Washington County Cooperative Extension Service

December 2014

Volume 10, Issue 12

Beekeepers News 2

A Note From Dennis 2

Wreath Sale 3

AAS 4

AAS 5

AAS 6

AAS 7

Recipe of The Month

Inside this issue:

HORTICULTURE

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Washington County

Horticulture

Cut Christmas Tree Tips The tree you cut yourself will last the longest. Most trees on lots have been cut for a few weeks.

When picking a tree put a nee-dle between your thumb and index finder. If the needle breaks with slight pressure it is too dry. Also hold the tree up-right off the ground several inches and drop it. If green nee-dles fall off pick a different tree.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask the dealer how long your tree has been cut. The longer the tree has been cut the least amount of time it will last. If you buy a tree from a lot, only buy trees that are stored in a shady location with the cut end in water.

After purchasing or cutting your tree 2”-3” of the cut end should be cut off just prior to putting it in water. This will open up the vascular tissue where it can take up moisture.

When placing a fresh Christmas tree in the house put it in a place where it will not be exposed to heat and make sure it has plen-ty of water. A stand that holds at least a gallon of water is best.

Remember that price is the key. You usu-ally get what you pay for. A cheap price will probably be a low quality tree.

Christmas

Tree Water

Recipe

1 Cup of Corn Syrup

3 Tablespoons of

Liquid Bleach

1 Gallon of Water

Page 2 Volume 10, Issue 12

Lincoln Trail Beekeeper’s Association News and Events

State Apiarist Tammy Horn will be on hand to talk about new state programs and to answer your

winter beekeeping questions on December 1, 2014 at the Extension Office at 6:30 P.M.

The Christmas season is upon on now (though stores thought it started in August). Winter will soon begin even

though we have had one round of the polar vortex this year with record cold already! I do believe we may have

had some winter damage on a few plants because dormancy wasn’t complete, don’t be surprised if dieback has al-

ready taken place on plants such as crepe myrtle and mycrophylla hydrangea. There isn’t anything you could have

or should have done, like last year most plants will bounce back.

I wanted to give you all a heads up that I will be offering the Master Gardener Class in the Winter and Spring of

2015. We will likely meet on Thursday evenings from 5:30 until 8:30 P.M. in a room yet to be determined at Saint

Catharine College.

With Christmas comes the end of the year and I want to wish you all a

Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New year!

A Note From Dennis

Cover your

rose bud un-

ions as soon

as the tem-

peratures

reach the up-

per teens and

low twenties

with 8 inches

of mulch or

soil. You can go ahead and

do this anytime now.

Cut your Christmas Tree

yourself it will last the

longest.

Keep fresh Christmas trees

away from direct heat, they

will dry out much faster.

Cut your lawn one last

time if you haven’t late-

ly. It will keep it look-

ing nice this winter

and reduce disease

problems this winter

and spring.

After Christmas mulch

your Christmas tree by

running it through a

chipper shredder. It will

decompose and make great

compost.

If you find some time be-

tween the holidays and

shopping December is a re-

ally good time to apply a

layer of compost or manure

to the garden. It protects

the soil and provides nutri-

ents for spring plantings.

Now is still a good time to

make a compost pile!

December is a good time to

apply fertilizer to lawns

and landscapes

Spray liquid lime sulfur on

peach trees to stop peach

tree leaf curl next year.

December To Do’s

2015 All America Selection Winners

Basil Dolce Fresca

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner If there was an AAS category for an edible plant with ornamental value,

this AAS Winner would fit that classification. Dolce Fresca produces

sweet tender leaves that outshone the comparison varieties while maintain-

ing an attractive, compact shape that’s both versatile and beautiful. Use the

leaves as you would any Genovese basil and we hear it makes an excellent

pesto. After harvest, the plant was quick to recover and kept the desired

ornamental shape that’s perfect for containers, borders or as a focal point.

Great for gardeners looking for drought tolerant, hearty plants, foodies

interested in a new and better basil and anyone who wants that great Mediterranean taste added to their cuisine.

Brussels Sprouts Hestia F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Hestia is only the second Brussels Sprouts ever to be granted an AAS Winner

designation. This is an excellent flavored trendy and popular vegetable with a

bright green exterior and smooth, dense yellow interior. The erect plant main-

tains its nice habit throughout the season and was judged notably more uni-

form than comparison varieties. Hestia tolerates much cooler temperatures

and the flavor improves deliciously when the temperatures dip into the 30’s.

Nice, erect Brussels Sprouts with great flavor. Potential for a second season

crop in many areas as variety tolerates both warm weather and cool. Other

varieties require cooler temperatures for sweetness.

Cucumber Parisian Gherkin F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Parisian Gherkin F1 is an excellent mini or gherkin pickling cucumber

which can be picked either at the midget size or small pickle stage and

processed. The numerous black spined cucumbers can also be enjoyed

fresh in salads and slaws. The crisp cucumbers have a sweet flavor and

process into pickles well. The semi vining plants can be planted in the gar-

den or staked patio containers. Plants grow and produce quickly. Parisian

Gherkin is one of two organic AAS Winners—a first for this organization! Very easy

to grow disease resistant variety well adapted to container gardens or raised beds.

Impatiens Bounce™ Pink Flame PPAF 'Balboufink'

2015 AAS Flower Award Winner Bounce impatiens provides gardeners with shade garden confidence. Bounce looks like

an Impatiens walleriana in habit, flower form and count, but is completely downy mil-

dew resistant, which means this impatiens will last from spring all the way through fall.

Bounce Pink Flame boasts of a massive amount of stunning, bright pink bicolor

blooms with tons of color to brighten your garden, be it in shade or sun. And caring

for impatiens has never been easier: just add water and they’ll “bounce” right back!

Information From: http://all-americaselections.org/winners/index.cfm

2015 All America Selection Winners

Pak Choi Bopak F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner In the history of AAS, Bopak F1 is the first Pak Choi to become an AAS Winner! Bopak matures early and the tender leaves with crisp sweet stalks taste great. It’s a tasty addition to Oriental recipes and the tender leaves can be eaten raw in salads or sandwiches. Swap stalks for celery sticks, add to soups and stews, or grill on the barbecue. Plant every couple of weeks for a longer harvest. Stop planting when the weather turns hot, then start new plants in late summer for fall harvest. May be harvested as a baby Pak Choi as well as grown to full size. This

classy plant will make an attractive “thriller” for patio pots and containers. Compact plant habit for close spacing and early maturing. Variety matures about 5 days earlier than other varieties.

Pepper Hot Sunset F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner For banana or wax pepper lovers who desire a prolific and earlier harvest of de-

licious and spicy (650 Scoville units) fruits, Hot Sunset is for you. Large, healthy,

vigorous plants are disease-free and produce tasty and attractive fruits all season

long. The AAS Trial judges noted what a great taste this thick-walled pepper

has, not like other hot peppers where all you get is heat. We think this tasty mor-

sel should be featured on a TV cooking show where chefs compete to bring out

the best in this goodie, whether it’s prepared fresh, grilled, roasted or pickled, it’s

sure to win over even the most particular foodie!

Pepper Emerald Fire F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner A grill master’s delight! At 2,500 Scoville units, this is the hottest pepper in this year’s pepper winners but it boasts extra large and very tasty jalapeno fruits that are perfect for stuffing, grilling or using in salsa. Emerald Fire produces gorgeous, glossy green peppers with thick walls that have very little cracking, even after ma-turing to red. Gardeners will appreciate the prolific fruit set on compact plants that resist disease better than other similar varieties on the market.

Emerald Fire is a strong and vigorous hybrid jalapeno plant that sets a large amount of concentrated fruit. This

high yielding X3R variety produces tasty extra large hot jalapenos that are great for fresh and canning uses.

Pepper Flaming Flare F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Most Fresno peppers are considered rather finicky plants that typically grow

better in warm and dry climates. The fact that Flaming Flare is an AAS Na-

tional Winner means it performed well in all AAS trial sites. The fruit is ideal

for making chili sauces and the heat of that sauce will increase depending on

how late in the season the peppers are harvested. Flaming Flare is an excep-

tional pepper that was sweeter tasting than similar Fresno types and consist-

ently produced larger fruits and more peppers per plant. Yet another AAS

Winner that culinary gardeners should consider for their kitchen gardens.

2015 All America Selection Winners

Pepper Pretty N Sweet F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Look…in the garden! Is it an ornamental pepper? Is it edible? Yes to both!

Now we can tell consumers that an ornamental pepper CAN be eaten and it

tastes fantastic! It’s time for new terminology to describe this multi-purpose

plant…how about an “Ornamedible?” Pretty N Sweet is just that: a sweet,

multi-colored pepper on a compact 18” plant that is attractive to use in orna-

mental gardens and containers. Against the comparisons, Pretty N Sweet was

earlier, more prolific (you can harvest weekly in peak season) and has a much sweeter taste with more substantial

pepper walls to enjoy fresh or in your favorite pepper dish.

Impatiens SunPatiens® Spreading Shell Pink

2015 AAS Flower Award Winner The truly unique genetic background of SunPatiens® Spreading Shell Pink delivers

unsurpassed garden performance with season long, soft pink flowers that never

slow down. Strong roots take hold quickly after transplanting and these impatiens

thrive under high heat, rain and humidity. The AAS Judges loved these vigorous

spreading plants that keep their shape all summer, plus, they do just as well in full

sun as in shade. These low-maintenance plants are perfect for gardeners looking

for impatiens that are resistant to downy mildew.

Pepper Sweet Sunset F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Sweet Sunset is a compact banana pepper that is vigorous and sets a large

amount of concentrated fruit. This high yielding X3R variety produces at-

tractive colorful tasty peppers that are great fresh or canned. The compact

upright plants do not require staking and can be grown in a container. This

high-yielding plant produces early, often and late into the season. Judges

commented on the good eating quality and Sweet Sunset won the taste test

Petunia Trilogy Red F1

2015 AAS Bedding Plant Award Winner The Trilogy petunia series has a new color with this stunningly rich, vibrant red version! Trilogy petunias are known for their compact dome-shaped habit sporting large non-fading blooms throughout the season. The plants cover and recover themselves in upright blooms providing a constant mass of color in flower beds, baskets, and containers. Gardeners in high heat are-as will appreciate the heat-tolerance of this variety and all gardeners will like how quickly Trilogy bounces back after a rain. For growers, judges noted there was less need for PGRs and on the bench,

the controlled growth habit meant tidier plants that were easier to separate

and ship.

2015 All America Selection Winners Radish Roxanne F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Roxanne is a hybrid radish with uniform bright red color and a beautiful creamy white interior. Roxanne is a great tasting radish with no pithiness or bleeding even at a larger size. This radish stays firm and solid even when oversized, and holds well in the garden. Roxanne grows well in a wide range of climates, as veri-fied by our judges who have trial grounds all over North America. In mild cli-mates Roxanne can be sown at intervals in fall and winter for harvest during these seasons. This radish can easily be grown in a pot at least 4 inches deep. A very pretty and tasty radish! Nice bright red color with beautiful creamy white

interior. Nice shape, size and uniformity.

Salvia Summer Jewel White

2015 AAS Bedding Plant Award Winner A third color in the popular Summer Jewel series, white brings a much-needed color to compact salvias. This dwarf sized, compact plant has a prolific bloom count throughout the summer. As a bonus, the blooms appear almost two weeks earlier than other white salvias used as comparisons. Judges noted how the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds loved the larger flowers, making it perfect for a pollinator garden. Because of the compactness and number of flowers, Summer Jewel White is great for large landscaped areas, as well as con-tainers and small beds. Commercial growers now have an excellent compact white salvia coccinea and will appreci-

ate the earliness, uniformity and excellent pack performance.

Squash Bossa Nova F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner The beautiful dark and light green mottled exterior of this zucchini is more pro-nounced than other varieties on the market, which sets it apart and makes the fruits easier to see during a long and prolific harvest. Compact plants produce fruits earlier in the season and continue producing for three weeks longer than comparison varieties. During taste tests, the AAS Judges deemed the smooth flesh texture and sweet, mild taste much improved over other summer squash.

Squash Butterscotch F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner This adorable small-fruited butternut squash has an exceptionally sweet taste per-

fect for just one or two servings. Compact vines are space-saving for smaller gar-

dens or those who just want to fit more plants into the space they have. This is

another AAS Winners that is perfect for container gardens and will resist powdery

mildew later in the season. Culinary tip: pierce the skin then microwave whole

Tomato Chef's Choice Pink F1

2015 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Very Large yields of 12-14 ounce pink beefsteak tomatoes. The prefect acid to sugar bal-ance in this tomato make it a must for any home chef. Consider stewing or canning these beautiful tomatoes. Indeterminate potato leaf plants have good disease resistance: F, A, N, TMV, Crack and Scab.

211 Progress Road

Springfield KY, 40069

Office 859-336-7741

Fax 859-336-7445

Email dennis.morgeson@uky.edu

Washington County Cooperative Extension Service

We Are On The Web!!!

washington.ca.uky.edu

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-

County-Horticulture/140659449317295

Recipe of The Month - Apple Cranberry Waldorf Salad

1 cup chopped Granny Smith (or any sour apple variety)

1 cup chopped Red Delicious apple (or any sweet apple

variety)

1 cup diced celery

1 cup halved seedless green grapes

1 cup halved seedless red grapes

1½ cups dried cranberries

½ cup chopped walnuts

8 ounces non-fat vanilla yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

Ingredients

1. Combine chopped apples and diced celery and put in a medium sized bowl. Add grapes, cranberries, and wal-

nuts to the mixture. Stir ingredients together.

2. In a separate bowl, add the yogurt, honey, and cinnamon. Stir together and pour over the fruit mixture. Cover

and chill before serving.

Yield: 8, 1 cup servings. Nutrition Analysis: 210 calories, 5 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 35 mg sodium, 41 g

carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 34 g sugar, 3 g protein.

Directions