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Mercer County Horticulture Newsletter

March, 2019

Mercer County

1007 Lexington Road Harrodsburg, KY 40330

(859) 734-4378 Fax: (859) 734-4379

From The Ground Up

The count down is on for the first official day of spring! Keep your fingers crossed that we see more sunshine this month

and spend more time outside! Happy Gardening!

Jessica Bessin,

Mercer County Extension Agent for Horticulture

NOTICE

Public Notification of Procedure for Filing a Complaint:

The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age, religion, gender, disability, or national origin.

To initiate a complaint at the college level, contact Tim West in the Business Office at 859-257-3879. At the University level, Terry Allen and Patty Bender in the UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (859-257-8927) may be contacted. Additionally, employee or clientele complaints involving any research or

extension sponsored program or activity may be directed to the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Bldg., 14th & Independence Ave. SW, Washington DC 20250-9410 (202-720-5964).

Mercer County Conservation Office Tree Give Away!

Mercer County Conservation District will be conducting its annual spring tree seedling giveaway for all Mercer County

landowners. This year the seedlings will include Eastern Redbud, Yellow Poplar, Bald Cypress, White Oak, Red Oak,

Persimmon. The 4,000 seedlings on hand are one to two years old and will be bagged in small groups. Planting

instructions will be provided to each individual. The seedling giveaway will begin Monday March 26th at the Mercer

County Conservation Office. For more information call Linda Lake at 859-734-6889 extension 3 or visit the

Mercer County Conservations Office located at:

227 Morris Dr, Harrodsburg, KY 40330

Office hours are 8:00 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.

Ready, Set, Start Your Transplants!

Now, (fingers crossed) this rain is all over we can start getting excited about spring being

right around the corner! Early season crops like spinach, peas, beets, and cabbage can

already be seeded outside in the garden. However, March is the time to start seeding

vegetables that we all long for in the dead of winter like a big juicy tomato or a nice crisp

bell pepper! One of the biggest advantages is being able to pick out a variety of vegetables

you would like to grow. Many commercial growers stick with the popular varieties of vegetable transplants, so growing

your own gives you the option to try something new that might not be readily available otherwise. However, on the flip

side of things, if you cannot provide the best growing conditions your transplants might not be as high quality as the

ones you could purchase from a commercial producer. One key element for growing transplants is using quality

growing media. The soil must be loose, fertile, and disease free. Any type of clean container that can hold soil mix, allow

drainage, and is stable can be used to start your transplants. After seeding make sure to water, be careful not to wash

the seeds out. Keep in mind young plants need a lot of light or they will get weak and spindly. If you do decide to start

your plants inside make sure you give them at least two weeks to “harden off” before placing them into the garden. That

is, you toughen up the plants so they can withstand the outside environment. You can do this by taking your plants

outside during the day and bringing them back in at night if the temperatures are too low. Traditionally, May 10th is the

date for the last chance of frost in this area, transplants plants should be safe to plant in the garden at this time. Source:

Utah Hort. Extension.

Mark Those Calendars!!!

Gardening Through The Seasons (Apple Tree Care)-March 5th, Mercer County Extension Office 2:00 PM

See insert for more details.

Apple Grafting Class-March 16th, Shaker Village 10:00 AM

In the morning, there will be a hands-on pruning demonstration. In the afternoon, lunch will be provided and grafting will

begin. Participants will take home 3 apple trees, as well as a grafting knife. 10 person limit, $20 payment secures your

spot! Please Call Mercer County Extension Office and secure your spot by March 1st: 859-734-4378

Produce Best Practice Training (PBPT)- March 18th, Mercer County Extension Office 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Please call the Mercer County Extension Office at 859-734-4378 to register for this training.

Farm City Dinner– March 19th, Mercer County Extension Office 6:00 PM

See insert for more details.

District Board Meeting– March 21st, Mercer County Extension Office 8:30 AM

Fort Harrod Beekeeping Club – March 25th, Mercer County Extension Office 6:30 PM

The bee club meets at 6 PM behind the Extension Office, weather permitting, to open the club’s hive. The regular meeting

will take place at 6:30 PM. Check out the Fort Harrod Beekeeping Facebook Page for all the latest updates!

Home Based Micro-processing Class-April 11th, Mercer County Extension Office 9:00 AM– 3:00 PM

To register for this class please go to https://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/homebased_processing_microprocessing and click

on Mercer County. There is a $50 registration fee for this class.

Gardening through the seasons( Root Crops)- April 16th, Mercer County Extension Office 6:00 PM

See insert for more details.

Elderberry

The American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is a large shrub or small tree

native to Kentucky. Wild stands are found growing from Florida to Quebec and west to the

Rocky Mountains. It is closely related to the European elderberry (Sambucus nigra), which

exhibits very similar morphological characteristics. The small fruit has prominent seeds that

are produced in large clusters. While elderberries are not normally eaten fresh due to their

tartness, wild and cultivated elderberries can be processed, either alone or with other fruit.

Most commercially grown elderberries are sold to processors for wines, juices, jellies, jams,

syrups and pies. Both the fruit and flowers are used in winemaking. Additionally, there is a

growing demand for elderberries in the health tonic industry. Elderberry varieties differ in earliness, yield, hardiness,

plant vigor and disease susceptibility. Berry flavor, as well as cluster and berry size, can also vary between cultivars.

Fruit color may be red to bluish-black to dark purple. Virus-free bare-rooted plants of horticultural varieties can be

purchased commercially. Plants are also easy to propagate from seed, cuttings or suckers, though plants grown from

seed may not have the same desirous characteristics as the parent. One-year-old nursery stock plants are transplanted to

a well-tilled site in early spring. Plants are somewhat tolerant of wet or poor sites; however, repeated flooding during

active growth will reduce productivity. Elderberries are relatively drought intolerant and very sandy soils are not

recommended because they support limited growth. The best soils are well drained and moderately acidic (pH 5.5-6.5).

Plants have a shallow, fibrous root system that can be damaged if the soil is cultivated too deeply for weed control;

mulches, mowing, or landscape fabric for weed exclusion are better control practices. According to production research

at the University of Missouri, elderberry can benefit from a light (less than 10 pounds per acre) nitrogen application one

to two months after planting. Mature plantings can benefit from annual applications of 60 to 80 pounds of nitrogen per

acre and other nutrient applications according to soil tests. Fruit is borne at the tips of the current year’s growth, as well

as on older wood. While second-year canes with several lateral branches are generally the most productive, fruit clusters

are largest on new vegetative canes arising from the crown. Elderberry plants are partially self-fruitful and will require

more than one variety in a planting to ensure cross-pollination. Row spacing is usually 10-12 feet, with plants spaced 4

feet apart. Elderberry should be pruned during dormancy to remove dead, damaged and unproductive canes. Pruning is

also beneficial for disease and insect management. Canes are removed at ground level, leaving equal numbers of 1-, 2-

and 3-year-old canes. Complete renewal of all canes annually or biannually is an alternative method, though it can reduce

yield the year that it is performed. Benefits of complete renewal over selective pruning may include larger, later ripening

fruit clusters and a more concentrated harvest period with the possibility of greater harvest efficiency . Relatively few

insects and diseases are problematic on elderberries. Potential insect pests include cecropia caterpillars, mites, Japanese

beetles, elderberry longhorn beetles, cane borers, sawfly larvae, aphids and fall webworms. Spotted wing drosophila is

possibly the most serious pest of elderberry fruit. Diseases such as viruses, cankers, leaf spot, rust and powdery mildew

may attack elderberry. Few pesticides are labeled for use on this crop, so growers will likely need to rely on good cultural

practices for pest management. Birds can be a serious problem, especially in small plantings near woods. Selections such

as ‘Bob Gordon,’ in which the fruit clusters hang downward, are somewhat less attractive to birds. Elderberry comes into

full production after three to four years. Fruit is hand-harvested in August and September by cutting the cluster from the

bush once all berries in a cluster have fully ripened. Because berries produced on different age canes will ripen at

different times, fruit is generally harvested weekly over a period of approximately three weeks. Harvested fruit is very

perishable and requires prompt refrigeration and/or freezing to preserve quality. Freezing

and/or heating during processing will reduce the cyanogenic glycosides present in the flesh.

Concentration is generally low enough that fresh fruit eaten in reasonable quantities will not

produce a reaction, though some consumers are more sensitive than others and may

experience nausea. With good growing conditions, an average yield of 3 to 4 tons of fruit per

acre can be expected. According to researchers in Missouri, elderberry plants “will likely

remain productive for at least five years, but the full productive life of an elderberry planting

is not known.” Source: Cheryl Kaiser and Matt Ernst, UK Center for Crop Diversification