Horticulture

2025 Southwest Ohio Perennial School

Join Us for the 31st Southwest Ohio Perennial School!

đź“… Date: April 10, 2025
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM (Doors open at 8:00 AM)
đź“Ť Location: Clermont County Fairgrounds, 4-H Hall
1000 Locust Street, Owensville, Ohio 45160

🌱 Registration is now open! The registration form is attached.

Join us for a day of expert insights, gardening inspiration, and networking with fellow plant enthusiasts. Our lineup of speakers includes:

🌿 Carol Trosset (Hamilton County MGV & Author) – Cultivating Woodland Wildflowers
Discover the diverse wildflowers of southern Ohio’s forests and their role in the ecosystem. Dr. Trosset will share insights from her family’s woodland restoration project and discuss the impact of climate change on blooming cycles.

💧 Eugene Braig (OSU Program Director, Aquatic Ecosystems) – Ponds and Pond-Loving Plants
Explore wetland and aquatic species that thrive in and around ponds, their benefits, and invasive species to avoid.

🌸 Brian Grubb (Educator, University of Cincinnati) – Herbaceous Ornamentals at UC
Gain insights into the teaching and study of herbaceous ornamentals at UC, including student projects from the past three years.

🍇 Ryan Slaughter (OSU Extension Educator, Ross County) – Getting Started with Brambles
Learn how to grow blackberries and raspberries, covering site selection, soil preparation, planting, trellising, and pruning.

🌼 Jenny Stoneking (OSU Extension Educator, Adams County) – Year-Round Color with Perennials
Discover how to design a perennial garden that showcases vibrant color in every season, even in winter!

For more information, visit clermont.osu.edu or contact neal.331@osu.edu.

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your gardening knowledge and connect with fellow enthusiasts! 🌿✨

Registration Form

Southern Ohio Women in Ag Conference

Join us on April 4, 2025, for the 2nd Southern Ohio Women in Agriculture Conference, located at Bell Manor in Chillicothe, OH.
Keynote – Overcoming Your Fear of Grant Writing
The Grower Panel focuses on the farmers’ market, agronomy, livestock, and floriculture.
Marketing Your Brand
How to take pictures to market your brand through design and editing
Continental breakfast and lunch provided
Vendors and Sponsors that will help support your business
Registration is open, and the cost is $50.
Current sponsors are Kingston Bank, Farm Credit, and Gerber Insurance.
More information and detailed descriptions to follow.

March Wednesday Women in Ag Webinar

Join us on March 5th at 10:30 am to learn more about Native Plants and how to incorporate them into your landscape. Amanda Bennett, ANR OSU Extension Educator in Miami County, will be our presenter.

Register for the entire series using this link one time. go.osu.edu/wiawednesdaywebinars2025 

March 2025 WIAWW Flyer

Potager Article #15

A series of articles presented by Candy Horton, an OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

I know it’s been a while since I last shared with you.  I want to apologize for that.  Life doesn’t always go the way we think it should, and it can take a little bit of time to come back from those rough times.  I’m sorry for the break.

Because of the break, my garden has become disrupted and was put on hold.  It’s frustrating, but sometimes, we need to rest before taking the next step in a project.  It was such a nice day yesterday. I spent some time in the garden checking to see how much work would need to be done to clean up the garden.  Because of the way I had set up the garden with the raised beds and mulch walkways, it’s not that bad, and I think that with a good two weeks of working there, I will be back in business.   When I last wrote, I finished up the first third of the garden.  I have a nice cold frame, 2 large raised beds, 2 smaller ones, 3 compost bins, and a shallow raised bed.   I started to work on the second section, which is the resting spot in the garden.  It will have a water feature, insect hotels, tables, and chairs to enjoy the garden.   I have found about 4 or 5 unique birdhouses that I want to put on a post to attract the birds.  I have several colorful pots to plant blueberry bushes or beautiful flowers to attract pollinators.   Just thinking about it feels very peaceful.

I had thought that I would put a worm farm in this area until recently when I was listening to a gardening podcast on organic gardening; the subject was healthy soil.  The instructor was teaching what healthy soil looks like, what difference it makes in your garden, and the chain reactions to having healthy soil.  Part of the discussion brought about the idea of adding worms or a worm farm into the garden.  The instructor made a comment that really stuck with me and changed my mind about having a worm farm in this middle section.  The comment he made focused on the idea that if our soil is healthy, then we don’t need to bring in worms because they will be naturally attracted to space.   I realized that he was right; a lot of my garden problems would not be an issue if my soil were a healthy, well-rounded environment.  It all starts with the soil.

Focusing on soil health, there’s a lot that I can do at this time. If the soil is not frozen, I could take a soil sample from the garden and take it to my local OSU Extension office to have it tested so I know and understand what condition my soil is in now. I will then know exactly what will be needed to get my soil healthy. I can start adding manure, compost, or leaf mulch to help make my soil as healthy as possible.

I have to understand that it will take several years to get it where I want it and that I will need to continually be mindful of the health of my soil and amend it as needed to keep it healthy.  As the day’s weather permits, I could start to clean out the garden.  I don’t want to chop up the debris but move it to my compost bins or a brush pile.  That way, the eggs and insects nesting in the leaves and weeds won’t be disturbed and can hatch out when they are ready, but I can get the garden prepared to start planting.

I have already been looking in the seed catalogs and am really excited to try some new seeds and plants.  We will talk more about that next time.

I have added a link to an article written by a team of professionals from The Ohio State University that will help you understand the importance of soil health, how to test it, and where to get it tested.

 

Soil Testing for Ohio Lawns, Landscapes, Fruit Crops, and Vegetable Gardens | Ohioline (osu.edu)

Written by: Joe Boggs, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hamilton County

Cindy Meyer, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Butler County

Gary Gao, Small-Fruit Extension Specialist, OSU South Centers

 Jim Chatfield, Extension Specialist, Agriculture, and Natural Resources

2025 Spring Seminars

Are you receiving seed catalogs? It’s time to start planning for your garden. Join us as we discuss ways to prepare for the 2025 gardening season.
RSVP to save your spot by scanning the QR Code or calling the office at 513-732-7070 or email Burdsall.9@osu.edu

Online Fruit Pruning School

The Ohio State University South Centers is hosting its popular Online Fruit Pruning School on Tuesday, March 4. This is a FREE online event that will be conducted virtually via the Zoom communications platform.

All three parts will be held on March 4, beginning with apple tree training and pruning at 9:30 a.m., followed by peach tree training and pruning at 10:30 a.m. We will briefly break for lunch before wrapping up with small fruit pruning beginning at 1:15 p.m. We will cover small fruits like aronia, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, grapevines, and hardy figs.

Visit the link below and fill out the registration form. We also plan on offering on-demand recordings afterward so you can access the event on-demand, as we know this fits some people’s schedules better.

Register here: http://go.osu.edu/pruningschool

For even more information, consult the attached flyer. Pruning 2025

Looking forward to seeing you (virtually) again this year!

Working in Cold Temperatures

With snow covering much of the landscape for over a week now, we will now get arctic cold temperatures and windchills with daily high temperatures that will be the coldest in roughly ten years.  It is interesting to note that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documents that there are more deaths in the United States due to cold weather exposure (hypothermia) than hot weather exposure (hyperthermia) each year.  The CDC has also tracked an average of 1,300 deaths per year in the US due to excessive cold or hypothermia.

Many jobs are affected little with the change in temperature outside, but others do not have that luxury.  Occupations such as agriculture (and others) work outside a great deal no matter what the conditions.  Helpful reminders are often beneficial to keep safe while accomplishing these tasks.

Everyone responds to cold weather and temperature extremes in general very differently.  It is what we are “used to” and what we can “tolerate”.  What Alaskans think of as cold in January may be quite different than what we perceive as cold in the lower 48.  Specific contributing factors may also affect a person’s susceptibility to cold temperatures such as getting wet, exhaustion, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and general poor physical condition.

General good practices for working in cold weather include:

  • Planning routine maintenance on outdoor equipment for warmer seasons.
  • Let others know where you will be working and when you will return.
  • Dressing in layers so clothing may be added or taken off in specific instances.
  • Keeping dry. Keep extra dry clothes, gloves, and shoes/boots nearby.
  • Protecting ears, face, hands, feet, and head. Extremities away from the body core have less blood flow and are more difficult to keep warm.
  • Taking breaks in warm locations.
  • Staying hydrated. Not often thought of as an issue in cold weather, but just as important.

In some cases, cold-related illness and injuries will occur.  It is important to know the symptoms so you can watch yourself and others for signs.

Hypothermia:

  • Body loses heat faster than it can be produced.
  • Symptoms are shivering, fatigue, confusion, disorientation.
  • Can be mild to severe depending on symptoms.

Frostbite:

  • Actual freezing of tissue.
  • Symptoms are numbness, stinging, or pain and top layer of skin feeling hard and rubbery.
  • Wear appropriate clothing and seek medical attention if symptoms remain after 30 minutes.

Trench foot:

  • Feet lose heat due to cold or wetness too long and tissue becomes damaged.
  • Symptoms include swelling and pain in the feet. Differs from frostbite in that the skin does not actually freeze.
  • Keep feet warm and dry.

Cold weather injuries are preventable.  Take the time to make the necessary plans for yourself and your workers to stay warm and dry and safely get the job done.

Wayne Dellinger, ANR Educator Union County, can be reached at 937-644-8117 ex. 3024 or dellinger.6@osu.edu. This column is provided by the OSU Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Team. https://agsafety.osu.edu/.

2024 ePLUS Report (specialty crops, fruits, vegetables, and more)

The first-ever ePLUS annual report is here! Browse the issue online or download a PDF copy of the 174-page, full-color publication. Physical copies will be available soon from OSU Extension.
ePLUS represents an Ohio State University program dedicated to advancing production agriculture and wise use of natural resources through on-location research. This program utilizes modern technologies and information to conduct applied, cooperative research with an educational and demonstration component used to help growers, managers, and advisors understand how new practices and techniques can improve farm, forest, and garden sustainability.

USDA Increases Funding for New Specialty Crop Program; Reminds Producers of Upcoming Deadlines   

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop producers to apply for assistance with marketing and food safety certification expenses. Specifically, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing an additional $650 million in funding for the new Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program and extending the MASC application deadline to Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Meanwhile, FSA also reminds specialty crop producers of the Jan. 31, 2025, deadline to apply for the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program for 2024 expenses.