Winter Landscape Photo Contest
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Hello 2021!
After a long, hard year with new challenges we are looking to start fresh and make
this year better. As gardeners we hope every day is better. We hope for better
weather, we hope for better! Just remember this when we hit obstacles this year,
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” (Audrey Hepburn). We never know
what tomorrow brings, but we plant seeds and tend our gardens because we
believe things will grow and we hope to have a good harvest. Let’s all hope for the
best!
Written by: Ashton Hilton, Extension Program Assistant
Winter Landscape Photo Contest
Master Gardeners, we are accepting digital photo entries for our Winter
Landscape Photo Contest now through February 28. Winter landscape is a
fairly broad term and can include your own home landscape or gardens, a
public landscape or garden, a wide-angle view, or a close-up view,
etc. Photos can include objects, birds, or other animals. Snow not
required. Photos will be judged by an unbiased party outside of our office,
and will be judged on both subject and photographic quality. We will
award 1st – 3rd place winners from photos received. Prizes include choice
of Bionic Gardening Gloves, A.M. Leonard’s Soil Knife, or Felco Pruners,
plus bragging rights.
To enter, email your photo(s) to traci.missun@uky.edu by February 28.
Participants may enter up to two photos taken between December 21, 2020
and February 28, 2021. Winners’ photos will be featured in the March Master
Gardener newsletter and also submitted to The Oldham Era. All photo entries
may be published in our Extension newsletter, website, and/or social media.
By: Traci Missun, Extension Agriculture Agent
Winter Equipment Maintenance
Just because it is cold outside, doesn’t mean your lawn and landscape work is complete. There are many chores that
can, and should be done during the winter months. Cold weather is the time to service your tools and power
equipment, build a new compost bin, calibrate your sprayer, or even identify
some winter annuals for proper control methods later.
Starting your mower, tiller, weed eater, or blower next spring can be easy
with a few winter preparations. Gasoline breaks down over time, leaving a
gummy residue inside your equipment’s carburetor and fuel tank. When you
start up your equipment in the spring, this residue gets sucked into tiny holes
inside the carburetor called “jets” and stops them up. When this happens, it
takes a skilled mechanic to clean the tank and carburetor. To prevent this,
always drain fuel and add a fuel stabilizer to the tank. Pull the cord or turn the engine a couple of revolutions to work
the stabilizer through the fuel system for best protection.
Many times our equipment gets neglected during the year while it is used regularly. Winter is the best time to make
sure you have a fresh oil change. Drain the oil using the drain plug typically on the side or underside of the engine.
Add new oil per manufactures’ recommendations and change filter if applicable. Make sure you dispose of oil properly
and do not leave the equipment without oil (you might forget to add it in the spring causing serious damage to the
engine).
Air filters are often overlooked and arguably, are the most important maintenance item on
many pieces of equipment. A precise mixture of air and fuel is needed for combustion
engines to run smoothly. The air filter will ensure only clean, dust free air enters the
combustion chamber. Many filters are disposable and will need to be replaced, but some are
the washable sponge type. Wash them with warm water and a small amount of soap; rinse
and allow to dry thoroughly; and then add a little engine oil to the sponge. This will allow the
filter to collect dirt and debris even better! If you use your equipment in a dusty
environment, you probably should clean it much more often.
Look over all of your equipment for signs of wear. Often, cables get worn or rusty. A little lubricating oil will help
tremendously on rusty cables before they get too stiff and break. Check for debris built up in the tines on your tiller or
around your blade(s) of your mower. A clean piece of equipment is a happy piece of equipment. Engines produce a lot
of heat which wears on the metal and decreases the life of the engine. A dirty engine retains more heat than a clean
one. Take some time to clean debris and built up grime from all surfaces.
Winter is a great time to take a look at the underside of you mower. Grab the blade and push it up and down opposite
the direction it turns. If you feel movement, you could have bearings bad in the spindle. Repairing them now will
prevent even costlier repairs later.
Many of these maintenance items are fairly simple and will add to the useful life of your equipment. Some
maintenance will prevent the need for a skilled mechanic often correlating to costly repairs. If you find problems that
you are not familiar with, make sure to get some expert advice from a local repair shop. Whether you do it yourself or
have a repair shop do it, take a few hours this winter and take care of the equipment that takes care of your lawn and
gardens!
Source: Andrew Rideout, Agent for Horticulture, Henderson County Cooperative Extension
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10 Minute Bean Soup
Recommended By: Lauren Fernandez
Ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 (15.8 ounce) cans of great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
• 1 (14 ounce) can low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 4 cups kale, torn into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Photo Source:
www.planeatmove.com
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and sauté garlic and onion for 3 minutes or until onion is
tender.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and broth to saucepan. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Add kale and cook until tender,
for about 2 minutes.
3. Mix in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese just before serving. Optional, garnish with finely chopped fresh basil
or dried basil.
Notes
Cooked, dried beans may be substituted for canned beans. Using prepared dry beans in place of canned will reduce
sodium in this dish. If you can’t find diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, use regular diced tomatoes and
add dried versions of these seasonings.
Link to recipe: https://www.planeatmove.com/recipes/recipe/10-minute-bean-soup
Source: Caroline Durr, Area Nutrition Agent for Kentucky Nutrition Education Program, University of Kentucky
Cooperative Extension Service
Make a Recommendation
We want to hear from you! If you have tried a recipe from www.planeatmove.com or
Plate it Up Kentucky Proud, send in your recommendation to Ashton Hilton at
ashton.hilton@uky.edu. Be sure include the link to the recipe and what you think was
awesome about the recipe. Did you love how quick it was, how easy it was to make, or did
you love the flavors?
If there is a topic you would like to know more about let us know. You can send those recommendations to Ashton at
the email mentioned above!
By: Ashton Hilton, Extension Program Assistant
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Liven Up Your Living Space
Check out link attached to the middle of the page! Traci Missun has written a wonderful article about how to brighten
up your living space with houseplants that provide more than just something beautiful to look at in your home; they
can provide pleasant aromas and even fresh flavors for dinner!
Link to the article: https://oldhamcountyextension.com/2021/01/06/houseplants-liven-up-living-spaces/
Written by: Traci Missun, Extension Agriculture Agent
Forcing Blooms Indoors
Would you like to enjoy some springtime blooms indoors over the winter? It’s easy
to do. You can do this by forcing branches of spring flowering shrubs or trees to
bloom. Cut a few branches from your favorite spring flowering shrubs or trees that
bloom in April and May. Some suggested selections for winter bouquets are
Photo Source:
forsythia, redbud, flowering crabapple, cherry and quince. These plants normally https://oepos.ca.uky.edu/content/redbud
bloom January through February depending on the variety or cultivar. Witchhazel
(Hamamelis vernalis and H. mollis) can also be brought indoors to bloom and provides a very fragrant display.
However, Common Witchhazel (Hamamlis virginiana) which blooms from October to December will not bloom inside
over the winter since it would have just bloomed in the late fall.
Arrange the cut branches in a vase of water. You can use floral arrangement additives that will keep the water clear,
but it is not necessary. Changing the water daily will improve the lasting quality of the arrangement. Place the vase in
a location in your home where the branches will have light. After a few days, the buds will come alive and bloom. This
can be repeated throughout the winter to add color and a taste of spring inside your home.
Written by: Michael Boice, Extension Horticulture Assistant
Indoor Lighting for Houseplants
The amount of light in a home or office often deceives the eye. A location where the plant looks the best may lack the
light to sustain it. Light can be measured in foot-candles. The amount of light coming in a south facing window is
about 500 to 1000 foot-candles. Three feet from the window drops to about 50 foot-candles. The average office space
has around 50 foot-candles of light on the desk surface.
Plants are rated by their light intensity requirement to grow successfully indoors:
Light Intensity Requirement Examples
Low light intensity (50-250 foot-candles) African violets, Jade, Pothos
Medium light intensity (250-1000 foot-candles) Begonias, Dieffenbachia, Ficus, Norfolk Pine
High light intensity (1000+ foot-candles) Cacti, herbs, Umbrella tree
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Although a window location provides the most natural light, it may not be enough to support a medium or high
intensity plant. Most table lamps and ceiling lights also lack the intensity of light required for plant growth. Many
plants can be maintained with low light levels for a long time, but eventually they will lose vigor and start to decline.
Additional light sources are required to provide enough light intensity on the leaf surface for the plant to produce the
sugars and hormones it needs to thrive.
The past few years have brought new developments of light sources for indoor plants. Florescent tubes and LED
fixtures are considered the best artificial sources. The type of lighting required depends on the plants and the growing
space. For recommendations on providing light for growing house plants and starting seedlings, visit
extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6515.
Reference: David H Trinklein, Horticulture Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Written by: Michael Boice, Extension Horticulture Assistant
Photo By: Michael Boice
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