AGR-205: Weed Management: Kentucky Master Gardener Manual Chapter 8

J.D. Green | January 16, 2024 (Major Revision)

Every garden has weeds, and every gardener wonders what to do about them. Gardening involves lots of small decisions that can have a cumulative effect on those weed problems.

AGR-206: Lawn Management: Kentucky Master Gardener Manual Chapter 15

Kenneth Clayton, Gregg Munshaw, A.J. Powell | January 16, 2024 (Major Revision)

Turfgrass is the foundation of a quality landscape. It improves the beauty of other ornamentals and provides a safe recreational surface.

ID-192: Composting: Kentucky Master Gardener Manual Chapter 13

Rick Durham, Brad Lee | January 16, 2024 (Major Revision)

Gardeners have long made and used compost to improve garden soil.

ID-201: Your Yard and Water Quality: Kentucky Master Gardener Manual Chapter 12

Rick Durham, Brad Lee | January 16, 2024 (Major Revision)

We generally view gardening as a wholesome activity that enhances our environment. But pesticides, fertilizers, and erosion from gardens and landscapes can contaminate lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. Since the quality of our water resources affects our quality of life, we must learn how gardening practices can contribute to water contamination and how to reduce the threat to
water quality.

AGR-204: Soils and Fertility: Kentucky Master Gardener Manual Chapter 4

Brad Lee, Edwin Ritchey | January 16, 2024 (Major Revision)

Soil is a mixture of weathered rock fragments (minerals) and organic matter at the earth's surface. It is biologically active - a home to countless microorganisms, invertebrates, and plant roots.

PR-845: 2023 Annual Grass Report Warm Season and Cool Season (Cereals)

Bill Bruening, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | December 21, 2023 (New)

Summer annual grasses provide an important forage crop option for producers in Kentucky. These grasses are mainly used as emergency or supplemental pasture, silage, or hay crops, but little information is available on their yield potential. The purpose of this publication is to summarize the University of Kentucky 2008-2021 forage yield trials with sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass, forage sorghum, millets, teff, crabgrass, and cereal crops.

PR-839: 2023 Tall Fescue, Bromegrass, and Meadow Fescue Report

Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | December 18, 2023 (New)

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is a productive, well-adapted, persistent, soil-conserving, cool-season grass grown on approximately 5.5 million acres in Kentucky. This grass, used for both hay and pasture, is the forage base of most of Kentucky's livestock enterprises, particularly beef cattle.

PR-842: 2023 Alfalfa, Red Clover, and White Clover Grazing Tolerance Report

Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | December 18, 2023 (New)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the highest-yielding, highest-quality forage legume grown in Kentucky. It forms the basis of Kentucky's cash hay enterprise and is an important component in dairy, horse, beef, and sheep diets. Recent emphasis on its use as a grazing crop and the release of grazing-tolerant varieties have raised the following question: Do varieties differ in tolerance to grazing? To answer this question, we have chosen to use the standard tolerance test recommended by the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. This test uses continuous heavy grazing to sort out differences in grazing tolerance in a relatively short period of time.

PR-837: 2023 Alfalfa Report

Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | December 18, 2023 (New)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) has historically been the highest-yielding, highest-quality forage legume grown in Kentucky. It is an important part of Kentucky's cash hay enterprise and is an important component in dairy, horse, beef, and sheep diets. Choosing a good variety is a key step in establishing a stand of alfalfa. The choice of variety can impact yield, thickness of stand, and persistence.

PR-843: 2023 Cool-Season Grass Grazing Tolerance Report

Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | December 18, 2023 (New)

Cool-season forages such as tall fescue, orchardgrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are the primary pasture grasses in Kentucky. Other species such as perennial ryegrass and festulolium can also be used in pasture systems. Little is known about the effect of variety on the grazing tolerance of these cool-season grass species.