts to central Kentucky. They are our new enology specialist and viticulturist respectively. They covered such topics as site selection, site preperation, weed management, and nutritional analysis. It was a very informative day and you can check out some of the information covered under the links for Grape Growing.

Perfect time to rennovate your Lawn

I have been getting a lot of calls this week in regards to lawn care. The interest has been created because of the un-normal summer we have just encountered. We have taken quite a hit to our lawns this season for a number of reasons. The top two reasons are the drought and a fungal disease known as brown rot. Brown rot is a result of hot, humid, and dry weather with just intermittent showers. The disease looks like it sounds were the grass just kind of melts out leaving a straw brown appearance in an irregular pattern. As a general rule when 30% of the lawn is affected it is time to consider rennovating. Check the turf care links to see the best methods to rennovate.