Extension
It Starts With Us
Horticulture
Home & Consumer Horticulture
Julie Brown, Joanna Coles, Janet Turley & Kristin Hildabrand
Home & Consumer Horticulture
Master Gardener
Urban Environments (water issues)
Out of 131 million homes in the US, 100 million of them have a yard or garden. (Solutions, 2010). Demand for home horticulture information continues to increase for Kentucky county Extension offices. The Kentucky Extension Master Gardener (EMG) Program develops trained volunteers to assist county Extension staff in meeting this need for research-based information and public outreach. As the popularity of do-it-yourself projects rises among homeowners the demand for education for these new, transplanted or experienced gardeners continues to increase. The population of Kentucky continues to migrate to urban areas thus increasing impervious surface and subsequent runoff and impairments to water quality. EPA has imposed regulations on 104 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4) permitted communities with populations of 10,000 or more to educate and involve the public in their permit plans. Increased consumer awareness, general/beginning horticulture education, and increased participation in horticulture were selected as primary issues by the Horticulture Advisory Council and the Warren County Extension Council.
Producers in Warren County continue to explore new options to diversify farming operations since the decline of tobacco production. Producers of horticultural crops must continue to meet the increasing demands of consumers which include fresh, locally produced foods with an emphasis on sustainable practices. Education in production and marketing will be a key component for producers to be successful in these markets. The Warren County Extension Council and Commercial Horticulture Advisory Council were involved in collecting data and prioritizing key areas of concentration.
• Producers will increase profitability while they investigate new crops, production practices, and marketing avenues.
• More individuals will grow their own fruits and vegetables saving money of their grocery bills.
• Individuals will utilize sound environmental practices and trained volunteers will economically impact Warren County.
• Consumers and producers will adopt extension recommendation, by developing self-supported gardens; make proactive changes in their environmental practices.
• Extension Master Gardener volunteers have positive perceptions of their role as reliable sources for home horticulture information.
• Participants will learn the skills necessary to be successful in their particular horticulture endeavor.
Initial Outcome: Knowledge gained in the area of Horticulture
Indicator: Individuals state that they gain knowledge and aspire to implement the practice
Method: Post education evaluation
Timeline: Throughout the year
Intermediate Outcome: Individuals implement practices learned during educational activities
Indicator: Number or practices implemented
Method: Follow up survey
Timeline: 6-8 weeks following program
Long-term Outcome: Consumer and Commercial Horticulturalist
Indicator: Participants who adopt recommended practices or see a positive economic impact
Method: Word of mouth, observation, follow up surveys
Timeline: Ongoing
Audience: Professional in commercial and home horticulture
Project or Activity: Horticulture Website & Facebook
Content or Curriculum: Up-to-date information for producers
Inputs: Promotional materials, visual aids
Date: Ongoing throughout the year
Audience: Homeowners
Project or Activity: Master Gardener
Content or Curriculum: Master Gardener curriculum
Inputs: Conference room, paper material, time
Date: Throughout the year Fall 2017
Audience: Home Gardeners
Project or Activity: Special Interest Horticulture
Content or Curriculum: Home Gardening
Inputs: Crafts, Flowers, material
Date: Throughout the year
Audience: Home Gardeners
Project or Activity: Conservation Horticulture
Content or Curriculum: Home Gardening, Environmental Resources
Inputs: Barrels, hands on demonstrations
Date: Throughout the year
Audience: Homeowners
Project or Activity: Lawn Management
Content or Curriculum: Sustainable practices, Seeding, Lawn Maintenance and Care
Inputs: Meeting space, time, mail outs, speakers
Date: Spring 2017
Audience: Homeowners
Project or Activity: Backyard Gardening
Content or Curriculum: Sustainable practices for vegetables and fruit in the home lawn
Inputs: Meeting space, time, mail outs, speakers, handouts
Date: Throughout the Year
Audience: Youth and 4-Hers
Project or Activity: Horticulture Adventure
Content or Curriculum: Fruit and Vegetable Identification and Judging as well as landscape and ornamental identification
Inputs: Meeting space, time, mail outs, speakers, handouts
Date: Spring and Summer 2018
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
Major Program: Home & Consumer Horticulture
The Warren County Extension Service hosted a hands-on workshop on how to make a do-it-yourself (DIY) holiday centerpiece using fresh greenery to help citizens get ready for the holiday season. In the educational workshop, 27 interested participants learned how to arrange stems of evergreens collected from the Kentucky landscape in order to create a holiday centerpiece. The Extension Office asked the Western Kentucky Floral and Design Training Center in the community to present the program.After
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
Major Program: Commercial Horticulture
Social Media presents an incredible marketing opportunity for farmers. After several requests from clientele about navigating social media, the Warren County Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources and Horticulture developed a social media series targeting farmers’ market vendors, agritourism operators, KY Proud partners, and on-farm business owners. Utilizing University of Kentucky resources and industry standards, they created a 4 part series which consisted of classroom i
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
Major Program: Master Gardener
The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program is an internationally recognized program known for providing intense home horticulture training to interested individuals in the community. Once training is completed, participants have the option to continue in the program to achieve Extension Master Gardener status by volunteering time in their communities. Opportunities in the community for volunteer service would be assisting with city beautification projects and sharing newly acquired knowledg
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
Major Program: Home & Consumer Horticulture
The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) report in 2017 revealed that homes represent 25% of personal wealth. Well-landscaped homes are more valuable in society. The return on investment for landscape upgrades is 109%. The Warren County Extension Agent for Horticulture administered a new program called the annual flower garden trials in the spring of 2017. The purpose of this statewide Extension Horticulture effort was to determine the best performing species and cultivars of ann
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
Major Program: Commercial Horticulture - Landscape Ecosystems
Insect pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are responsible for one out of every three mouthfuls of food. In the United States, honeybee pollination and other insect pollinators contributed to over $29 billion of crops. A recent study in North America by the National Academy of Sciences found that the status of honeybee and wild pollinator populations are on the decline. Some of that decline is due to habitat loss, degradation, disease, and insect parasites.The Warren County B
