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Kenneth Clayton has joined the University of Kentucky Turfgrass Science program as an Extension Associate. Mr. Clayton is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and brings nearly 15 years of golf course management experience to the turf program. He is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GSCAA) and is on the Board of Directors of the Kentuckiana Golf Course Superintendents Association (KGCSA). In this new role, he will collaborate closely with Extension and research faculty, regional and local Extension personnel, industry representatives and other stakeholders state-wide.

“Turfgrass is ubiquitous across Kentucky,” says Kenneth Clayton. “The renowned turfgrass professor Dr. A.J. Powell said, “In the transition zone we can grow all grasses equally poor”.  Successfully growing warm or cool season grasses is difficult in Kentucky. Therefore, I am delighted to be part of UK’s extension efforts to help turfgrass managers effectively grow grass across the state!”

The UK Turfgrass Science program is part of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment Department of Plant & Soil Sciences and is made up of experts in turfgrass management, weed science, plant pathology, entomology, and soil and water management. The program provides research-based information to support, sports turf and golf course managers, lawn and landscape professionals, sod growers, and others involved in the turfgrass industry. In addition to Kenneth Clayton, the Kentucky Turfgrass Science team includes UK Cooperative Extension Service Agents: Andy Rideout (Henderson Co), Jason Vaughn (Powell Co), and Beth Wilson (Pulaski Co). Engage with the UK Turfgrass Science team online (https://ukturf.ca.uky.edu/).

The UK Turfgrass Science program has received a $15,000 industry donation. The Kentucky Horticulture Council (KHC) made this donation to support Extension programs that provide crucial technical assistance to green industry businesses across Kentucky including golf courses, sports turf, and residential landscape management companies. KHC works closely with the UK Turfgrass Science program, supporting research, education and outreach programs that benefit green industry professionals.

“The Kentucky green industry has a market value of over $9 Billion and employs more than 26,000 Kentuckians in urban and rural areas,” Dr. Cindy Finneseth, Executive Director of KHC states. “Our industry relies heavily on the science-based, environmentally sound recommendations from Extension professionals that result in high-quality, safe, and sustainable residential areas and playing surfaces for sports.”

The UK Turfgrass Science program and KHC co-host the annual Kentucky Turf & Landscape Management Short Course that brings together industry professionals for comprehensive turfgrass and landscape management education.

“With continued growth of the green industry in Kentucky, we are committed to supporting the turfgrass professionals across the state,” said Dr. Rebecca McCulley, Chair, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. “Hiring Kenneth to support the industry, KHC’s donation, and our collaboration in hosting the Short Course are examples of the strong, mutually beneficial tie between UK and our industry partners.”

The 2023 Kentucky Turf & Landscape Management Short Course will be February 21-23 at the Hardin County Extension Center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Details about the Short Course are available online: https://kyhortcouncil.org/2023-ky-turf-short-course/

Kenneth Clayton can be reached by email at Kenneth.Clayton@uky.edu or by phone at 859-257-5785.

Each month, KHC features one of the Council’s member organizations to highlight how these groups support horticulture in Kentucky. This month we are featuring the Kentucky chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) which has more than 15,000 members nationwide. ASLA Kentucky, the professional organization representing landscape architects across our state, was incorporated on June 16th, 1980 by Edmund Ely, Lyle Aten, and David Burkholder.

You may be wondering, what is landscape architecture? How does it relate to horticulture and our communities? Landscape architecture is the planning, design, and management of outdoor environments intended for use by people, plants, and animals. This includes parks and trails, playgrounds, campuses, plazas, nature preserves, and arboretums, all of which require extensive knowledge of and enthusiasm for plants of all kinds. Not only do landscape architects need to have in-depth knowledge of horticulture, but in order to create beautiful and functional spaces with the health and safety of communities and the environment in mind, they must have a working familiarity with interconnected concepts such as erosion control, flood water management, conservation, and public health, not to mention art and design.

Because the work of landscape architects is highly skilled with a direct public impact, the profession is regulated by requiring a license and continuing education to practice – much like teachers or doctors. In the recent past, state legislature bills in several states, including Kentucky, have attempted to remove these regulations, allowing individuals without specialized education and experience to practice landscape architecture. In the early 2000’s, ASLA Kentucky united landscape architects from all across the state to lobby and ultimately defend regulation of their profession. This protection of licensure, and in turn, communities and land, has become one of the great purposes of the association.

Members of ASLA Kentucky are graduates or students of ASLA-recognized landscape architecture programs. For professionals in the field, membership provides a community for resource sharing, professional development, and collective inspiration. Currently, The University of Kentucky has the only accredited landscape architecture program in the state. See more about the program at: http://ukla.ca.uky.edu/.

See some of the work of Kentucky-based landscape architects and learn more at https://www.aslakentucky.org.

Each month, KHC features one of the Council’s member organizations to highlight how these groups support horticulture in Kentucky. This month we are featuring The Garden Club of Kentucky (GCKY). Since 1931, the non-profit organization, GCKY has been a member of the South Atlantic Region of the National Garden Clubs. National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) is the largest volunteer gardening organization in the world! Kentucky has 45 local clubs spread throughout the state, totaling around 1,200 members.

The Garden Club of Kentucky promotes interest in and builds community around horticulture, gardening, and conservation of our natural spaces by providing educational opportunities, resources, and civic engagement. Membership includes a quarterly publication “The Garden Club of Kentucky Bulletin”, participation in monthly National Garden Club workshops via Zoom, and access to seasonal gardening resources. A state meeting is held each spring, district meetings are held in the fall.

GCKY provides educational courses, sponsored by members of the National Garden Club that are open both to members and non members on specific horticulture related topics. These courses include: Environmental School, Flower Show School, Gardening School, and Landscape Design School. Currently, GCKY is offering a Flower Show School series, of which the second course will be held in October. Participants will be allowed to become nationally accredited flower show judges. Next up is Gardening School, dates to be determined.

Additionally, GCKY offers scholarship assistance to college students seeking education in horticulture related studies including botany, plant pathology, forestry, agronomy, environmental and city planning, landscape design, or floriculture. How exciting for Kentucky’s budding horticulturalists!

Some upcoming events include:

March 13^th– 15^th, 2023: Annual GCKY Convention at Boone Tavern in Berea, KY.

May 2^nd – 5^th, 2023: Annual National Garden Club Convention in White Sulfur Springs, WV.

See this interactive map of Kentucky to find a garden club near you! Each of the 45 clubs has individual programming in their community in addition to the greater Garden Club of Kentucky programming. If there is not already a club in your area, you can form your own by using the form linked on the same page.

You can check out GCKY’s You Tube Channel for gardening resources and their Facebook Page for the latest happenings.

The 118^th Kentucky State Fair starts this week! The Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville is host to the Fair starting Thursday, Aug. 18 and ending Sunday, Aug. 28. This event has something for everyone from animal shows, honey straws, fair food, pig races, hand-made quilts, and the midway to the KHC favorite, Kentucky-grown plants and produce. 

KHC will be at the Fair with an exhibit in AgLand – an acre of agriculture exhibits in South Wing A showcasing many of the different segments of the 75,000+ Kentucky farms.

Many Kentucky specialty crop growers will be cooking on the Farm to Fair stage, including Cleav’s Family Market (8/18 at 11 am), Coleman Crest Farm (8/19 at 7:15 pm), Mulberry Orchard (8/21 at 10 am), Sweet Bee Gardens (8/21 at 2 pm), Miller’s Farm (8/22 at 4:15 pm), and be sure to catch the culinary students competing in the Jr. Chef competition. KHC’s own Bethany and Dakota will be featured on the Farm to Fair stage, too. Check out Bethany’s cooking demonstrations on each Friday of the Fair at 6 pm. As usual, she will be cooking up something good using locally-grown produce. On Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28, Dakota will be creating amazing floral arrangements using fresh flowers from local farms.

We are fortunate to be part of an AgVets project and excited to welcome our active, retired military veterans and families to the Fair on Sunday, Aug. 21.

My can’t miss for the Fair – the largest pumpkin and watermelon entries. Check out the prize-winners by the West Hall. Entries are submitted on Sat., Aug. 20 in the morning with weigh-in at 1:30 pm. The winners get premiums (cash prizes), but I’m pretty sure they enter the contest for bragging rights. The 2021 pumpkin was a record-breaking 1,663 lbs! Fruit, nut, and vegetable entries will be on display inside the West Hall.

See the daily schedules and find out more about the Fair at www.kystatefair.org.

#KYStateFair #KYHorticulture

Farmers markets are a great way for consumers to make direct connections to local food producers. These local markets also are a way to stabilize farm revenue, preserve biodiversity, respect seasonality, and have a lowered environmental impact. Farmers markets are also important to local and rural economies, enabling a richer perspective of community-supported agriculture.

Short food supply chains – like farmers markets – enable beginning, small-scale growers, veteran- and women-owned operations, and historically disadvantaged farming entrepreneurs. Local markets are natural incubators for new food businesses with examples across Kentucky of successful restaurants, food businesses, and farms launched at farmers markets.

KHC and other state and national organizations will be celebrating the 23^rd National Farmers Market Week from Aug. 7-13. Since the mid-1990s, when the USDA started tracking the number of farmers markets in the US, the number of markets in the U.S. has increased from 2,000 to more than 8,720. Total annual sales at US markets are estimated at over $1 Billion.

Kentucky agriculture is extremely diverse and unique, with high producer participation in farmers markets. According to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, there are more than 170 farmers markets across the Commonwealth, located in 112 counties and having about 3,000 unique vendors. A very high number of specialty crop growers and value-added producers sell their products through farmers markets and the market value continues to increase each year.

Each market has a unique personality and it is really interesting to see the different activities and offerings at markets across Kentucky. Many urban and rural year-round and seasonal markets offer live music, featured produce activities, educational events, and special events for children, and in 2021, 49 Kentucky farmers markets offered a Double Dollars program, which provides a financial incentive to purchase fresh, nutritious, locally-grown produce to participants in SNAP and WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs. One strategy farmers use to encourage purchase of locally grown produce is offering samples for customers to try different products.

Farmers markets can be a profitable market channel for Kentucky horticulture operations. Generally, there are low barriers to entry, the primary expenses being market registration fees and a booth set up. KHC works with partner organizations and agencies to make resources and training available to growers interested in selling through farmers markets. Two excellent resources for farmers market vendors are the Kentucky Farmers Market Manual & Resource Guide (KY Department of Ag) and the Kentucky Farmers Market Price Reports (University of KY Center for Crop Diversification).

Community-based farmers markets provide an important alternative to the industrialized food system and KHC is happy to promote, support, and strengthen farmers markets across Kentucky. We encourage you to visit a local farmers market and celebrate the summer bounty of Kentucky farms!

Each month, KHC features one of the Council’s member organizations to highlight how these groups support horticulture in Kentucky. This month we are featuring The Kentucky Nut Growers Association (KNGA). KNGA is a non-profit organization that promotes curiosity of nut bearing trees and their propagation. The group is made up of a number of growers and researchers with a lifetime of experience between them cultivating and breeding nut and fruit trees in Kentucky. They are dedicated to identifying and locating promising seedling trees that can be adapted to our climate. Members exchange educational information, growing techniques, and plant material.

KNGA was formed in the spring of 1960 at a meeting of the Indiana Nut Growers Association at the farm of Ford Wilkinson.  Among the charter members was W.D. Armstrong, the first research scientist to be headquartered at the University of Kentucky Princeton Experiment Station. Other charter members included Mr. Tubby McGill, Extension Service, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rice of Hickman, KY, Mr. Makin of Tiptonville, TN, Mr. Henry Converse of Henderson, KY, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Vannoy, Mr. and Mrs. Ch. Collier, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Morrill, and Mr. Boynton Merrill. 

Members receive twice yearly newsletters and are invited to attend two annual meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for October 15^th at the Kentucky State University Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort. This will be the first meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic!  Member meetings are casual gatherings with a pot-luck luncheon and informal presentations, scion wood exchange and sometimes a fundraising auction with donated plant materials from supporting local nurseries and members. Many of the KNGA members are tree fruit experts and enthusiasts as well so it’s not uncommon to find an exchange of fruit tree scion and growing knowledge at these meetings as well!

Anyone with an interest in nut bearing trees is welcome to join KNGA- even if you do not reside in Kentucky or currently grow nut trees! For those interested in growing fruit and nut trees, membership provides an opportunity to network with and learn from members willing to share their many years of experience. To become a member, you may send an application including your name, mailing address, and email address to the KNGA treasurer, Douglas Hines, at 679 Townsend Valley Road, Paris, KY 40361. Annual dues are $5.00 with membership renewals beginning on January 1^st of each year.

Follow KNGA on Facebook to stay in touch!

Frequently, KHC features one of the Council’s member organizations to highlight how these groups support horticulture in Kentucky. This month, KHC is highlighting The Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK), a non-profit organization founded by farmers, for farmers.

OAK believes that taking care of our soils and environment through sustainable farming practices will create healthy and resilient communities. OAK works to grow ecological resilience, economic viability and socially-just futures for Kentucky farmers through educational, technical and market-driven resources.

When the original, dedicated group of Kentucky organic farmers founded OAK in 2009, the sustainable farming landscape across Kentucky was very different from what it is today. As interest and demand for local, organic food and farming has expanded over the years, we are lucky to have OAK to support, educate and connect our farmers and consumers.

OAK helps to sustain the organic farming community by offering an annual farming conference, monthly farmer field days, timely newsletters for growers and agriculture professionals and an organic transition training program for farmers considering or seeking organic certification. To support and encourage a healthy food system, OAK offers cooking demonstrations using in-season produce, community supported agriculture (CSA) fairs, online blog posts, consumer newsletters, and the Find-a-Farm Directory to connect community members and buyers with farmers across the Commonwealth. Visit OAK’s website to find out more about these resources.

Each winter, OAK hosts an invaluable farming conference that connects hundreds of attendees with a diverse array of dynamic speakers. Each year, the conference sessions cover topics such as current research in organic agriculture, soil health, organic pest and disease management, biodiversity on farms, seed saving, food system policy, specialty crops, climate resiliency, organic certification, CSA management and organic market access.

The events keep going after the conference too! Throughout the growing season, OAK offers a diverse on-farm field days. These events offer farmers and agricultural professionals the opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing. OAK Farmer Field Days hosted across the state and led by Kentucky farmers offer the opportunity for beginning farmers, advanced farmers and other interested parties to connect and share practical techniques and skills to improve their own farms, gardens and communities. Check out the line-up of upcoming field days scheduled in 2022 here!

If you want to support OAK’s mission to elevate organic growers and community members across the Commonwealth, you can make a tax-deductible donation or become a member. Members receive discounted registration for the annual conference and all OAK events, as well as discounts from supporting businesses.

For any questions you may have about sustainable, organic farming, send an email to info@oak-ky.org or call 502-219-7378.

Kentucky grown cut flowers are being celebrated this July in a month-long promotional event organized by the Kentucky Horticulture Council and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Each day, cut flower growers across the state will be featured on KHC’s social media channels highlighting where customers can find locally-grown flowers on farms, at farmers markets, pop-up shops, through community supported agriculture subscriptions, and other outlets.

“I’m glad that we have designated July as the month for celebrating specialty cut flower production in Kentucky and spotlighting growers producing these magnificent blooms” said Kristin Hildabrand, Warren County horticulture extension agent. “Kentucky cut flower growers offer a wide variety of unique plant material from fresh to dried in the form of buds, flowers, stems, colorful budding branches, seed heads, and stalks throughout the different growing seasons. There is always room on your table to have fresh, locally grown flowers!”

Most – about 80% – of cut flowers are imported for US markets, yet Kentucky farm conditions are well-suited for high-quality commercial production. The commonwealth is home to well over 125 commercial cut flower operations. The number of farmer-florists continues to increase each year, with a 20% increase in just the last year.

“Selling through local retail and wholesale markets can be profitable for small to large scale Kentucky cut flower growers,” said Cindy Finneseth, KHC executive director. “We continue to see high demand for locally-grown products in both urban and rural areas and our flower farms are growing high quality, diverse products to meet that demand.”

“It has been great to see the growth that cut flowers have had in the recent years among Kentucky’s horticulture industry. No longer are we seeing just a few zinnias at a farmer’s market booth, but an increase in commercial farms, solely dedicated to producing cut flowers and making a living doing it,” said Alexis Sheffield, Boyle County horticulture extension agent. “Kentucky is home to some large-scale farms that exemplify the diversity of agriculture across the state.”

To help customers find Kentucky operations, the Kentucky Horticulture Council and UK horticulture agents have partnered with UK’s Center for Crop Diversification to produce an interactive, online map at https://uk-horticulture.github.io/KY-Cut-Flowers/.

“We invite all Kentuckians to explore the many local cut flower growers in their area to see what services they offer and to find ways to purchase locally-grown floral products when celebrating future events, programs, graduation, parties, and weddings,” added Hildabrand.

To follow the cut flower month promotional activities, visit Facebook (@KYHortCouncil), Instagram (@KYHorticulture) or Twitter (@KYHorticulture).

For more information about the monthly activities, please contact: 

Kristin Hildabrand, kristin.goodin@uky.edu, Alexis Sheffield, alexis.amorese@uky.edu, or Cindy Finneseth, cindy@kyhortcouncil.org.

Well, it’s the end of May, and we’re on the tail end of asparagus season, but here in Kentucky you can still find it at most local farmers markets. That won’t last for much longer. A select number of vegetables and fruit are available, or at their freshest, for just a few weeks out of the year. Asparagus happens to be one of these. Typically harvested for 3 to 6 weeks in the spring, asparagus is quick to appear and disappear from markets, making it a thrilling time of the year for foodies. Those who prefer asparagus at its best flock to the markets and snatch up the thickest, most rigid of stalks. Some may want these fresh spears for the Vitamin B folate or high fiber content; others may want the asparagus for the taste. I for one, avoid it all together.

I haven’t had a great relationship with asparagus in the past. It was never one of our staples at home growing up, and my first real exposure to the veggie was a cold, jetlagged asparagus soup. Ok, maybe I was the one that was jetlagged, but the soup was not my friend. I’ve avoided asparagus since. Not actively though. It just doesn’t seem to be as prominent in my life as other vegetables, even in public settings where I encounter other vegetables I am not interested in. Despite my personal experience with asparagus, I can do research and perhaps learn to appreciate this unique crop.

Asparagus is believed to have originated from Europe and Northeast Asia, preferring maritime habits where soils are too saline for weeds and other plant life to compete. Traditionally, some brave growers would salt their asparagus fields to suppress weeds and feed the plant, however, this would render the soils unusable for most other plants for extended periods of time. It’s worth noting that saline-loving asparagus has a low sodium content.

Asparagus crowns are planted in the winter, and tender spears are harvested in the spring before they become woody and fibrous. It may take asparagus several years to produce harvestable spears. Newer plants produce shorter and skinnier stalks, while older plants produce the thicker stalks that many chefs prefer. White asparagus, known for its less bitter taste, is produced by covering young shoots with soil to prevent photosynthesis from beginning and turning the stems green. As the shoots grow, more soil is added so that the whole stalk will be white when harvested. Purple asparagus is also available in markets and is quite the opposite of green asparagus with its higher sugar content and low fiber levels.

Since we now know a little about the history and cultivation of asparagus, let’s look at some recipes. When googling asparagus recipes, many recipes appear to use asparagus steamed, roasted, grilled, or sautéed. Asparagus can also be eaten raw. None of the recipes seemed exciting or interesting enough for me to try. So, I asked around, and KHC resident chef Bethany gave me a neat recipe for an asparagus tart which I will include at the bottom of this way too long writeup on asparagus. But first, I decided to turn to a legend who has been receiving a lot of attention recently and see what she had to say about asparagus.

In an episode of The French Chef titled “From Tip to Butt”, Julia Child gave the audience her tips to keep asparagus fresh: trimming stems slightly, placing stems in a pot with an inch of water, covering with plastic, and placing in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To prepare the asparagus for cooking, most recipes, in the 1960s and now, suggest breaking off the bottom of the stem by bending until it snaps at a more tender spot. She pointed out that when snapping is done, half of what you paid for is being thrown away. Instead, you should peel. Using a knife, cut off ¼ of an inch at the bottom and then peel up to about 2 inches from the where the tip starts. She recommends buying the fattest spears you can for easy peeling. After peeling and washing well, tie the asparagus in bundles with 2.5 inch diameters. Tie with string towards the top and bottom making sure the tips are even and together. Place the bundles in 6 quarts of “rapidly boiling” water, and salt the water. Boil for 5 to 6 minutes until the bundle of spears has a slight drape when lifted. Julia serves the asparagus with an orange hollandaise, but she also praises letting the “exceptional” taste of the asparagus shine by serving hot with only lemon juice and salt.

Julia Child’s recipe and technique seem simple enough that I might try her way and see if the “shining” taste can win me over. I believe I would enjoy Bethany’s asparagus tart recipe more since it’s not just asparagus, but I don’t know if my cooking skills are up to the task. We will end this deep, but also shallow, dive into asparagus with her recipe below and the link to a video of Bethany making this tart: https://fb.watch/dcOVM948MV/

Asparagus Tart

• 1 lb cream cheese, softened
• 1 C unsalted butter, softened
• 1⁄4 C chopped fresh chives
• 1⁄4 C chopped fresh chives
• 1⁄2 C chopped parsley
• 1 head garlic
• 13-15 medium asparagus stalks, trimmed
• 1 puff pastry sheet
• 1 egg
• 3 T water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Each month, KHC features one of the Council’s member organizations to highlight how these groups support horticulture in Kentucky. This month we are featuring the Kentucky Florists Association (KFA). KFA is a non-profit organization that connects florists across the state. Founded in 1957, KFA is dedicated to promoting the development and growth of the floral industry in Kentucky and providing educational opportunities to aspiring florists and established professionals alike.

Every year, KFA presents the FEPK, or Floral Education Program of Kentucky. They offer a 1-day beginner’s introduction to floral design course for florists with 3 or less years experience in the industry. This course is a pre-requisite for the KMF, Kentucky Master Florist training. The KMF is a 5-day training that includes courses on hands on design, plant and cut flower handling, marketing, and business.

Another valuable education opportunity for florists is the KFA Annual Convention. The convention hosts design contests, roundtables, hands on classes, and a trade show. Florists can network with other industry professionals while expanding their skills and knowledge of the craft.

Additionally, KFA offers periodic 1-day design shows across the state. Events were postponed during the pandemic and now plans are being made for shows in the near future. Find updates on this and other education opportunities KFA’s Facebook page and website.