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.
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