Dig This!

                                              Soil First When I first spot Allen Hirst, Master Gardener 2014, he’s at the Hutchinson Community College D emo G arden taking the soil’s temperature. The meat probe thermometer digitally displays a 55 degree reading. He explains that for planting annuals it’s best to wait until the soil warms up to 70 degrees, but assures me that once we get a little sun, the soil will quickly adjust. (I concur, mentioning how my tomato plants never grow an inch until they’re sure it’s summer.) This morning there’s no need to water due to the recent steady rain so Allen is planting lettuce in the raised vegetable garden bed. He’s comfortable in this horticultural setting for a couple reasons: he was raised on a farm outside Partridge, and most of his teaching career was spent right here on the college campus teaching biology or, as he calls it, “birds and bees.” Allen enjoys giving back to this educational institution he still calls “JUCO.” He fond

The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture....Thomas Jefferson "Trees for Bees" , 2016 Pollinator Poster, Credit: Natalya Zahn. Celebrate  National Pollinator Week, June 20 - 26, 2016! For More Information go to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/pollinators/ "Attracting beneficial insects to your garden promotes food production and feeds birds and animals" says Bob Roubideaux Reno County Extension Master Gardener. Master Gardeners Hazel Zink & Bob Roubideaux at the Reno County Master Gardener's booth at Saturday's Farmer's Market. Their booth displayed some simple shelters and other devices to aid and encourage more homeowners to assist in countering the depletion of the natural habit of pollinators, such as installing houses for bats or native bees. Carol & Ed Berger with a Bamboo Mason Bee House  What is pollination and wha