Category Archives: Polls
Thinking About Fruit
We are thinking about putting in a fruit display garden/orchard here at the Extension Office. It’s not a sure thing whether or not we’re going to do it. We are just in the exploration and pre-planning stages.
One of the most important factors is determining if the spot we have available can actually grow fruit! My best estimate right now is that the soil is classified as a Sandy Clay…not exactly what we’re looking for in a fruit garden. We could probably make it better by incorporating a whole bunch of compost, but it still won’t have great drainage like many fruits require. I’ve also taken a soil test from the area to see if the pH is anywhere close to reasonable. (You have no idea how shocked and excited I’ll be if the pH test comes back as anything below 7.5!)
One of the reasons for growing fruit in a small home garden that we discussed during Master Gardener class last week is that you can grow fruits that are unusual or not easy to find in the grocery store.
Of course, I had to bribe everyone to see my point of view by feeding them – Red Currant Scones and this yummy Red Currant Pie. I had frozen 4 cups of currants back in June when the single Red Currant bush in the Demo Garden was loaded. When’s the last time you saw fresh (or even frozen) red currants in a grocery store in Kansas? That’s right…pretty much never!
So, that being said, which fruit would you like to see planted in a fruit display garden?
Local Food Survey
Here at the Sedgwick County Extension Office, we’ve been noticing the increased interest in local foods in our area. We also know that agriculture is getting more attention, in part thanks to Food, Inc., Fresh the Movie, Michael Pollan, etc. We really want to get a feel for the local foods interest in the Wichita area so that we can plan some events and programs that are beneficial for both local farmers and local consumers.
Please take our survey and pass it on to your friends! (You should still take the survey, even if you think the local food movement is nuts!)
Click here to take the survey: http://tinyurl.com/KSLFsurvey
Workshop Handouts & a Giveaway!
Welcome to The Demo Garden Blog to all of you who attended the Get Growing Vegetables workshop this morning! I hope you learned a lot.
If you are looking for the handouts for the presentations this morning, here they are:
Basic Vegetable Gardening GGV (PDF)
Common Pest & Disease Problems (PDF)
Bibliographic Resources about Organics (PDF)
And now for the FUN part! I’m going to be giving away 2 Tomato Plants and 2 Pepper Plants that will be extras from the Demo Garden this year. The winners will get their choice of plants, depending on what is left after everything is planted. (So…you are relying on me to keep more than the bare minimum number of plants alive until May.)
There are 2 ways to enter, and you can enter a maximum of 2 times (one time each way)! You must use a real email address, otherwise I won’t be able to contact you.
1. Post a comment below, telling one thing you are planting in your garden this year.
2. Post a comment below, giving ideas for topics that you would like to see offered at future gardening workshops.
If you want to see what plants you might win, you can check out our seed starting list here.
Entry Deadline is Tuesday, March 30th at 5 pm. Winners will be announced Wednesday morning.
UPDATE: Congratulations to Mart and Audra, the winners of the pepper and tomato plants!
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