Grow Appalachia at St. Vincent's

06/11/2026

Goodies in our Garden Share Shed. Help yourself! St. Vincent Mission 6369 KY Route 404 David

06/11/2026

A shady spot can still grow more than just hostas 🌿 A few edible plants I’d try in lower light areas:
🥬 Lettuce grows quickly and appreciates some protection from hot afternoon sun.
🌱 Kale is tough and keeps producing if you harvest the outer leaves.
🌈 Swiss chard adds color and handles partial shade better than many summer crops.
🍃 Mint grows easily, but I always keep it contained because it spreads fast.
❤️ Rhubarb can come back for years, but only the stalks are edible.
🍓 Alpine strawberries are small, sweet, and lovely along garden edges.
My biggest shade tip: shade-tolerant doesn’t mean no care. Good soil and steady moisture still make a big difference 🌱

06/11/2026

https://youtu.be/L-9_21mSznw

Year-round Nova Scotian gardener and author Niki Jabbour lends Johnny's home gardening community her expertise on how to grow bush beans, including 'Affirmed...

06/10/2026

I wanted to invite you all to an upcoming workshop on Thursday, June 25th from 10am to 1pm hosted by Grow Appalachia and led by David Cooke, Grow Appalachia's founder, and Kayla Preston, our Social Enterprise Manager. The workshop will take place at the Bobtown Arts Farm (132 Smith Lane) just outside of Berea, KY, where two of our 15' wide gothic high tunnels have been utilized productively for years. Many of the heirloom beans we have distributed have also been grown on this farm. They will cover trellising, pruning, w**d control, and irrigation techniques primarily for tomatoes, along with some tips for beans, cucumbers, and zucchini. David has trialed these methods specifically in high tunnels for many years and offers a wealth of knowledge on the subject! Techniques for both high tunnel and field production will be covered. Some refreshments and beverages will be provided.

If you plan to attend, please register here: bit.ly/GrowAppRegistration

06/09/2026

Garden Program Participants: I have Sweet Potato Slips ready for pick up. You can pick up at the Mission today(Tuesday) before 3 or tomorrow(Wednesday) or Thursday 9-3.

06/09/2026

Awesome opportunity for kids in Kindergarten - 4th grade! Visit the link below to register!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8tu0QsZAOOlU4qLAJUZJMTPtd9SXhLIqf7WVULMnvtacWsA/viewform

06/09/2026

Bush Bean - Key Growing Information

CULTURE:
Choose well-drained soil with a pH range of 6.5–6.8. Optimum soil temperature for germination is 70–90°F (21–32°C). Plant when daytime soil temperatures average at least 60°F (16°C) or risk poor germination. Inoculants can increase yields.

DAYS TO MATURITY:
From date of direct seeding.

DIRECT SEEDING:
After last frost date sow seeds about 2" apart, 1" deep, in rows 20–36" apart.

AVG. DIRECT SEEDING RATE:
1M/125', 1 lb./175', 116M/acre at 8 seeds/ft. and 3' row spacing.

SUCCESSION PLANTING:
For a continuous supply, make successive sowings every 2-3 weeks through midsummer.

INSECT PESTS:
Mexican bean beetles and potato leafhoppers can be controlled with insecticides such as pyrethrin or azadarachtin.

DISEASE:
Plow under or remove and compost bean straw in the fall to hasten destruction of most disease organisms. For Sclerotinia spp. (white mold) control, plant at wider row spacing to promote drying of plant leaves and soil. Practice a 3-year crop rotation. All our bush bean seeds are produced in areas known to be free of halo blight.

HARVEST:
Pick regularly to encourage new pod set. Filet Beans: For extra-fine pods ( 1/4" diam.) pick every 36–48 hours with a maximum of 2 days between harvests in hot weather.

STORAGE:
Store at 40°F (5°C) and 90% relative humidity for 7–10 days.

06/08/2026

☀️🐝🌽 Calling all little market explorers! 🌽🐝☀️
Grab the kiddos and join us at Archer Park in Prestonsburg for Kids Day at the Farmers Market! 🎉 Enjoy fresh produce from local vendors, family-friendly activities, and a fun morning celebrating community, healthy living, and supporting local farmers🍓🌽💚
📅 2026 Farmer’s Market Kids Day Dates:
✨ June 13th
✨ July 11th
✨ August 8th
⏰ 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
We can’t wait to see our community delight in fresh produce and fun activities 💚

06/04/2026

Turning small spaces into great gardens!

Contact your local Extension office for help on how to start your own container garden.

06/04/2026

Half the bugs people panic over and spray are the ones doing the pest control for free.
Each of these is a predator or a parasite of the pests that actually damage your plants. A garden full of them needs almost no spray — because the spray is what wipes them out first.

- Ladybug — Adult and Larva Both Hunt
The adult eats aphids. The spiny black-and-orange larva eats MORE aphids — up to 200 before it pupates. Also eats mites and soft scale. The larva looks like a tiny alligator and most people kill it because they don't recognize it. Learn what it looks like.

- Green Lacewing — The Aphid Lion
The adult is a delicate green insect attracted to porch lights. The larva is the weapon — called an "aphid lion," it clears aphids, mites, and pest eggs by the hundreds. One larva eats 200+ aphids before pupating. The adult drinks nectar. The larva does the killing.

- Hoverfly — Pollinator and Predator in One Lifecycle
The adult looks like a small bee but doesn't sting — a harmless mimic that pollinates your flowers. The larva is a translucent slug-like creature that eats entire aphid colonies overnight. Two jobs from one insect, split between life stages.

- Parasitic Wasp — Tiny, Harmless to You, Devastating to Pests
Most are smaller than a grain of rice. They lay eggs inside caterpillars, aphids, and whiteflies. The larvae consume the host from within. The white cocoons on a hornworm's back are parasitic wasp pupae — the wasp already won. Never kill a parasitized caterpillar.

- Ground Beetle — The Night Shift
Works after dark when you're inside. Patrols the soil surface eating slugs, cutworms, and root maggots. You rarely see them because they hide under mulch and debris during the day. A garden with ground beetles has fewer slug problems without a single pellet of bait.

- Soldier Beetle — The Soft Red-and-Black One
Soft wing covers, typically orange-red and black. Eats aphids on your flower heads while simultaneously pollinating. Harmless. Abundant in late summer on goldenrod and yarrow. People swat them thinking they're pests. They're not.

- Minute Pirate Bug — The Speck-Sized Assassin
Two to three millimeters long. Barely visible. Destroys thrips, spider mites, and pest eggs — the tiny pests that are nearly impossible to control with sprays. Commercial greenhouses BUY these. Your garden can grow them for free if you stop spraying.

Before you reach for a bottle, look closer. Some of those bugs are the reason you don't have more.