The Hort Report
Many of you have had a frost or freeze in the past few weeks, but it didn’t do much damage. All of your root-type vegetables, even some above-ground vegetables, survived. To keep them growing, water them so the roots aren’t exposed to the cold air. Draw on paper your garden plan where all your vegetables…
Read Full Article The fall weather is here, and we are dealing with it in many ways. Hopefully, you got much-needed rain. With the cooler temperatures, you know it is fall. I have noticed that people, when they mow, are mowing dirt, weeds and not much else. I have talked about mowing based on the height of the…
Read Full Article The first day of fall was Sept. 22. The daylight hours are getting shorter. You have less time to work in your garden, flowerbeds and yard after 5 p.m. I enjoy this time of year and always find things to do every day. The weather has been hot and dry for the past several weeks.…
Read Full Article The weather has been dry the past few days. Many of you should be watering your vegetables to make sure they get plenty of water this time of year. When watering, water early in the morning or early in the evening for about one hour before sunset. Watering at these times of day will allow…
Read Full Article Thanks for all your prayers during the past few days. Laura and I appreciate them. Please keep them coming as I recover from my recent medical issues. I’m doing better and hope to return to my normal self in a few days. The weather has been great for this time of year for you to be…
Read Full Article Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. Many of you should be getting a lot of produce from your gardens. Cool-season vegetables have been harvested, and warm-season vegetables are producing. Think about what vegetables and where you will be planting them in your fall garden. You can start planting fall garden vegetables in late…
Read Full Article The Summer Solstice — the first day of summer — was June 20. The daylight hours we have each day will decrease until the Winter Solstice on the first day of winter on Dec. 21. The weather we have been having the past few days reminds me of 2023. The hot dry wind and lack…
Read Full Article Happy Father’s Day to all the special fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers. Let them know how much you appreciate them and how special they are to you. The weather has been great for all your gardening and yard work. The one thing we see is not having enough rain for all the plants in gardens…
Read Full Article Everything should be growing faster with the warmer weather and rain we have been getting. Hopefully many of you have got everything in the garden and flowerbeds. Many people have been buying transplants to put in the garden and flowerbeds. Some places are starting to discount them so they don’t lose a lot of money.…
Read Full Article With the weather we have been having over the past few days, hopefully many of you have done some planting in your garden and flowerbeds. Get your vegetable and flower transplants and seed in the soil because you don’t need to worry about cold weather. The weather has been good for helping weeds grow. Remove…
Read Full Article Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and grandmothers. Make sure you tell them how much you love them. I’ve seen several pairs of barn swallows in the past few days, and the weather has been changing, so spring is here for a while. Many of you in the past few days have got much-needed…
Read Full Article The weather has been almost normal for this time of year. Many people got some need rain. Hopefully we will all get some in the coming days. With the day and night temperatures rising each day, we should start to plant some warm-season vegetables and flowers. I planted Bush green beans in raised beds in…
Read Full Article I pray everyone had a blessed Easter while remembering that Jesus died to save us all. The weather is beginning to be more like spring with much-needed rain and warmer days. Hopefully, many of you have done some garden planting. In the community garden behind the Father Buhman Center in Shelbina, Mo. carrots, beets, lettuce,…
Read Full Article The calendar says it is spring, but the weather acts like we can still have several more days of winter. So what can you be doing? I have seen several yards already have been mowed once. I realize many people cut grass short no matter the time of the year. You should allow grass to…
Read Full Article Hopefully many of you have received some much-needed rain during the last few days. The rain, with the above-normal temperatures, will help many plants start to grow. I have had some questions in the past few days about getting new grass to start to grow. Spring and fall are the best times to start new…
Read Full Article The saying about weather in Missouri is true. If you don’t like it, wait a couple of days and it will change. We still have time to prune your fruit trees, grapes and brambles. Don’t want to prune after the sap starts flowing for this year. When pruning grapes, remember new grapes only grow on…
Read Full Article The weather has been above normal for temperature and below normal for moisture, so enjoy the warmer weather we are having. Spring is coming soon. We may have a few cold days and nights ahead, so you should still do your spring pruning of your fruit trees. However, I have seen many large groups of…
Read Full Article We have seen a lot of moisture get into the ground during the past few days from all the rain and melting snow. This will help build up the moisture in the soil. The South Shelby Adult Vo-Ag Horticulture had its first class on Jan. 23. Plans are to be starting seeds by Feb. 13.…
Read Full Article Hopefully, all of you made it through the first major snowfall of 2024. If you believe in the old wives’ tales, we should have a total of eight measurable snowfalls this year. It was a heavy, wet snow. All the moisture in the snow will help build the subsoil moisture and seal up the soil…
Read Full Article Happy New Year to everyone from Laura, Hillary, Sandra and myself. We’re praying that 2024 will be a great year for you and your families in everything you plan on doing in your garden, flowerbeds, yard and the rest of your life. Great news: The daylight hours are getting longer if you haven’t noticed. The…
Read Full Article Hopefully everyone enjoyed a great Thanksgivings Day with family and friends. This is a time of year when we need to be thankful for everything we have in this world. If you are like me, you overate and need to lose weight. The snow we had the other day has really helped the soil get…
Read Full Article In the past few days, we saw the first killing freeze of the year. Many of you have picked your last tomato and other vegetables this past weekend. The flowers will quit blooming too. However, many days of decent weather are ahead for you to be doing many projects outside. You can start thinking about…
Read Full Article The fall weather is really in full swing now. With the daylight hours getting shorter each day and the nights getting cooler, many of your vegetables and flowers have stopped producing. Laura and I are still watering flowers, tomatoes and green beans. I like seeing how long each fall we can have fresh vegetables and…
Read Full Article The first day of fall was Saturday, Sept. 23, and we are getting fewer hours of daylight every day. This will continue until Thursday, Dec. 21, the first day of winter when the number of daylight hours will start to increase. With the hours of daylight after 5 p.m. decreasing each day, we need to…
Read Full Article It looks like we will be having nice weather in the coming days, so enjoy it. Working in your garden, flowerbed and yard during this time of year can be really rewarding. There are many things to be doing with the weather the way it is now. The other day I did a podcast with…
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