Released: July 21, 2009           e-Mail the story

WICHITA, Kan. – A 2009 National Gardening Association survey reported that 23 percent of this year’s gardeners intended to share summer crops with others, said Evelyn Neier, coordinator for Kansas’ Junior Master Gardener Program.

“Doing so can be a lesson for the family, particularly for children who are becoming increasingly tuned in to living green and learning more about how and where their food is grown,” she said.

“Still, the best intentions can be sidetracked by summer heat,” said Neier, who offered tips to help children – and plants – perk up:

* Garden during cooler morning or evening hours.

* Select homegrown foods to prepare a lazy-day brunch, or extend a child's bedtime to allow time for gardening and watering (a.k.a. playing with the hose).  

* Clean out and compost garden debris from early crops to get ready to plant fall vegetable or salad crops. In Kansas, late July is a good time to plant a fall crop of green beans; late August is a good time to plant fall salad crops, including lettuce, salad mixes and radishes.  

* Try one or more new recipes with garden herbs and vegetables, and serve the new combination(s) for taste testing.  

* Check with the county or district K-State Research and Extension office for freezing and canning tips to preserve summer produce for future meals.

           

* Keep track of your harvest: How many tomatoes have you picked today? Which variety produced the most flavorful fruit? Note picks, so you’ll know what to plant next year.

           

* Pick produce at its peak, and share extras with others, including a local food pantry.

           

* Pick the flowers and let them add color in several, rather than one or two rooms; share extras with friends, neighbors – and, if allowed, with the folks using the food pantry.

Evelyn Neier is a K-State Research and Extension horticulturist and 4-H youth development specialist. Her position is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides nutrition education to limited resource individuals and families in Kansas.

More information on Kansas’ Junior Master Gardener Program is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on the Kansas 4-H Web site: www.kansas4h.org.

              

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Nancy Peterson
nancyp@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

Evelyn Neier is at 316-722-0932 or eneier@ksu.edu.