By Chris Aldridge
Kentucky Ag News

One of the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that started four years ago was an increased interest in home gardening.

“Since 2020, people really became more interested in growing their own food since they had more time at home,” said Rachel Rudolph, a vegetable specialist for the University of Kentucky (UK) Extension Service.

Whether you have years of gardening experience or none, Rudolph is a wealth of knowledge on how to grow your own vegetables. She said Kentucky gardeners have the geographical advantage of a climate that can support growing most vegetable crops.

“Tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelon, sweet corn – we can grow any of it,” Rudolph said.

The most popular vegetables Kentuckians raise, according to Rudolph, are ingredients found in the appropriately named garden salad.

“Your classics: your tomatoes, your peppers, your carrots … those kind of things people want at their fingertips because they want them fresh and they want them immediately,” she said. “Lettuce doesn't store very well for very long, so it's really nice to just have it right there at home, and you can cut it fresh.”

Rudolph said now is the optimal time to plant most any warm-season crop. She said vegetables that grow particularly well in Kentucky are cucumbers and summer squash, as well as tomatoes, watermelons, and peppers, both bell and hot varieties.

“It's probably too hot at this point … for your cool season crops like radishes, carrots, and beets,” Rudolph said, adding those seeds should be planted in March and covered on cold spring nights to protect them from frost damage.

To avoid a killing frost, many Kentuckians wait to plant warm season vegetables after two important dates: the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May or Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May.

Rudolph said the easiest vegetables for beginner gardeners to grow are lettuce, beets, radishes, summer squash, and carrots “if you've got the right soil,” she noted of the latter.

What are the most difficult vegetables for beginners to raise?

“I hate to deter anyone, but for the less experienced gardener, cauliflower can be a little tricky,” Rudolph said. “Brussels sprouts take forever, so that I can see people losing interest before they get their first (harvest).”

The ever-popular tomatoes can also be difficult to raise, according to Rudolph.

“People think tomatoes are really easy to grow, but they're kind of high maintenance,” Rudolph said, adding she fears beginners may get “discouraged because they're not easy.”

Rudolph says anybody can have a garden, regardless of where they live. The size of your garden depends on how much room you can devote to it.

“Someone in an apartment would probably prefer to just grow in (flower) pots,” she said, “or maybe they’d have a community garden nearby.”

Rudolph had advice for beginners to start their first garden from scratch.

“Your county (extension) agent is an excellent resource,” she said, noting extension offices have copies of UK’s “Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky,” which is also available online at https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf. “I would definitely read through that, do your homework, and map out what you want your garden to look like.

“What I would caution (beginners) – and I would also say this to people wanting to grow commercially – is don't bite off too much at once,” Rudolph added. “Start small and be willing to grow.

“Also don't get disappointed when things don't work out right. No one bats 1,000…. Just because a plant died or a couple of plants died, or maybe you missed that perfect planting window doesn't mean you're doomed forever, and you can't be a gardener.”