1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,040 Welcome to episode 30 of the Sunshine Gardening 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,019 podcast where we dig deep into gardening. 3 00:00:06,399 --> 00:00:08,339 I'm your host, Kristen Hildebrand. 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,919 Today we're diving into digital gardening with the 5 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:15,345 SoGarden app. Special guest, doctor Rick Durham with 6 00:00:15,345 --> 00:00:16,725 the University of Kentucky, 7 00:00:17,185 --> 00:00:19,204 chats with me today on the podcast, 8 00:00:19,585 --> 00:00:22,704 and he discusses how this innovative tool can 9 00:00:22,704 --> 00:00:25,204 help you easily plan, plant, 10 00:00:25,609 --> 00:00:27,710 and cultivate your dream garden. 11 00:00:28,089 --> 00:00:30,970 So grab your trials, and let's sow some 12 00:00:30,970 --> 00:00:32,030 seeds of knowledge 13 00:00:32,409 --> 00:00:32,909 together. 14 00:00:33,690 --> 00:00:36,030 Welcome to the Sunshine Gardening podcast. 15 00:00:36,490 --> 00:00:39,450 This gardening show will equip and inspire avid 16 00:00:39,450 --> 00:00:41,854 gardeners with tips and tricks to help them 17 00:00:41,854 --> 00:00:44,494 navigate the gardening world. The show will also 18 00:00:44,494 --> 00:00:48,255 highlight specific growing requirements for seasonal plants so 19 00:00:48,255 --> 00:00:50,734 the sun will shine brighter over their Kentucky 20 00:00:50,734 --> 00:00:51,234 garden. 21 00:00:51,774 --> 00:00:54,034 And now, here's that ray of sunshine, 22 00:00:54,414 --> 00:00:56,195 garden enthusiast and horticulture 23 00:00:56,579 --> 00:00:58,600 extension agent, Kristin Hildebrand 24 00:00:58,979 --> 00:01:02,520 with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. 25 00:01:03,859 --> 00:01:06,180 Alright. Joining us on the podcast today is 26 00:01:06,180 --> 00:01:08,260 doctor Rick Durham. We're so excited to have 27 00:01:08,260 --> 00:01:09,640 you on the podcast. Hello. 28 00:01:10,180 --> 00:01:11,954 Thanks, Kristin. I'm glad to be here. 29 00:01:12,435 --> 00:01:14,594 Yes. I know that I'm really excited to 30 00:01:14,594 --> 00:01:16,834 have you on board with us because we 31 00:01:16,834 --> 00:01:17,974 are gonna be talking 32 00:01:18,275 --> 00:01:21,314 about a digital resource for Kentucky gardeners, and 33 00:01:21,314 --> 00:01:22,615 that's called the SOW 34 00:01:22,995 --> 00:01:26,450 garden app. That's spelled s o w, like 35 00:01:26,450 --> 00:01:28,469 you're actually sowing garden seeds. 36 00:01:28,849 --> 00:01:30,609 And I thought we would just first open 37 00:01:30,609 --> 00:01:31,430 up the discussion 38 00:01:31,890 --> 00:01:33,010 today about, 39 00:01:33,409 --> 00:01:35,189 yourself, your background in horticulture, 40 00:01:35,730 --> 00:01:37,810 and then what kinda led to your work 41 00:01:37,810 --> 00:01:40,215 with working with the SOW Garden app. Okay. 42 00:01:40,215 --> 00:01:43,334 So, yeah, I've been an extension specialist in 43 00:01:43,334 --> 00:01:45,974 horticulture here at the University of Kentucky for 44 00:01:45,974 --> 00:01:48,875 almost 25 years, right? So a long time. 45 00:01:49,174 --> 00:01:50,715 My extension responsibilities 46 00:01:51,094 --> 00:01:52,715 are in consumer horticulture. 47 00:01:53,409 --> 00:01:54,310 So all aspects 48 00:01:55,010 --> 00:01:56,310 of home horticulture, 49 00:01:57,090 --> 00:02:00,230 whether it's vegetable gardening, trees and shrubs, 50 00:02:01,090 --> 00:02:01,590 flowers, 51 00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:04,290 interior plants. You know, I I kinda have 52 00:02:04,290 --> 00:02:06,435 responsibility for all of it. So I try 53 00:02:06,435 --> 00:02:09,634 to assist, county agents like yourself in doing 54 00:02:09,634 --> 00:02:11,895 programs that benefit the home gardener. 55 00:02:12,594 --> 00:02:14,215 So in terms of the SOAP, 56 00:02:14,754 --> 00:02:17,794 it was actually brought to our attention by 57 00:02:17,794 --> 00:02:20,435 some agents in the state. They, had seen 58 00:02:20,435 --> 00:02:21,949 it. It was developed 59 00:02:22,810 --> 00:02:25,629 at Penn Alabama, Alabama Cooperative Extension. 60 00:02:26,169 --> 00:02:27,550 So the people at Auburn 61 00:02:27,930 --> 00:02:29,930 developed the app a couple years ago, and 62 00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:31,849 I think some of the agents in the 63 00:02:31,849 --> 00:02:32,349 state, 64 00:02:32,729 --> 00:02:35,405 you know, became familiar with the app, and 65 00:02:35,405 --> 00:02:37,724 they asked if we might put some data 66 00:02:37,724 --> 00:02:39,344 in it for Kentucky. So 67 00:02:39,884 --> 00:02:41,884 we did that. Started on it a couple 68 00:02:41,884 --> 00:02:43,824 years ago. I think the first version 69 00:02:44,284 --> 00:02:46,064 was launched in 2023. 70 00:02:46,685 --> 00:02:46,924 So 71 00:02:47,939 --> 00:02:49,620 Yeah. And I know that it can be 72 00:02:49,620 --> 00:02:51,939 very helpful and we're about to talk about 73 00:02:51,939 --> 00:02:52,919 some of the features. 74 00:02:53,620 --> 00:02:56,039 And I know like how does the SoGarden 75 00:02:56,180 --> 00:02:59,060 app actually help gardeners plan and manage their 76 00:02:59,060 --> 00:03:00,519 gardens throughout the seasons? 77 00:03:00,955 --> 00:03:01,694 Well, there's, 78 00:03:02,155 --> 00:03:04,834 3 main aspects to the app. So it's 79 00:03:05,034 --> 00:03:07,194 people download it to their phones, right? It 80 00:03:07,354 --> 00:03:09,694 I think it's so a gardening companion 81 00:03:10,235 --> 00:03:13,194 is the full title of it. When they 82 00:03:13,194 --> 00:03:15,039 first pull it up, they'll be prompted 83 00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:18,139 to put in their, you know, county where 84 00:03:18,139 --> 00:03:18,879 they reside. 85 00:03:19,580 --> 00:03:22,539 And that will then link them to the 86 00:03:22,539 --> 00:03:23,020 correct, 87 00:03:23,340 --> 00:03:23,840 USDA 88 00:03:24,139 --> 00:03:25,280 hardiness zone 89 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:28,000 for their county. Right? So that then 90 00:03:28,425 --> 00:03:30,364 feeds them specific information 91 00:03:30,745 --> 00:03:33,805 on planting dates, things like that, right? 92 00:03:34,104 --> 00:03:36,425 So there's 3 main aspects to the the 93 00:03:36,425 --> 00:03:37,164 ZO app. 94 00:03:37,465 --> 00:03:40,425 There is what's called My Garden. So that's 95 00:03:40,425 --> 00:03:42,044 usually where people will start. 96 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:43,139 They can 97 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,919 start planning a garden. You can actually plan 98 00:03:45,919 --> 00:03:48,319 more than one garden. Right? So you can 99 00:03:48,319 --> 00:03:50,879 have, like, a spring garden, a summer garden, 100 00:03:50,879 --> 00:03:51,860 a fall garden. 101 00:03:52,159 --> 00:03:53,840 You know, you might have, you know, the 102 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,599 garden at your house. And if you're in 103 00:03:55,599 --> 00:03:57,974 a community garden, maybe a garden there or 104 00:03:58,055 --> 00:04:00,215 a garden at your grandparents' house. Right? So 105 00:04:00,215 --> 00:04:01,115 it's very flexible. 106 00:04:01,735 --> 00:04:03,974 Once you do that garden, then you can 107 00:04:03,974 --> 00:04:07,014 start selecting plants that you might put into 108 00:04:07,014 --> 00:04:09,675 that garden. You know, there's a a library 109 00:04:09,895 --> 00:04:12,011 of plants currently. We have 36 different, you 110 00:04:12,011 --> 00:04:12,178 know, very common vegetables. They're go grown. So 111 00:04:12,178 --> 00:04:12,965 you can access information. 112 00:04:14,430 --> 00:04:15,590 Vegetables. They're go 113 00:04:16,029 --> 00:04:18,589 grown. So you can access information there and 114 00:04:18,589 --> 00:04:20,910 maybe come up with like a planting a 115 00:04:20,910 --> 00:04:22,529 a post planting date. 116 00:04:22,990 --> 00:04:24,829 So you put that in your garden, and 117 00:04:24,829 --> 00:04:26,050 then there's an option 118 00:04:26,714 --> 00:04:29,214 where you can tell the app to contact 119 00:04:29,435 --> 00:04:31,295 the calendar that's on your phone 120 00:04:31,834 --> 00:04:34,074 and, you know, issue a reminder that, you 121 00:04:34,074 --> 00:04:36,395 know, today's the day to plant. So I 122 00:04:36,395 --> 00:04:37,754 don't know if we need to be that 123 00:04:37,754 --> 00:04:40,395 specific in terms of of planting. I know 124 00:04:40,395 --> 00:04:42,459 for me, it's more about, like, you know, 125 00:04:42,459 --> 00:04:44,620 what's the weather like today? Whether or not 126 00:04:44,620 --> 00:04:46,639 I'm gonna plant, but at least, you know, 127 00:04:46,860 --> 00:04:48,459 for some of us that are very busy 128 00:04:48,459 --> 00:04:51,279 and rely on our calendars for for everything, 129 00:04:51,740 --> 00:04:53,740 there's a place there to to input, you 130 00:04:53,740 --> 00:04:55,759 know, some important dates for your gardening 131 00:04:56,225 --> 00:04:58,165 activities as well, so that's kind of fun. 132 00:04:58,464 --> 00:04:59,904 Yeah. I don't guess I knew that it 133 00:04:59,904 --> 00:05:02,245 had reminders kind of built into your 134 00:05:02,625 --> 00:05:04,625 calendar. It'll only do it if you ask 135 00:05:04,625 --> 00:05:06,384 it to do it. Right? So that's kind 136 00:05:06,384 --> 00:05:08,805 of good. Yeah. Yeah. Give you access 137 00:05:09,264 --> 00:05:11,850 to my calendar here. And, you know, that's 138 00:05:11,850 --> 00:05:14,269 really interesting. You said that there's a library 139 00:05:14,490 --> 00:05:17,290 of different crops that are featured on the 140 00:05:17,290 --> 00:05:20,410 SoGarden app. And we always get the question 141 00:05:20,410 --> 00:05:22,410 here, it's like people are really antsy about 142 00:05:22,410 --> 00:05:25,774 planting tomatoes and it can tell you exactly, 143 00:05:25,774 --> 00:05:27,935 you know, it's not ready for planting and 144 00:05:27,935 --> 00:05:30,095 so that can be a good reminder as 145 00:05:30,095 --> 00:05:30,595 well. 146 00:05:31,455 --> 00:05:33,375 It is. And and so when you access 147 00:05:33,375 --> 00:05:35,555 that calendar, it will so 148 00:05:36,095 --> 00:05:38,699 actually, you know, once you download the app 149 00:05:38,779 --> 00:05:40,540 and maybe you haven't visited a couple of 150 00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:42,779 days, when you pull it up, the first 151 00:05:42,779 --> 00:05:44,779 thing it's gonna tell you is what can 152 00:05:44,779 --> 00:05:46,939 I plant today? Right? So it'll give you 153 00:05:46,939 --> 00:05:48,000 a list of things 154 00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:51,420 that's currently, you know, available for planting. And 155 00:05:51,420 --> 00:05:53,020 I would pay a little bit of attention 156 00:05:53,020 --> 00:05:53,920 to that because 157 00:05:54,444 --> 00:05:56,285 it's kind of on a month by month 158 00:05:56,285 --> 00:05:58,925 basis, you know? And so, like, I know 159 00:05:58,925 --> 00:06:00,625 for us here in central Kentucky, 160 00:06:01,324 --> 00:06:03,165 the 1st day of May can be a 161 00:06:03,165 --> 00:06:05,485 lot different than the 15th day of of 162 00:06:05,485 --> 00:06:07,949 May, you know? So you might think about, 163 00:06:07,949 --> 00:06:11,230 you know, when is the average last frost 164 00:06:11,230 --> 00:06:13,790 date, you know, in my county, and and 165 00:06:13,790 --> 00:06:16,129 that's gonna be very important when you're transplanting 166 00:06:16,430 --> 00:06:18,509 things like tomatoes and things that are a 167 00:06:18,509 --> 00:06:21,629 little bit more more tender and sensitive to 168 00:06:21,629 --> 00:06:22,129 frost. 169 00:06:22,774 --> 00:06:25,254 Yes. And, you know, it's really nice that 170 00:06:25,254 --> 00:06:27,175 we have that feature, you know, where you 171 00:06:27,175 --> 00:06:28,875 can put in your location 172 00:06:29,414 --> 00:06:31,735 depending because, you know, Eastern Kentucky is very 173 00:06:31,735 --> 00:06:34,214 different compared to, like you said, for central. 174 00:06:34,214 --> 00:06:36,474 Even western is a little bit warmer. 175 00:06:37,009 --> 00:06:38,310 So I know you mentioned 176 00:06:38,610 --> 00:06:41,089 My Garden and the 3 different gardening seasons 177 00:06:41,089 --> 00:06:43,670 that we have. Is there any other features 178 00:06:43,730 --> 00:06:46,389 that are a part of the So Garden 179 00:06:46,610 --> 00:06:48,069 app that you wanna explain? 180 00:06:48,449 --> 00:06:50,209 So, yeah. So there are 3 features, right? 181 00:06:50,209 --> 00:06:52,545 The My Garden we talked about. Then once 182 00:06:52,545 --> 00:06:55,125 you start, you know, you there's a library 183 00:06:55,585 --> 00:06:58,064 of all the different crops that, you know, 184 00:06:58,064 --> 00:06:58,805 has information 185 00:06:59,504 --> 00:07:00,645 in the sew app. 186 00:07:01,025 --> 00:07:03,345 And then the third feature is a journal 187 00:07:03,345 --> 00:07:05,904 feature, right? So that feature only comes into 188 00:07:05,904 --> 00:07:07,205 play if you 189 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:10,580 start creating a garden in the app, because 190 00:07:10,580 --> 00:07:13,139 then what the journal does, it allows you 191 00:07:13,139 --> 00:07:14,040 to take notes 192 00:07:14,819 --> 00:07:16,500 on the plants that you have in the 193 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:17,000 garden. 194 00:07:17,379 --> 00:07:19,699 Like specifically there's in the journal, there's a 195 00:07:19,699 --> 00:07:22,420 place to input, like when your plant date 196 00:07:22,420 --> 00:07:25,035 was, you you know, your harvest date, and 197 00:07:25,035 --> 00:07:27,194 then, you know, you can talk about yields. 198 00:07:27,194 --> 00:07:28,254 You can talk about, 199 00:07:28,714 --> 00:07:31,995 did you have any particular pest problems, things 200 00:07:31,995 --> 00:07:35,035 like that, which cultivars you grew. So that 201 00:07:35,035 --> 00:07:37,194 journal feature is a nice thing to kinda 202 00:07:37,194 --> 00:07:39,379 keep notes about your garden as it goes 203 00:07:39,379 --> 00:07:39,879 through. 204 00:07:40,259 --> 00:07:41,399 You know, and sometimes 205 00:07:41,939 --> 00:07:44,180 we fall, or I should say I, fall 206 00:07:44,180 --> 00:07:46,599 a little short of taking good records 207 00:07:47,060 --> 00:07:48,899 and, you know, there's just so much going 208 00:07:48,899 --> 00:07:51,175 on. And this is something great that you 209 00:07:51,175 --> 00:07:53,975 can actually fall back on, especially to compare 210 00:07:53,975 --> 00:07:55,895 it to years past. I don't think I 211 00:07:55,895 --> 00:07:58,715 realized you could do the yields, the harvestable 212 00:07:58,855 --> 00:08:00,634 yields. So in the information, 213 00:08:01,335 --> 00:08:01,835 there's 214 00:08:02,310 --> 00:08:04,810 kind of, so it, again, all this information 215 00:08:04,949 --> 00:08:07,449 that's in the SOF, it comes primarily from 216 00:08:08,069 --> 00:08:10,730 our big gardening publication, which is ID 217 00:08:11,269 --> 00:08:11,769 128, 218 00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:14,970 right. Which is vegetable gardening in Kentucky. 219 00:08:15,785 --> 00:08:18,345 So we've tried to translate most of that 220 00:08:18,345 --> 00:08:20,745 information. Well, not most of it, but the 221 00:08:20,745 --> 00:08:22,125 information that's in the app 222 00:08:22,504 --> 00:08:24,204 comes from that publication. 223 00:08:24,504 --> 00:08:27,625 Right. So, and that information is there. But 224 00:08:27,625 --> 00:08:30,660 so in that garden library, we talk about, 225 00:08:30,660 --> 00:08:32,199 you know, typical yields, 226 00:08:32,659 --> 00:08:34,980 maybe like how many plants you need to 227 00:08:34,980 --> 00:08:37,480 plant for, you know, for yourself 228 00:08:38,019 --> 00:08:40,360 or for your family kinda thing. So 229 00:08:40,740 --> 00:08:44,174 talk about planting depth, you know, spacing of 230 00:08:44,174 --> 00:08:46,975 plants. So lots of information there just at 231 00:08:46,975 --> 00:08:47,714 your fingertips. 232 00:08:48,414 --> 00:08:51,154 Yeah. And that can also be very helpful, 233 00:08:51,214 --> 00:08:52,894 especially, like, if you have a small size 234 00:08:52,894 --> 00:08:55,054 family because you you would think maybe a 235 00:08:55,054 --> 00:08:55,794 few plants, 236 00:08:56,309 --> 00:08:58,710 could do that, but it really just depends, 237 00:08:58,710 --> 00:09:01,509 like you said, on the cultivar and all 238 00:09:01,509 --> 00:09:02,490 the other information. 239 00:09:02,790 --> 00:09:05,110 Sure. Sure. And what I would like about 240 00:09:05,110 --> 00:09:08,170 the ID 128, our big home vegetable gardening 241 00:09:08,309 --> 00:09:10,205 book, you know, like you said, within this 242 00:09:10,205 --> 00:09:12,125 app, it's got everything that you need to 243 00:09:12,125 --> 00:09:13,904 know all at your fingertips. 244 00:09:14,365 --> 00:09:15,024 That's right. 245 00:09:15,485 --> 00:09:18,044 Sometimes our phone carries with us everywhere we 246 00:09:18,044 --> 00:09:20,625 go, so it's like information at your fingertips 247 00:09:20,845 --> 00:09:23,264 when you have this Yeah. Sub garden app. 248 00:09:23,589 --> 00:09:25,589 One of the other questions I had that 249 00:09:25,589 --> 00:09:27,509 I wanted to ask you about, Doctor. Durham, 250 00:09:27,509 --> 00:09:30,710 is the app. Does it also assist with 251 00:09:30,710 --> 00:09:34,230 any kind of pest control or disease management? 252 00:09:34,230 --> 00:09:36,389 Because as we go throughout the summer garden 253 00:09:36,389 --> 00:09:38,629 season, we we do see an increase in 254 00:09:38,629 --> 00:09:39,674 pest issues. 255 00:09:40,455 --> 00:09:43,754 So it does give like an indication 256 00:09:44,134 --> 00:09:44,634 of 257 00:09:45,014 --> 00:09:48,295 potential problems you might experience, right, with different 258 00:09:48,295 --> 00:09:49,514 crops, whether that's, 259 00:09:49,894 --> 00:09:51,575 you know, the fact that you need to 260 00:09:51,575 --> 00:09:54,870 be sure and plant into warm soil, you 261 00:09:54,870 --> 00:09:56,549 know, is is important for some of our 262 00:09:56,549 --> 00:09:58,710 things like like sweet corn and and things, 263 00:09:58,710 --> 00:10:01,049 you know, only germinates very well, especially 264 00:10:01,509 --> 00:10:03,590 some of our newer, you know, extra sweet 265 00:10:03,590 --> 00:10:06,730 hybrids. They like that warm soil to germinate. 266 00:10:06,789 --> 00:10:08,970 So it it's gonna give you some information 267 00:10:09,190 --> 00:10:11,555 in that regard. It will also tell you 268 00:10:11,555 --> 00:10:13,495 about what pests to look out for, 269 00:10:13,875 --> 00:10:16,615 but we really don't do a lot of 270 00:10:16,915 --> 00:10:17,415 recommending 271 00:10:18,115 --> 00:10:20,754 specific pesticides and things like that. We really 272 00:10:20,754 --> 00:10:22,774 think that's something that, 273 00:10:23,169 --> 00:10:25,730 you know, gardeners need to consult with an 274 00:10:25,730 --> 00:10:27,570 expert, you know, to do. Not not that 275 00:10:27,570 --> 00:10:30,049 we're not experts, but, you know, we don't 276 00:10:30,049 --> 00:10:32,149 know that local situation. 277 00:10:32,529 --> 00:10:33,350 Right? So 278 00:10:33,730 --> 00:10:36,290 what we do is there's a, like, a 279 00:10:36,290 --> 00:10:38,149 for more information section 280 00:10:38,674 --> 00:10:40,454 where you can actually access 281 00:10:40,834 --> 00:10:42,534 your county extension office's 282 00:10:43,235 --> 00:10:43,735 website 283 00:10:44,115 --> 00:10:47,394 and then find out information to contact a 284 00:10:47,394 --> 00:10:49,314 county agent there to ask some of those 285 00:10:49,314 --> 00:10:51,254 questions about, you know, 286 00:10:51,889 --> 00:10:54,929 disease diagnosis or or, you know, which insect 287 00:10:54,929 --> 00:10:56,470 pest is bothering me here. 288 00:10:57,009 --> 00:10:59,730 And, you know, specific to my area, what 289 00:10:59,730 --> 00:11:00,629 are the control 290 00:11:01,090 --> 00:11:03,410 options that I have for dealing, you know, 291 00:11:03,410 --> 00:11:06,305 with these pests? So It always seems like 292 00:11:06,305 --> 00:11:08,705 that's, where like you said, we come into 293 00:11:08,705 --> 00:11:12,384 play, especially with, diagnosing different pests, and we 294 00:11:12,384 --> 00:11:15,425 always recommend, you know, pictures really do help 295 00:11:15,425 --> 00:11:17,745 with that. So it really just depends on 296 00:11:17,745 --> 00:11:20,305 what the agent in each county kinda looks 297 00:11:20,305 --> 00:11:23,480 at. But certainly, we can take that inside 298 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,480 the extension office as well as if you 299 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,179 have any pest information 300 00:11:27,639 --> 00:11:28,139 questions. 301 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:28,840 But, 302 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,240 No. You all are getting those questions all 303 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,360 the time. Right? So if somebody comes in 304 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:35,799 and says, you know, I've got these big, 305 00:11:35,799 --> 00:11:36,299 green, 306 00:11:36,975 --> 00:11:39,294 wicked looking worms on my tomatoes, you all 307 00:11:39,294 --> 00:11:41,294 have probably had that question a lot, you 308 00:11:41,294 --> 00:11:42,894 know, the past few weeks. And so, you 309 00:11:42,894 --> 00:11:45,454 know, it's it's tomato wormworm is is out 310 00:11:45,454 --> 00:11:47,774 and about, you know? So I think it's 311 00:11:47,774 --> 00:11:50,995 it's really best to direct those questions locally 312 00:11:51,539 --> 00:11:53,700 because you you all are are really in 313 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:55,379 the know in terms of what might be 314 00:11:55,379 --> 00:11:58,899 happening locally. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. And it seems 315 00:11:58,899 --> 00:12:00,580 like, you know, they they tend to get 316 00:12:00,580 --> 00:12:01,240 some larvae, 317 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:04,544 sometimes throughout the season that, you know, feed 318 00:12:04,544 --> 00:12:07,184 on the tomato hornworm, so that's always a 319 00:12:07,184 --> 00:12:11,184 good indicator for good yeah. So now I 320 00:12:11,184 --> 00:12:13,985 know that you mentioned previously there that, you 321 00:12:13,985 --> 00:12:14,644 know, our 322 00:12:15,424 --> 00:12:17,845 hardiness zone has changed recently 323 00:12:18,410 --> 00:12:20,649 And I didn't know with this app, is 324 00:12:20,649 --> 00:12:23,389 there any future updates or maybe features 325 00:12:24,090 --> 00:12:26,730 that we can expect to see going forward 326 00:12:26,730 --> 00:12:28,110 with the Sogarden app? 327 00:12:28,970 --> 00:12:29,850 So I know when, 328 00:12:30,875 --> 00:12:32,954 it was first launched, you know, by the 329 00:12:32,954 --> 00:12:35,834 Alabama folks, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, 330 00:12:35,834 --> 00:12:38,654 I'm not exactly sure. And it's actually 331 00:12:39,355 --> 00:12:39,855 Alabama, 332 00:12:40,315 --> 00:12:43,695 North Carolina, and now Kentucky have all contributed 333 00:12:43,754 --> 00:12:47,170 to this app. So Alabama is are the 334 00:12:47,170 --> 00:12:49,410 people that really control the app. So they're 335 00:12:49,410 --> 00:12:50,850 the ones that are in control when we 336 00:12:50,850 --> 00:12:51,750 do an update, 337 00:12:52,129 --> 00:12:54,290 but I would suspect that in the next 338 00:12:54,290 --> 00:12:56,070 year or 2, there would be an update. 339 00:12:57,009 --> 00:12:59,330 So, and with that, as you said, there's 340 00:12:59,330 --> 00:13:00,149 been recently 341 00:13:00,529 --> 00:13:01,910 an update to 342 00:13:02,214 --> 00:13:05,575 the USDA hernia zone map. In most places 343 00:13:05,575 --> 00:13:08,855 in Kentucky, they're pushing our hernia zone to 344 00:13:08,855 --> 00:13:09,355 like 345 00:13:09,735 --> 00:13:11,754 a half zone, like an a or b, 346 00:13:12,054 --> 00:13:14,475 or even in some cases, a full zone 347 00:13:14,695 --> 00:13:16,714 higher, like in some places. 348 00:13:17,129 --> 00:13:18,809 But, you know, between you and I, I 349 00:13:18,809 --> 00:13:20,410 don't I don't think it's gonna be a 350 00:13:20,410 --> 00:13:22,429 a big deal in terms of vegetable gardening. 351 00:13:22,490 --> 00:13:23,790 You know, for for us, 352 00:13:24,330 --> 00:13:26,889 you know, the the spring plants are those 353 00:13:26,889 --> 00:13:29,690 plants that can with withstand some frost. And 354 00:13:29,690 --> 00:13:32,215 so we generally are planting those, you know, 355 00:13:32,215 --> 00:13:35,335 late March, early April across the state. And 356 00:13:35,335 --> 00:13:38,475 then, you know, the big summer gardens usually 357 00:13:38,615 --> 00:13:39,355 go in, 358 00:13:39,735 --> 00:13:41,835 you know, about the time of the last 359 00:13:41,894 --> 00:13:44,419 expected frost, which I don't know if you 360 00:13:44,419 --> 00:13:47,139 all in Western Kentucky, that's probably early May. 361 00:13:47,139 --> 00:13:49,459 Here in Central Kentucky, we usually use a 362 00:13:49,459 --> 00:13:52,279 date of about mid May, May 15th. 363 00:13:52,820 --> 00:13:55,059 Then Eastern Kentucky being being a little bit 364 00:13:55,059 --> 00:13:58,279 later. I don't anticipate even with these changes 365 00:13:58,339 --> 00:14:01,264 in the hardiness zone map that those dates 366 00:14:01,264 --> 00:14:02,884 will really change very much 367 00:14:03,425 --> 00:14:05,745 in the future. So I'm not sure that 368 00:14:05,745 --> 00:14:07,904 it'll have very much effect on our planning 369 00:14:07,904 --> 00:14:08,965 dates for vegetables. 370 00:14:09,345 --> 00:14:11,764 So Okay. I appreciate that information. 371 00:14:12,399 --> 00:14:14,000 And then, you know, as far as the 372 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:14,500 SoGarden 373 00:14:14,959 --> 00:14:17,519 app is concerned, in what ways does that 374 00:14:17,519 --> 00:14:20,000 really help a lot of beginning gardeners? I 375 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,700 know you mentioned a couple of the features, 376 00:14:21,839 --> 00:14:23,519 you know, just for your expertise. How do 377 00:14:23,519 --> 00:14:25,304 you think it could be helpful? Well, I 378 00:14:25,304 --> 00:14:28,105 I think just just the basic information that's 379 00:14:28,105 --> 00:14:30,504 in that library, you know, so when you 380 00:14:30,504 --> 00:14:33,465 pull up something like broccoli, right, it it 381 00:14:33,465 --> 00:14:34,205 tells you 382 00:14:34,825 --> 00:14:37,304 how long do you expect from the day 383 00:14:37,304 --> 00:14:39,670 you plant that until you harvest it? You 384 00:14:39,670 --> 00:14:42,570 know? So maybe 70 to 90 days. Right? 385 00:14:42,870 --> 00:14:45,269 Tells you about how much yield you might 386 00:14:45,269 --> 00:14:46,649 get from a single plant. 387 00:14:47,029 --> 00:14:49,269 Right? So broccoli, you might expect, like, a 388 00:14:49,269 --> 00:14:51,450 pound of broccoli from a single plant. 389 00:14:51,834 --> 00:14:53,674 Tells you how wide you might need to 390 00:14:53,674 --> 00:14:56,394 space those plants, like, you know, a foot 391 00:14:56,394 --> 00:14:56,894 apart. 392 00:14:57,514 --> 00:15:00,554 Tells you, like, soil pH levels that are 393 00:15:00,554 --> 00:15:02,414 ideal for that particular crop. 394 00:15:02,875 --> 00:15:04,735 And then, you know, ideally, 395 00:15:05,629 --> 00:15:07,870 you know, how many plants should I plant, 396 00:15:07,870 --> 00:15:10,190 you know, for my own use? So maybe 397 00:15:10,190 --> 00:15:11,089 3 broccoli 398 00:15:11,470 --> 00:15:13,549 plants. And then if I've got a family 399 00:15:13,549 --> 00:15:15,549 of 4, maybe I wanna plant, like, 10 400 00:15:15,549 --> 00:15:18,205 to 12 broccoli plants. You know? So all 401 00:15:18,205 --> 00:15:21,184 that information is right there in the library 402 00:15:21,245 --> 00:15:22,544 for you to to see. 403 00:15:22,924 --> 00:15:25,345 So it it really helps you kind of 404 00:15:25,725 --> 00:15:28,284 get familiar with these specific crops that we 405 00:15:28,284 --> 00:15:30,445 have in the gardening app. Yeah. And you 406 00:15:30,445 --> 00:15:32,820 could almost just, like, once you get into 407 00:15:32,820 --> 00:15:35,059 it, you could probably, you know it's a 408 00:15:35,059 --> 00:15:35,879 little easier 409 00:15:36,259 --> 00:15:37,000 to review 410 00:15:37,779 --> 00:15:39,779 and kinda make sure it's correct for what 411 00:15:39,779 --> 00:15:41,539 you want. Just to plant to plant a 412 00:15:41,539 --> 00:15:42,839 garden. You know? Mhmm. 413 00:15:43,139 --> 00:15:45,794 Yeah. You're not having to physically move plants 414 00:15:45,794 --> 00:15:47,794 when it's actually out in the garden. And 415 00:15:47,794 --> 00:15:50,535 we also have list of, you know, suggested 416 00:15:50,674 --> 00:15:51,174 cultivars 417 00:15:51,875 --> 00:15:53,634 of these plants. You know? So for a 418 00:15:53,634 --> 00:15:55,315 beginning gardener, they may think, well, I just 419 00:15:55,315 --> 00:15:58,080 wanna grow a tomato. Right? They go to 420 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,059 their local garden center or their, home store 421 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,100 and they see like 10 different varieties 422 00:16:04,399 --> 00:16:06,320 that are offered or more, you know? And 423 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:06,820 so 424 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:08,960 how do you know which of those are 425 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,799 best for you? Right. So we've got a 426 00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:13,845 little bit of, you know, some recommended varieties 427 00:16:13,985 --> 00:16:15,924 to to choose from there in the app. 428 00:16:15,985 --> 00:16:18,225 So Oh, yeah. That's always the next question 429 00:16:18,225 --> 00:16:20,725 is, like, what variety is best over another? 430 00:16:21,105 --> 00:16:21,605 So 431 00:16:21,985 --> 00:16:25,125 now I wanted to ask you on actually 432 00:16:25,184 --> 00:16:25,684 downloading 433 00:16:26,144 --> 00:16:29,250 the SoGarden app, is it a free app 434 00:16:29,309 --> 00:16:30,529 or is there a charge? 435 00:16:30,910 --> 00:16:33,549 It is totally free, and it's available both 436 00:16:33,549 --> 00:16:36,929 for iPhone and then Android kind of devices. 437 00:16:37,710 --> 00:16:39,470 I like that. That's music to my ears, 438 00:16:39,470 --> 00:16:41,865 especially when it's a a free resource. So 439 00:16:41,865 --> 00:16:43,784 that's just a great way again just to 440 00:16:43,784 --> 00:16:45,225 have it on your phone and have as 441 00:16:45,225 --> 00:16:47,865 a quick reference. Another quick question about the 442 00:16:47,865 --> 00:16:50,504 app is how can listeners get started with 443 00:16:50,504 --> 00:16:53,164 it, and are there any other resources available 444 00:16:53,544 --> 00:16:55,304 to help them if they do have questions 445 00:16:55,304 --> 00:16:57,429 with the app? Yeah. So it's very easy 446 00:16:57,429 --> 00:16:59,350 to get started. You know, you download it 447 00:16:59,350 --> 00:17:00,570 to your phone, and 448 00:17:00,950 --> 00:17:03,110 when you open it the first time, it's 449 00:17:03,110 --> 00:17:05,029 gonna ask for you to input just a 450 00:17:05,029 --> 00:17:07,269 little bit of data in terms of, you 451 00:17:07,269 --> 00:17:08,490 know, where you're located. 452 00:17:08,924 --> 00:17:11,565 If you, you know, move or if you 453 00:17:11,565 --> 00:17:14,845 need to access information from another area, you 454 00:17:14,845 --> 00:17:17,025 can always go back and change that information, 455 00:17:17,164 --> 00:17:19,404 you know, to get an update of, you 456 00:17:19,404 --> 00:17:22,144 know, specific planning dates and things like that. 457 00:17:22,650 --> 00:17:24,890 So that's there. That that's the way to 458 00:17:24,890 --> 00:17:26,349 get started. And 459 00:17:26,650 --> 00:17:28,890 I think, you know, your county extension office 460 00:17:28,890 --> 00:17:30,410 is a great place to go for more 461 00:17:30,410 --> 00:17:32,970 information. So we have, you know, as we've 462 00:17:32,970 --> 00:17:35,769 talked about the the ID 128, the vegetable 463 00:17:35,769 --> 00:17:36,670 garden Kentucky, 464 00:17:37,195 --> 00:17:39,835 That's available through most extension offices as well 465 00:17:39,835 --> 00:17:40,575 as online. 466 00:17:41,115 --> 00:17:43,775 I'm involved in another project through 467 00:17:44,075 --> 00:17:47,134 the nutrition education program. We're building 468 00:17:47,434 --> 00:17:50,875 individual fact sheets on many vegetables just like 469 00:17:50,875 --> 00:17:51,375 usually 470 00:17:51,990 --> 00:17:53,450 2 page front and back 471 00:17:53,750 --> 00:17:56,730 fact sheets that talk about specific vegetables, 472 00:17:57,349 --> 00:17:59,269 gives a lot of the same information that 473 00:17:59,269 --> 00:18:01,269 we have in the app, but, you know, 474 00:18:01,269 --> 00:18:03,589 maybe it's easier for some people to have 475 00:18:03,589 --> 00:18:05,289 a paper copy for that. 476 00:18:05,684 --> 00:18:08,184 So I don't think those are available 477 00:18:08,884 --> 00:18:11,444 as paper copies in the county extension office 478 00:18:11,444 --> 00:18:13,924 unless they printed them out. Right. So, but 479 00:18:13,924 --> 00:18:16,024 you can go to your county extension office. 480 00:18:16,404 --> 00:18:18,085 I think they would print it out for 481 00:18:18,085 --> 00:18:19,625 you if you needed to 482 00:18:19,970 --> 00:18:22,289 or, you know, you can access those online 483 00:18:22,289 --> 00:18:22,869 as well. 484 00:18:23,410 --> 00:18:25,970 I'm glad that you mentioned those publications because 485 00:18:25,970 --> 00:18:28,309 we've actually used them quite a bit here. 486 00:18:28,609 --> 00:18:30,529 It's nice, you know, it's where you talk 487 00:18:30,529 --> 00:18:31,730 up a little bit more. I know we 488 00:18:31,730 --> 00:18:34,125 just did an episode on sweet potatoes and 489 00:18:34,204 --> 00:18:35,805 that was really nice to see the different 490 00:18:35,805 --> 00:18:37,244 cultivars. Doctor. Whitfield (zero forty seven): And those 491 00:18:37,244 --> 00:18:37,744 publications 492 00:18:38,045 --> 00:18:40,605 are meant to be very user friendly, right? 493 00:18:40,605 --> 00:18:42,464 We've designed those for, 494 00:18:42,845 --> 00:18:45,404 you know, very basic audiences that don't know 495 00:18:45,404 --> 00:18:46,545 anything about gardening. 496 00:18:46,849 --> 00:18:49,650 So it's, it's very simple language and easy 497 00:18:49,650 --> 00:18:50,470 to access. 498 00:18:50,769 --> 00:18:53,650 So, and we've got, I think, oh, 12 499 00:18:53,650 --> 00:18:54,789 or 14 different 500 00:18:55,170 --> 00:18:58,049 vegetables that are available now and we're adding 501 00:18:58,049 --> 00:18:59,809 more all the time. So it's something we've 502 00:18:59,809 --> 00:19:02,174 been working on quite a bit. Yeah. Well, 503 00:19:02,414 --> 00:19:04,575 kudos to you guys. And I just wanna 504 00:19:04,575 --> 00:19:06,734 say thank you for your time today on 505 00:19:06,734 --> 00:19:07,394 the podcast 506 00:19:07,775 --> 00:19:10,174 talking about the Soe Garden app. And I 507 00:19:10,174 --> 00:19:12,595 hope that, you know, people that are interested 508 00:19:12,894 --> 00:19:15,470 in downloading the app, they go to our 509 00:19:15,470 --> 00:19:17,309 show notes, which we're gonna post that up 510 00:19:17,309 --> 00:19:19,330 on our blog at Warren County Agriculture. 511 00:19:19,950 --> 00:19:22,109 But, doctor Durham, it's always a a joy 512 00:19:22,109 --> 00:19:23,470 to get to talk to you, and we 513 00:19:23,470 --> 00:19:25,950 appreciate you being on the podcast today. Thanks, 514 00:19:25,950 --> 00:19:28,529 Kristen. I appreciate you having me. Thanks. Thanks. 515 00:19:29,555 --> 00:19:31,714 That's a wrap for episode 30 of the 516 00:19:31,714 --> 00:19:33,174 Sunshine Gardening podcast. 517 00:19:33,714 --> 00:19:36,275 We hope you've been inspired to take your 518 00:19:36,275 --> 00:19:38,515 gardening game to the next level with the 519 00:19:38,515 --> 00:19:39,654 SoGarden app. 520 00:19:40,035 --> 00:19:43,315 This app empowers you to cultivate your green 521 00:19:43,315 --> 00:19:45,150 space from seed to harvest 522 00:19:45,450 --> 00:19:45,950 confidently. 523 00:19:46,650 --> 00:19:48,809 We've included a link in the show notes 524 00:19:48,809 --> 00:19:51,210 for this episode where you can download the 525 00:19:51,210 --> 00:19:53,710 sow garden app for your smartphone device. 526 00:19:54,250 --> 00:19:56,509 To view the show notes for episode 30, 527 00:19:56,815 --> 00:19:58,994 visit me over on the blog at warrencountyagriculture.com. 528 00:20:01,775 --> 00:20:03,634 If you enjoyed today's episode, 529 00:20:03,934 --> 00:20:06,654 please consider leaving a review on your favorite 530 00:20:06,654 --> 00:20:07,795 podcast platform. 531 00:20:08,255 --> 00:20:10,815 Your reviews help us reach more people and 532 00:20:10,815 --> 00:20:12,035 grow our community. 533 00:20:12,519 --> 00:20:14,200 We would also love to hear from you 534 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,099 if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions 535 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:18,460 for future episodes. 536 00:20:19,079 --> 00:20:21,740 Thanks for listening to the Sunshine Gardening podcast. 537 00:20:22,279 --> 00:20:25,174 Stay tuned for more gardening tips, tricks, and 538 00:20:25,174 --> 00:20:25,674 inspiration. 539 00:20:26,454 --> 00:20:28,875 Until next time, happy gardening. 540 00:20:30,054 --> 00:20:32,694 Thanks for listening to the Sunshine Gardening podcast 541 00:20:32,694 --> 00:20:33,994 with Kristen Hildebrand. 542 00:20:34,375 --> 00:20:36,694 If you enjoyed today's content, make sure to 543 00:20:36,694 --> 00:20:39,029 hit the subscribe button wherever you get your 544 00:20:39,029 --> 00:20:41,750 podcast to catch future segments of the sunshine 545 00:20:41,750 --> 00:20:42,809 gardening podcast. 546 00:20:43,349 --> 00:20:46,069 Gardeners keep on digging and learning more about 547 00:20:46,069 --> 00:20:48,869 gardening so the sun shines brighter over your 548 00:20:48,869 --> 00:20:49,849 Kentucky garden. 549 00:20:50,184 --> 00:20:53,545 The Sunshine Gardening podcast with Kristen Hildebrand is 550 00:20:53,545 --> 00:20:56,525 a production of the University of Kentucky Cooperative 551 00:20:56,585 --> 00:20:57,644 Extension Service.