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October 2024 Pulaski County Home Horticulture Newsletter
Summer is winding down
And please remember to REGISTER for the programs you’d like to attend by scanning the QR codes or clicking on the graphic.
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Upcoming Events
It’s TREE WEEK!!!
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October 5 — Guided Bird Walk, 8am, Zollicoffer Park Hwy 235, Nancy KY. Bring Your Own Binoculars
October 5 — Callery/Bradford Pear Bounty & Tree Swap, 10am, Nancy Branch Library.
October 6 — Geo-Cache Challenge Hike, 2pm, Pulaski County Park, Shelter #1. Bring your smartphone and an adventurous spirit! For newbies and veterans.
October 7 — DIY Leaf Print Greeting Cards, 2pm, Burnside Branch Library. Leaves will be provided but feel free to bring your own.
October 8 — Forest Bathing, 5:45 to 7pm, Eubank City Park
October 9 — Leaf Print T-Shirts & Owl Pellet Discovery, 3pm, Firebrook Community Park. This is a kids activity.
October 9 — Mulch Madness, 4pm, Firebrook Community Park. Come help us mulch trees at this beautiful park! Dress for the weather.
October 10 — Hike at the Black Walnut Trail, 1pm, Army Corps of Engineers.
October 11 — Paper-Making & Tree Stamping, 11am, Pulaski Co Extension office.
October 11 — DIY Wind Chimes, 1pm, Pulaski Co Extension office.
October 12 — Community Pancake (and more) Breakfast, 8 to 10am (or until food runs out), Woodstock Community Center. Adults $5, kids $3, all proceeds benefit Woodstock Community Center.
October 12 — Tree Planting & Mulch Madness, 11am, Woodstock Community Center. Bring your own tools, dress for the weather.
October 16 — Homesteading Series: Cheese-Making Demonstration, 4pm, Pulaski Co Extension office.
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Towards the end of October, plant any of the following bulbs:
- Daffodils
- Crocus (both spring- and fall-blooming)
- Hyacinths
- Snowdrops
- Tulips
- Alliums
And don’t forget those culinary bulbs:
- Garlic
- Multiplying onions
- Shallots
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Be sure to use fresh seed unless you’ve done germination tests on leftover seed!
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First Frost - Tell Me It Ain’t So
October is usually the month of our first frost. Successful fall and winter gardening depends on you protecting plants from cold temperatures.
Pulaski County’s first frost is in the range of October 21-31.
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Consider Worm Composting This Winter
Worm composting (vermicomposting) is a way of converting organic waste to a rich stable end form (castings) using red wigglers or other composting worms.
All it takes to get started is a dark plastic tote, newspaper, worms, and food. The food will be your kitchen scraps.
If you’re considering using worms to compost food waste, drop by the Pulaski Co Extension office and see our 18 year old worm bin.
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The KY State Master Gardener Conference was September 25-26. Six Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners attended.
Tell them CONGRATULATIONS! They won the Search for Excellence Award based on the work they’re doing at Sky Hope Rehabilitation Center.
Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners will be hosting the State Conference in 2025.
Currently, Master Gardeners are involved in Tree Week activities the first full week of October.
Basic floral design was a topic they learned about in September. They also took a tour of Wilson’s Greenhouse in Frankfort (see photo).
The 365 Days of Gardening Raised Bed Series wrapped up at the end of September. Be looking for the series to be offered again starting Spring 2025.
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| October Garden To-Do List |
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| Divide spring-blooming perennials, like peonies and rhubarb, this month. |
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| If you want to feed the finches, be sure to stop deadheading so the remaining flowers can produce seed before frost. |
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| Cut and dry or freeze any remaining herbs. |
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| Ever considered growing a cover crop in your vegetable garden during the winter? Maybe it’s time! Winter wheat is a simple one to try for the first-timer. |
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| Fertilize your cool-season lawn (like tall fescue). If you haven’t had a soil test of your lawn, do that before applying the fertilizer so you’re only applying what the turf needs. |
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| To promote flowering of holiday cactus (either Thanksgiving or Christmas), leaving the plant outside to experience 55 degree nights will be enough to prompt it to produce flower buds. The alternative is to stick it in a dark closet or under a box for 12-14 hours a day starting mid- to late-October. |
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| Plant TREES!!! Participate in some of the Tree Week activities this year. |
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| Start planning for a winter vegetable garden. Get supplies like rebar, PVC pipe, and plastic sheeting. Or build yourself a cold frame. And don’t forget to order seeds! |
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Free Native Plant Garden Designs
Somerset is not a big city but the city of Lexington has posted free native plant garden designs online for anyone to use. They’re called Plant by Numbers.
They have many designs to offer from full sun to full shade and in between. In addition, they include front yard, street side, and stream side. Check it out here!
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It’s Always a Good Time to Soil Test
Soil quality determines your success as a gardener. Pulaski County residents get 25 soil analyses for FREE. Soil probes are also available to loan out. Call our office for more details 606-679-6361
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Credit Cards Now Accepted for Pine Straw!
Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners are now able to accept credit cards for pine straw. There is still plenty left for your end-of-the-year mulch applications.
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Recipe of the Month
Short days and officially fall by the calendar, this pumpkin apple muffin recipe seems to fit in well with the season.
Take a deep dive into all the UK Plate It Up Kentucky Proud recipes by clicking the button below.
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Non-Discrimination Policy
The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Reasonable accommodation of disability may be available with prior notice. Program information may be made available in languages other than English.
Inquiries regarding compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other related matter should be directed to
Equal Opportunity Office, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Room S-105, Agriculture Science Building, North Lexington, Kentucky 40546,
the UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, 13 Main Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0032 or
US Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
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Copyright (C) 2025 Pulaski Co Extension Service. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have attended a Gardener's Toolbox class or you receive the horticulture newsletter.
Our mailing address is:
Pulaski Co Extension Service
PO Box 720
Somerset, KY 42502-0720
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