Fall is in the air here in Breathitt County. That means the decline of summer crops and focus changes for our participants. Participants who were interested in a fall garden picked up fall plants a few weeks ago and those plants have had long enough to be established. The cooler nights and the shorter days are ideal for crops like broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, etc. Other participants are thinking about cover crops and those seeds will be distributed in the coming days. Cover crops will get gardens ready for next year. A good analogy is baking a cake. When you bake a cake an go to the cupboard to get flour, if you bake enough cakes, eventually your flour is going to be empty. The same with nutrients in your garden. Year after year of gardens will deplete the nutrients in that one spot. Next spring when the green cover crop is turned over, nutrients will be added back to the soil and allow for a better garden next year. Many of our families have never used cover crop and we are taking this opportunity to educate them in that area.

Also, this time of year we are thinking about the future. We’ve approached a local outreach agency to partner with us for our program next year. They are interested in becoming our partner here in Breathitt County and our program will be growing next year.