UT Extension has many Resources for the Home Gardener.
As the cold weather sets in and outside gardening has come to an end for a while, now is the perfect opportunity to plan for your spring garden.
You can do a web search for “gardening information”, and get thousands of hits, but which one should you choose, which one will give you the correct information for your specific area or need and which one will end up in disaster?
If you want tested and tried information, we recommend you use the information available from UT Extension Service. The UT Extension has a vast array of resources available at their “Publications and Multimedia” on line catalog at: https://extension.tennessee.edu/piblcations. This site gives you access to over 1,100 items including publications, books, videos, and other education materials developed by UT specialists to assist people across Tennessee.
If you narrow your search to “garden” you will get a list of 455 publications on that subject.
One main resource that many gardeners may find helpful is the “Tennessee Home Vegetable Garden Calendar” that is available every year. This is a downloadable pdf calendar that has been developed to assist you in formulating an overall plan for your residential vegetable garden and fruit production.
You can utilize the calendar to schedule various planting, harvesting, and management practices.
Each month has specific tasks and when the task should be completed. There is a spotlight article each month on a specific topic. There is also an article a specific pathogen or pest of the month that gardeners need to be on the lookout for.
For example, some of the tasks listed are:
TASKS FOR JANUARY
• Place orders for bareroot fruit crops, and select materials carefully for your location and needs.
• Work on your garden layout and planting plans for this year. These plans should be based on a rotation among vegetable plant families as well as any pest and disease issues that were seen the prior year. Test germination on remaining garden seed to ensure viability.
• Gather materials for producing transplants (if you grow your own). These should include new or sanitized containers and pathogen free substrate.
• Order seeds for your 2023 garden, especially those for transplants.
• In some parts of Tennessee, seeds for cool-season spring transplants will need to be started in January.
TASKS FOR FEBRUARY
• Now is the time for dormant pruning on many fruit crops; make sure to remove any diseased wood while pruning for production.
• Dormant sprays are also an important early season fruit practice.
• Seed cool-season crops for transplanting if needed. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and similar crops will need approximately 8 weeks from seeding to transplanting. A late March or early April planting will require an early February seeding.
• Order remainder of garden seeds for the 2023 garden. Direct seeded crops can be ordered later, but early provides best selection.
• Seed the earliest of warm-season transplants. An early May transplant date will require a February or early March seeding.
• If conditions allow, you may prepare soil for early seeded cool-season crops. Allow plenty of time for cover crops to decompose.
A list of various publications that may be of interest to the home gardener is also provided, here are some of the publications that are available:
W 346-A Site selection and soil testing
W 346-B Garden planning, plant preparation and planting
W 346-C Managing plant nutrition
W 346-D Plant management practices
W 346-E Building and using raised beds
W 346-G Stewardship in soil management
W 346-H Growing tomatoes
W 661 Conventional and organic garden products
W 316 Home vegetable garden disease control
PB 595 You can control garden insects
You can also get this information from the Bradley County Extension Office located in the PIE Center at:
2373 Parker Street NE, Cleveland, TN. Their telephone number is (423) 728-7001
By Annabel and Mike Webb.
