Whether you are new to gardening or have been gardening for years, all gardeners should think about their soil fertility levels. Just looking at your plants won’t provide the proper information. Soil fertility is something that cannot be seen, felt or guessed about. As we get ready for planting time, consider having a soil analysis on your garden soil.

A soil test reveals the base line nutritional values of soil. From this test, the type and amount of fertilizer to be used can be determined. In addition, a soil test will find the pH level of the soil. This kind of information is basic for developing a good plant nutrition program. For example, if your soil doesn’t need phosphorus or potassium – which may very well be the case – applying it is a waste of time and money.

Nutrient levels can change over time of course. K-State recommends testing garden soil every three to five years. But soil tests are only as good as the samples submitted. To take a soil sample, follow these steps:

1. Mentally divide your garden into areas. Each area should be fairly uniform in soil color, texture and slope, as well as ability to grow plants. Avoid or sample separately any places that could give misleading results: low spots, old fence rows, etc.

2. You will need a clean bucket and a soil probe or spade. Take 10 thin core or slices from different spots in the garden. Include soil down 6 to 8 inches deep. This is much easier to do if you don’t take samples when the soil is really wet.

3. Put all samples into a bucket, crumble and mix them thoroughly. Remove any stones, grass, roots and thatch. Then take out a cup to a pint’s worth of soil, air dry it, and put it in a sealable container. You can spread the soil out on a newspaper to dry.

4. Put soil into a lock-seal plastic bag or plastic food container. Label each container with your name, mailing address and phone number.

5. Bring soil sample to the Southwind District Extension Office in Erie, Iola, Fort Scott or Yates Center. Chanute residents can drop soil of at Breiner’s Feed Store for pick-up. Soil sampling is $15 per sample. Sample results are usually available in 7 to 10 days.

Phosphorus and potassium levels tend to build up in the soil. Excess can harm growth, or worse yet, leach out and pollute streams and lakes. In recent years, the soil testing lab at K-State has found some Kansas garden and landscape samples contained so much phosphorus and potassium that testing couldn’t measure the amounts. The results literally were “off the charts.” By soil testing, you can determine if these nutrients need to be applied or not.

Did your garden just not perform the way you wanted it to last year? It could have been because the soil fertility level is not what it should be or the soil pH is off. Soil testing will determine that.

Don’t put off sampling until after the garden is planted. Do it now so soil fertility corrections can be made!

Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Horticulture agent assigned to Southwind District. She may be reached at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Southwind Extension District

Spring is around the corner, and that means it’s almost time for Walk Kansas! This is a team-based health initiative program that will encourage you to lead a healthier life by being more active and making better nutrition choices.

Through Walk Kansas, you are part of a six-member team which selects a goal and then supports one another in reaching that goal during the course of the 8-week healthy lifestyle challenge. Teams can be made up of family members, coworkers, friends, community organization members, neighbors, or members of a faith-based community. You don’t have to be in the same town, county, state, or even country. If you don’t have a team, we can assign you to one or you can fly solo!

We promote walking because almost anyone can do it and it is good for your heart. However, other types of exercise are beneficial as well so they also count towards Walk Kansas minutes. This includes any moderate or vigorous activity. This physical activity will help boost your mood, sharpen your focus, reduce your stress, and improve your sleep. No matter who you are, you can find safe, fun ways to get active by moving your own way.

By participating in Walk Kansas, you gain support in working towards leading a healthier life, including support from your teammates and exclusive membership in a closed Walk Kansas Facebook group. Success increases with supportive relationships. You will also receive weekly newsletters filled with motivational healthy lifestyle information, resources, and recipes. This year, the newsletters will include a focus on healthy eating for the mind, since eating a certain way can help protect brain function and reduce your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, you will qualify for HealthQuest credits if you are a State of Kansas employee participating in this program!

So, what are you waiting for? Registration for Walk Kansas opens on March 1st. Register by March 26th online at WalkKansas.org or by contacting your local K-State Research and Extension office. For more information, please contact Clara Wicoff, Nutrition, Food and Health Agent, at [email protected] or by calling 620-365-2242.

Falling is a concern for anyone. However, as we age, falls may happen more frequently, and as my grandfather used to say, “we just don’t bounce as well as we used to.”

Several factors may contribute to the more frequent falls, such as medications, chronic disease, vision or hearing loss, loss of strength, foot problems, and sometimes we just don’t pick up our feet as well as we should. Keeping physically active and doing strengthening exercises on a regular basis can reduce our risk for falls. If balance is an issue for us, we are likely not to keep up with the physical activity needed to help reduce the fall risk.

Vertigo is a common falls risk that creates a sensation of dizziness that leads to balance problems and ultimately makes a person a higher risk for falls. Nearly 40% of Americans experience vertigo sometime during their lifetime. It can happen at any age, but is more common in people over 65. Women may experience vertigo more often than men. It can also be a side effect of pregnancy.

Dizziness is more of an overall feeling of being unbalanced. For those experiencing vertigo, it can feel like they are moving and the environment around them is spinning in circles. Some compare vertigo to motion sickness, as they are feeling as if they are spinning or tilting.

Vertigo is not considered a disease. It can be scary, but is not considered serious. However, it may be a symptom of other serious health conditions. It is important to visit with your health care provider when experiencing recurring vertigo attacks. Tests can be performed to more correctly pinpoint the cause.

Most common instances of vertigo are related with hearing and the ear — particularly a problem within the inner ear, known as peripheral vertigo. The inner ear is associated with helping us keep better balance. However, there is also central vertigo that occurs when there is an issue with the brain. Causes for this version of vertigo can include infection, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Vertigo attacks may last several seconds to minutes. In severe cases, those spells may be experienced for several hours, days, weeks or even months.

In many cases, vertigo goes away on its own. There are also several treatments that may successfully manage vertigo. Medications may be needed to treat an infection or relieve nausea or the sensation of motion sickness.

Taking extra time to stand, turn your head, or rolling over in bed may help reduce your risk for vertigo. Other steps in reducing risk include sleeping with your head elevated, sitting down as soon you feel dizzy, or squatting instead of bending over to pick something up.

Don’t let vertigo contribute to your risk for falls. Identifying the root cause of your vertigo can be determined by your health care provider and a personalized treatment option may be established to help you get back to a normal life.

There are some specific exercises that can be done to help improve balance. For more information on those exercises, contact your local Southwind Extension District Office.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

We at the Southwind Extension District thank Dr. Jennifer Ifft, KSU Ag Economics Specialist, for allowing the use of this 8-part series to help our district’s beef producers. Questions regarding this series can be directed through Chad Guthrie at [email protected], or by contacting your local extension office.

Farmers and ranchers face risk every day. Individual producers have tools to mitigate risk, such vaccination and irrigation, but never have complete control over production outcomes. Price risk is one example of the many types of risk that can influence farm income. “Uncertainty” characterizes a situation where outcomes are unknown, while “risky” characterizes situations where potential outcomes are known or understood, but different outcomes can occur.

For cow-calf producers that are calving now or within the next few months, production (breeding) decisions were made over 9 months ago. However, it will be another 6 months from today, or longer, that most producers receive any income. Predicting market prices at breeding is highly uncertain: it’s difficult to know what markets will be like a year and a half in advance. By calving, market predictions or expected prices for feeder cattle have been established through futures markets:¹ this is a risky situation rather than an uncertain situation. While futures prices are not a guarantee of a particular market price, they provide information about likely price outcomes.

Price risk is not about whether expected prices are high or low, but whether market prices are different than expected. What does it mean for a price to be different than expected? Let’s say a producer calves in April and plans to sell in October. Today October feeder futures are around $185/cwt. In other words, $185 is the expected market price for October 2022, or $185/cwt is best estimate we have for average national prices in October, based on currently available information. The price risk faced by the producer is that when October arrives, prices may have dropped below $185/cwt. If prices decrease by October, will the producer still be able to make a profit?

In some years, prices decline or stay the same. The largest decline in recent years was in 2015. In April 2015, October feeder cattle futures were around $214/cwt. By October, prices had declined to around $183/cwt. Some producers might have still made money at $183, but this was substantially less than the expected price in April. Prices were similarly high in April 2014: October feeder futures were over $230/cwt. Actual 2014 October prices were a little higher than this. In 2020 expected and actual prices were also similar, around $140/cwt.

Actual prices can be higher than expected. While this is technically a form of price risk, or “upside risk”, most producers are more worried about price declines, or “downside risk”. In April 2013, the October feeder cattle futures price was around $144/cwt, but the actual price ended up around $160/cwt. Likewise, in 2017, the actual October price was almost $10 higher than expected.

Producers may also face unexpected declines in local prices, that may not be reflected in national or futures markets. This type of risk is often referred to as “basis risk”. Basis risk is defined as the different between the current (or nearby) futures price and local cash prices. For example, prices at the local sale barn may experience a larger decline than futures prices.

To summarize, price risk management is not just about getting a high price; it is about protecting yourself from declines in the expected market price. The next article in this series will discuss different price risk management strategies.

This article is the first in an 8-part series on price risk management for cow-calf producers. The first part of the series will focus on price risk and different management alternatives. The later part of the series will focus on Livestock Risk Protection, an insurance product available to Kansas producers, that pays out when market prices for feeder cattle (or fed cattle or swine) are lower than expected. While LRP has been available for 2 decades, recently policy changes make it more affordable to producers. Funding for this work was provided by the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Award Number 2018-70024-28586.

We at the Southwind Extension District thank Dr. Jennifer Ifft, KSU Ag Economics Specialist, for allowing the use of this 8-part series to help our district’s beef producers. Questions regarding this series can be directed through Chad Guthrie at [email protected], or by contacting your local extension office.

For more information about this publication and others, visit AgManager.info.

K-State Agricultural Economics | 342 Waters Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-4011 | 785.532.1504

www.agecononomics.k-state.edu

Copyright 2022: AgManager.info and K-State Department of Agricultural Economics

Are you itching to get out of the house and do something productive in the landscape? If you have fruit trees, now is the time to prune. A little planning ahead with fruit trees, such as pruning, can mean big rewards later in the growing season.

Are you like many who are “afraid” to prune? Don’t be. When done correctly, pruning is an essential component of growing a healthy, productive fruit tree. Fruit trees should be pruned every year and for several reasons. The first is the development of a strong tree structure. Pruning should begin when the tree is planted and continued each year thereafter. Another reason to prune is the increased penetration of sunlight for the development of fruit buds and for the fruit to mature properly.

Trees can be pruned this early (winter) because they are dormant. This can be done in January, February and even early March. Pruning when trees are dormant makes it easier to see undesirable branches because leaves aren’t present. It is important to do any pruning before dormant sprays are applied, to avoid spraying some of the wood that will later be removed. Total spray coverage of limbs, branches and shoots will be increased after pruning. Do not prune if temperatures are below 20°F because this can cause tissue damage.

Have your fruit trees been neglected for quite some time? If so, pruning can seem like an overwhelming task; where to start, how much wood to remove, etc. But a neglected tree can be revitalized.

The first step in revitalizing a neglected tree is to prune wood around the trunk area and near the ground. Remove all sucker growth around the trunk by cutting as close as possible to the point of origin. Then remove all dead and diseased branches. Next, look for two branches that rub and remove one of the two. Branches that are growing toward the interior of the tree should also be removed. No more than thirty percent of the tree should be removed in a year.

You will want to retain scaffolds that are growing away from the tree center at wide angles with the trunk. Scaffolds are one of the main branches making the basic framework of a tree. They should be positioned on different sides of the tree for good distribution of the fruit crop.

The right tools are needed for proper pruning. Tools always need to be sharp so clean cuts can be made. Cuts that result in bark tears, stubs, or jagged surfaces are slow to heal and may even not completely heal. A scissor type of hand shear is used to prune small size wood, usually ¼ inch in diameter. Long handled loppers should be used to cut ¼ to ½ inch wood. These will need to be used generally by the third year of tree growth. For branches larger than ½ inch, use a fine-toothed pruning saw.

The Extension office has a couple of publications on pruning fruit trees that explain in more detail how to prune depending on the species and age of the tree. These publications can be found on our Southwind website: www.southwind.ksu.edu

If you would like me to evaluate your trees, give me a call and a home visit can be scheduled.

Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Agricultural agent assigned to Southwind District.  She may be reached at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

2022 could prove to be an interesting year for producers in Southeast Kansas. Ultra-high fertilizer prices and herbicide shortages, paired with high commodity prices already have producers scratching their heads on what to plant this year.

Now, the EPA is beginning to unveil label changes for many commonly used herbicides, throwing yet another wrench in farmers’ plans.

The herbicide that has been most effected by these new EPA restrictions is the Enlist herbicide technology. This includes Enlist One, and Enlist Duo. The registration for Enlist herbicides was set to expire on January 12, 2022, and the EPA renewed its registration on Jan 11, 2022. The renewal will be in place for 7 years. The EPA added several new restrictions, a few being: the prohibition of spraying within 48 hours of an irrigation or a predicted rainfall event, new mitigation measures for runoff management, and most notably, the prohibition of Enlist One in 169 counties, and Enlist Duo in 217 counties nationwide.

Many of these new restrictions were made to comply with the Endangered Species Act. Ten Kansas counties appeared on both Enlist One’s and Enlist Duo’s list of prohibited counties, two of which belong to the Southwind District. The ten counties are Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson. These counties were all identified to having a high risk of harming species listed in the Endangered Species Act.

In the EPA’s Memorandum supporting the new restrictions, they claim it will only effect 1% of corn acres, 4% of cotton acres, and a “negligible” percent of soybean acres nationwide. While the number of total acres affected may not worry the EPA on a national scale, producers in Southeast Kansas are faced with a serious dilemma.

It is getting harder and harder to find a good herbicide program for soybean acres in southeast Kansas. Many producers are not able to make their post-emergence applications of dicamba before the dicamba cutoff date of Jun 30, especially on double cropped acres. Adding in limited availability of the glufosonate herbicide, and skyrocketing glyphosate prices, farmers were looking forward to having Enlist as an option for weed control this growing season.

The EPA also unveiled additional safety measures for herbicides containing paraquat. These additions are focused around human contact with the herbicide. A couple additions are updated PPE, the prohibition of spraying from a pressurized hand tank or backpack sprayer, the requirement of having an enclosed and ventilated tractor cab, and some addition buffer requirements. Paraquat is a restricted use chemical that requires an applicators license, and an up-to-date paraquat training. Training must be done online at http://usparaquattraining.com and must be renewed every 3 years.

Another herbicide that requires trainings in addition to an applicators license is dicamba. Kansas producers must complete an approved dicamba training course each year to legally be allowed to spray the chemical. Approved trainings are hosted online, or in person by BASF, Bayer, and Syngenta throughout the state. For help finding an approved training course, you can contact your local extension office.

While this year may prove to be a challenging year for producers in SE Kansas, K State Research and Extension continues to offer research-backed information to help you make management decisions. To stay up-to-date on herbicide regulations and requirements, contact your local extension office and ask for Chad.

KSRE Southwind District

FACS News Column

620-223-3720 or [email protected]

Couples and Money

Valentine’s Day is a fun and romantic way to build a meaningful relationship with your spouse or partner. Building and strengthening relationships is also done in necessary and practical ways, such as talking about finances. How often are you and your spouse or partner talking about money?

Fidelity completed a study in 2021 and found that 44% of couples admit to arguing about money and 18% identify money as the greatest challenge in their relationship. Couples may delegate all financial activities and decisions to one person or over time everything is on autopilot and discussion is limited. The truth is, we all need to be talking about finances more.

Schedule financial dates. Whether it be a nice meal or a long car ride for a weekend getaway, find a time and a place to have these conversations. Keep a list of items you want to discuss so you do not forget, you may choose one or two items at a time. Topics may be life events such as having children, buying a house, or retirement. Other subjects may include switching healthcare plans, paying too much for cable, re-allocating retirement funds, or the purchase of a new flat-screen.

Dream out loud. The best part of being a couple is dreaming together. Setting financial goals is a form of dreaming. One way to approach financial goals is for both people to make an individual list of all their short- and long-term goals. After the list is complete, divide them into two categories, the ‘must haves’ that are essential and the ‘nice to have’ flexible ones. Discuss what matters most as individuals and as a couple. The purpose of this is to determine what matters most. Creating a shared sense of purpose helps couples rally together about what their financial future will look like.

Having open and regular discussions about money helps couples feel more closely aligned, increases confidence, and better prepares them to take on the future. Getting started is the hardest step.

For more information, please contact Joy Miller, Family Resource Management Extension Agent, at [email protected] or by calling 620-223-3720.

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K – State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

If you were going to invest now in your future best self, where would you put your time and energy? Research has shown that most would answer this question with activities that would bring success and wealth. Our worldly pressures push us to work harder so we can achieve more to reach those successes to have a better life.

I would challenge you to think about successful and wealthy vs. happy and healthy. For over 75 years, The Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked the lives of 724 men — following their work, their home lives, and their health. Sixty of the 724 still live with most of them in their 90’s.

One group of the men studied finished the Harvard college, and most of those went on to serve in World War II. The second group consisted of a group of boys from the poorest neighborhoods in Boston, specifically chosen because they were from some of the most disadvantaged families in that city in the 1930’s.

Whole families were interviewed at the beginning of the study. These men entered adulthood in all walks of life. Some climbed the social ladder all the way to the top. Some went the opposite direction.

Follow-up continues with the remaining men, with interviews taking place in their own homes with them individually and with their families, studying their medical records, and questioning their doctors. What they have discovered so far, is that having a good life doesn’t have anything to do with wealth or fame or working harder, but simply that good relationships keep us happier and healthier.

Here are three main lessons learned:

Firstly, social connections are really good for us, and loneliness stifles. Those more socially connected to family, friends, and their community are happier, healthier, and they live longer. Loneliness is toxic. They are less happy, their health declines earlier in mid-life, and their brain function declines sooner.

Secondly, the quality of close relationships matters. Living in the midst of conflict is bad for our health. Living in the midst of warm relationships is protective. When the men had been followed into their mid-80’s, a look-back into the two groups was done to see if at age 50, a prediction could be made as to how they would grow old. It wasn’t their mid-life cholesterol levels that forecasted how they were going to age, it was how satisfied they were in their relationships. Those most satisfied with their relationships at 50 were the healthiest at 80. Good relationships add a protective factor from other life crises.

Thirdly, good relationships protect our brains in addition to our bodies. Being in a securely attached relationship to another person in your 80’s — where one can really count on the other person in times of need, is protective. Memories stay sharper longer. Bickering aside, when things got tough, they knew they could still count on that other person, and those arguments would not take a toll on their memories.

This isn’t new information. We are human and all like a quick fix. However, relationships are built over time. They require dedication, can be complicated, and take work over a lifetime to achieve meaningful relationships.

In the study those that were happiest going into retirement were those that replaced their friends from the work place with new friends in retirement. What might that look like? Replace screen time or being holed up in your home environment with spending time with people. Doing something new together with your spouse or a special someone, or reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken to in years. Feuds take a toll on those who hold grudges.

While acquaintances and friendships of all kinds are important, meaningful relationships can provide an increased sense of satisfaction and well-being. For more information on relationship building, contact a Southwind District Extension Office with locations in Erie, Fort Scott, Iola and Yates Center.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The Southwind Extension District will host a free information meeting on Old World Bluestem at the Bressner Hall on the Woodson County Fairgrounds on February 16, 2022 at 2:30 p.m..

Old World Bluestems are a group of introduced grasses into the United States in the late 1920’s as improved grasses.  While these grasses are called bluestems they are not closely related to Big Bluestem or Little Bluestem.  Old World Bluestem are survivors of centuries of overgrazing.  They are drought tolerant, aggressive, and prolific seed producers which sounds great until you add they are unpalatable to livestock in relation to our desired native grasses.  They can become invasive anytime our natives species are stressed.

Dr. Walt Fick, Kansas State University Range Specialist, will discuss identification and control of Old World Bluestem.  Also on the program will be Jarrod McVey, Woodson County Noxious Weed Director, discussing ways his department can help you with your noxious weed problems.

 Beef/cow/calf Risk Management

The Southwind Extension District will be hosting Beef Cow/Calf Risk Management meeting on February  23, 2022 , at 5:30 at two locations.  This is a hands-on evening workshop that will teach principles of determining cost of production for a cow/calf operation.  Learn strategies for cattle marketing, and insurance products for price risk management.  Participants will work with a case farm to apply these topics to a real-world cattle operation.  The goal is for participants to acquire risk management skills they can apply directly to their own operations.

Registration fee is $15, payable that night.  To guarantee a meal and informational packet call the Southwind Extension in Yates Center 620-625-8620 to register.

The Iola location is at the Southwind Extension Office at 1006 N. State Street in Iola.  Fort Scott location is at Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Office at 104 N. National Ave in Fort Scott.   Dinner will start at 5:30 pm with the program starting at 6:00.  Program is scheduled to end at 8:30 pm

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By Clara Wicoff

Southwind Extension District

Did you know February is American Heart Month? With Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s the perfect time to be thinking about heart health! Here are some heart-related items to keep in mind.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. This is also true for the state of Kansas, where heart disease leads all causes of death. Making healthy lifestyle choices can help to prevent heart disease. Two of these choices include eating a healthy diet and being physically active. The former is essential because poor dietary quality is the top risk factor for heart disease, accounting for approximately half of heart disease deaths worldwide. The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have identified several diet recommendations related to heart health. This includes following a diet which emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and fish. They also recommend choosing foods lower in sodium and cholesterol, replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats (like cooking with vegetable oil instead of butter), and avoiding sweetened beverages.

In addition to eating a heart-healthy diet, being physically active is also key to promoting heart health. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. These guidelines also recommend doing muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days per week. However, if this is more than you can do right now, focus on doing what you can. Even just five minutes of physical activity can have health benefits!

There are many tools out there which can help you to make healthy choices regarding diet and exercise, including MyPlate, the Nutrition Facts label, and more. Learning how to use these tools to improve your health and potentially reduce your health care costs will be the focus of a free class I am teaching at the LaHarpe City Hall on Saturday, February 26^th at 1 PM. For more information about this class and other steps you can take to prevent heart disease, please contact me at [email protected] or 620-365-2242.

The first seed catalog of the year arrived in my mailbox right before Christmas. The catalogs seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year. I do enjoy flipping through the pages looking at all the pretty pictures and dreaming of warmer temperatures. Even though we are in the middle of winter, the time to start many of our vegetable and flower transplants from seed is approaching.

If you have ever tried to start plants from seed, you know it can be tricky. But is very rewarding when you have success! Here are eight steps to help ensure you have nice healthy transplants when planting time arrives.

1. Purchasing Seed – obtain your seeds from a reputable source including garden centers and seed catalogs. If choosing seed from a business that does not specialize in plants, pay special attention to the package date to make sure the seed was packaged for the current year. Though most seed remains viable for about 3 years, germination decreases as seed ages.
2. Determine the Date to Seed – there are two pieces of information that needs to be known in order to determine the date to seed transplants: the target date for transplanting outside and the number of weeks needed to grow the transplant. Then do some counting.
3. Sowing Seed – do not use garden soil to germinate seed as it is too heavy and may contain disease organisms. Use a media made especially for seed germination.
4. Keep Seed Moist – seed must be kept moist in order to germinate. Water often enough that the media never dries. Using a clear plastic wrap over the top of the container can reduce the amount of watering needed. Remove the wrap after the seedlings emerge.
5. Light – most plants will germinate in either darkness or light. All plants require adequate amounts of light once emergence occurs. South facing windows will not provide adequate amounts so fluorescent or LED fixtures should be used. Regardless of the type of light used, leave the light on for 16 hours each day.
6. Temperature – the temperature needed for best germination is often higher than what we may find in our homes. A heat mat is best for consistent germination. Once plants have germinated, they can grow in cooler temperatures (65 to 70 degrees during the day and 55 to 60 degrees at night).
7. Plant Movement – plants react to movement. Brushing over the plants with your hand stimulates them to become stockier and less leggy. Try brushing 20 strokes per day. But keep in mind that brushing will not compensate for lack of light or over-crowding. Plants grown under inadequate light will always be spindly.
8. Hardening Plants – plants grown inside will often undergo transplant shock if not hardened off. Plants are hardened off by moving them outside and exposing them to sun and wind before transplanting occurs. Start about two weeks before transplanting and gradually expose the plants to outside conditions. Increase the number of hours and degree of exposure over the two-week period.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have adequate light to ensure the growth of healthy plants. It is fairly easy and inexpensive to make a homemade grow light using a four-foot shop light and PVC pipe. Here is a link to a YouTube video I made on building a grow light yourself: https://youtu.be/R0B-RUNtx9I

Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Horticulture agent assigned to Southwind District. She may be reached at [email protected] or 620-244-3826.

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.