Saturday, February 25, 2017 By: Ask A Master Gardener

Oklahoma State Horticultural Fact Sheets

Get the facts on gardening education, problem solving

BILL SEVIER Master Gardener

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Q: What are the fact sheets you mention in this column and how do I find them? T.S.
A: Each state has a land grant college, and each of those colleges has an extension department in each county whose goal is to educate homeowners and farmers about horticultural techniques and problem solving. Our extension office, a part of OSU, is located at 41116 E. 15th St., gate No. 6 at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds.
OSU has many hundreds of “fact sheets,” which are used for educational activities for commercial agriculture and homeowners. Each fact sheet is concerned with a specific horticultural topic.
The Master Gardener Office, which is located in the OSU Extension Building, has many of these fact sheets preprinted and available for free. You may come by the office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday to not only get these fact sheets but also to get help with gardening problems. You may also phone (918-746-3701) or bring in a plant sample or photo relating to your problem.
The OSU Master Gardener website, tulsamastergardeners.org, has most of the commonly requested fact sheets, and those not listed may be found by using an internet search of Oklahoma State and the name, fact sheet number or topic of interest.
Below are some of the more commonly requested and most helpful fact sheets with a brief description of content:
F-6004 Oklahoma Garden Planning Guide: This lists most all of the vegetables grown in Oklahoma and describes how and when to plant, along with days to maturity. This is the most requested fact sheet in spring.
HLA-6032 Vegetable Varieties for the Home Garden In Oklahoma: Individual varieties of common vegetables that do well in our area are listed.
F-6436: Healthy Garden Soils: This is an approach to preparing soils using Organic Gardening techniques.
F-6007: Improving Garden Soil Fertility: General information about planning a garden and correcting for any nutritional deficiencies.
F-6033: Raised Bed Gardening: The best approach for gardening if you have unfavorable soils.
F-6020: Growing Vegetable Transplants: How and when to start, care for and transplant sprouts.
K-State: Top or Side Dressing Nitrogen Fertilizer for Vegetables and Ornamentals: While not an OSU document, this is a useful list on what, when and how to fertilize different vegetables.
Bermuda Maintenance Schedule and Fescue Maintenance Schedule: These two documents are available from the Master Gardener website in the turfgrass section. They have complete recommendations for lawn care — mowing, weeding, irrigation, seeding and more.
HLA-6419: Establishing a Lawn in Oklahoma: Complete details on how to seed or sod a lawn.
HLA-6608: Managing Turfgrass in the Shade in Oklahoma: This addresses the problem of growing grass in shade. It has several options and planting alternatives for an area too shady for a lawn.
These fact sheets will give you most all of the information you may need for growing vegetables, ornamentals and turfgrass in Oklahoma. Another plus is that they are totally free and are your tax dollars at work.

Garden tips
·       Finish pruning shade trees, summer flowering shrubs and hedges by the end of the month. Spring-blooming shrubs such as forsythia may be pruned immediately after flowering. Do not top trees or prune just for the sake of pruning. Get OSU fact sheet “Pruning Ornamental Trees Shrubs and Vines” for more information.
·       By Feb. 15, many cool-season vegetables like cabbage, carrots, lettuce, peas and potatoes can be planted.
·       Spray peaches and nectarines with a fungicide for prevention of peach leaf curl before bud swell.
·       Collect and store graft wood for grafting pecans later this spring.


0 comments:

Post a Comment