Planting Your Garden

Participants of the program always get to taste a healthy sample of a dish prepared by Snap Ed Assistant, Heather Spencer, that can be fixed with the vegetables they will be growing this summer. Tonight they tried a Bacon and Tomato Dip

Last night’s Grow Breathitt County Meeting was entitled “Planting Your Garden”. Participants came out to RCARS where the demonstration garden is located. The talk started with soil test results and how to read them and how to ammend their soil to within the ranges required by the vegetables we want to grow this year. After that, participants were given a demonstration on how to plant the plants they received last night. After planting, Jonathan demonstrated the weave technique we are recommending in tying tomatoes. After that the bean trellis system was demonstrated. It consists of staples, twine, and 2 four feet 1×1 posts per every four beans. It had been tested last year at RCARS and held up well throughout the summer and fall and some are still standing today from last years trials.
After the demonstrations, participants made their way back to the wagons and sampled the bacon and tomato dip made by our Snap Ed Assistant. We always try to make a sample and give them the full recipe of the full dish that they can make at home this summer with the vegetables they will be growing. So far at our three meetings we’ve had a sample of an eggplant dish, a broccoli dish and last night the tomato dish.
With May 15th being the traditional last frost date, we had plants ready to go. Participants took home tomatoes (4 types), peppers (bell and banana), eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, as well as seeds of beans, cucumber, watermelon, canteloupe, and squash. Participants were looking forward to getting home to plant.
Everyone’s onions and potatoes were coming up great and some reports of the colorado potato beetle were reported. We will have to get those taken care of as soon as possible.