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The WVU Extension Garden Calendar is produced and distributed each year as a service to West Virginia’s many home gardeners and agricultural producers. The annual calendar is just one of many meaningful projects, programs and outreach efforts provided by WVU Extension throughout West Virginia’s 55 counties.
If you have gardening questions or want more information, please contact your county’s WVU Extension office. Be sure to check out information for controlling garden pests year-round as well as related coloring pages and learning activities for even more opportunities.
Enjoy this year’s Garden Calendar!
Download the 2024 Garden Calendar Get a Garden Calendar at Your Local County OfficeWVU Extension is committed to providing reasonable accommodations upon request.
Note: To print as many Garden Calendars as existing funds allow, WVU Extension may not be able to honor web or email requests for mailed calendars. Please contact your nearest county office to get a calendar. Your understanding is sincerely appreciated.
Fresh from the Garden Calendar
Cultivating Rich and Unique Bloody Butcher Corn
When thinking of heirloom field corn that holds a significant place in our state’s history, West Virginians cannot help but mention Bloody Butcher Corn, which dates back to the early 1800s.
While most white and yellow corn varieties are harvested at a rate of 190 to 250 bushels per acre, the open pollinated Bloody Butcher is maximized at 100 bushels per acre. The stalks can grow to heights of 12 feet or taller, so wind and hard rains can knock the stalks down easily. Another reason is the corn’s days to maturity reach upward of 100 days. The corn will always produce two ears per stalk that are usually 10 to 12 inches in length.
Read about Cultivating Rich and Unique Bloody Butcher Corn
Experience Coal Camp Heritage Beans
Pole beans are also known as cornfield beans or climbing beans and fall into a category of beans with a slightly larger pod and more prominent string. One such bean that is very desirable is the Coal Camp bean.
Coal Camp is an heirloom pole bean that originated in West Virginia and produces purplish-green colored pods. The plant produces long runs, so a tall trellis is necessary. They are traditionally picked when the seeds are plump but still forming inside the pod and require stringing. Research also has shown that these beans provide more protein and fiber.
Read about Experience Coal Camp Heritage Beans
Bite Into History With the Red York Apple
The Red York apple is a bud mutation of York Imperial, the quintessential Eastern sauce-making apple. The Red York apple was discovered around 1945 in the orchard of John L. Hevener in Roanoke, West Virginia. In fact, the Hevener’s property was where Stonewall Resort is located today.
The story goes that Hevener was walking through his orchard late in the season and saw some red apples on one of his trees. He was intrigued and walked over, picked an apple and bite into it – it was still firm, juicy and sweet despite being so late in the season.
Read about Bite Into History With the Red York Apple
The Historied Mortgage Lifter Tomato
One of West Virginia gardeners’ favorite tomato is the Mortgage Lifter, a pink to red beefsteak variety. But, did you know that the Mortgage Lifter has more than a meaty fruit and an interesting name? Originating from Logan, West Virginia, one popular Mortgage Lifter was developed by Marshall Cletis Byles, aka Radiator Charlie.
The story begins in the 1930s, when Radiator Charlie wanted to develop a better breed of tomato. Charlie planted three varieties – beefsteak, an Italian variety, and an English variety – in a circle around a fourth variety, German Johnson. He saved seeds from the best tomatoes each year and eventually was satisfied with a stable tomato variety that we now know as the Mortgage Lifter.
Read about The Historied Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Fat Man Pole Beans – An Heirloom Favorite
The snap bean is a hardy subsistence crop that has helped to sustain families in the mountains for hundreds of years. This crop, which has origins in Central and South America, is now cultivated throughout the world and is represented by over 130 varieties. These beans are divided into three categories: bush beans, pole beans and half-runners.
Snap beans are often referred to as “string beans,” a name which comes from the notorious fibrous strip that runs length wise of the bean pod. While those strings can be a problem, many West Virginians’ childhood memories are filled with stringing beans during summer evenings on grandma’s front porch.
Read about Fat Man Pole Beans – An Heirloom Favorite
The Classic West Virginia '63 Tomato
The West Virginia ‘63 tomato has been called “the people’s tomato.” Released in 1963 on West Virginia’s 100th birthday, the West Virginia ‘63 was developed by Mannon Gallegly, WVU plant pathology professor. Gallegly was hired by WVU in 1949 and was directed to research vegetable diseases. At the time, late blight was a huge concern for West Virginia farmers and gardeners.
Read about The Classic West Virginia '63 Tomato
Plant Appalachian Garden Staple Hickory King Corn
If you are thinking of raising corn for homemade cornmeal, grits, flour, roasting or hominy, look no further than Hickory King, a variety that has been a staple for more than 100 years in gardens throughout Appalachia.
Hickory King, sometimes called Hickory Cane, is a popular white dent corn that was introduced close to 150 years ago by A.O. Lee of Hickory, Virginia.
Read about Plant Appalachian Garden Staple Hickory King Corn
Reviving the Heirloom Rutabaga
Highland grassy sites in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia were popular sites for potato and rutabaga farming in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rutabagas (Brassica napus) are a cool season root crop in the Brassica family and, in many ways, are a larger version of a turnip.
Rutabaga comes from rotabagge, the plant’s Swedish name which means “baggy root.” This cross between a cabbage and a turnip is sometimes called a Swedish turnip or swede. In West Virginia, it also has been referred to as a Hanover.
Read about Reviving the Heirloom Rutabaga
Forage for Wild Creasy Greens
Creasy greens are cold-hardy edible plants that grow wild throughout Appalachia. The traditional telltale sign of spring in the Appalachian Mountains is when greasy greens start emerging from the soil.
For many decades, creasy greens have been hunted by foragers and grown by homesteaders, due to their ability to grow in nearly any type of soil and with limited maintenance.
Read about Forage for Wild Creasy Greens
Growing Traditional Winter Potato Onions
Onions are a staple crop in central Appalachia. Before the popular green bunching scallions and bulb onion, multiplier onions were widely grown in gardens throughout West Virginia.
Multiplier onions are often called potato onions or shallots. Unlike traditional onions, multiplier onions produce clusters around a central bulb. As a result, the yield from multiplier onions is much greater than traditional bulb onions.
Read about Growing Traditional Winter Potato Onions
Gardening is a Way to Connect to Your Appalachian Roots
Dear Friends and Garden Enthusiasts,
A new year always brings a renewed sense of purpose and spirit. Gardening truly feeds our body and our soul. Growing fresh foods and vegetables creates community and fuels better health.
For Appalachians, gardening also is a deeply rooted art form in our culture (hence the title of this year’s calendar - “Back to Our Roots”). To celebrate this heritage, our 2024 garden calendar features a look at some of our traditional, staple crops that hail from Appalachia, as well as some of the lesser known “wild” vegetables that can be added to our garden bounty.
As always, you’ll find interesting articles written by our experts, as well as planting tips, recipes and other great information to make the most of your gardening experience. Our WVU Extension agents and staff are happy to help you grow a plentiful bounty. Feel free to contact your local county office with any questions.
Best wishes for a healthy harvest and wonderful growing season!
Read about Gardening is a Way to Connect to Your Appalachian Roots
Grow a Colorful Potato Patch
Growing Irish potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum) is a family tradition here in the Mountain State. Potatoes are a staple food across the world due to their adaptability, yield, nutritional value and storage quality. Irish potatoes are not roots, but specialized underground storage stems called “tubers.”
Plan ahead for your potato patch. One pound of seed potatoes will yield 10 pounds of usable potatoes. Purchase certified seed potatoes. Do not buy potatoes from a grocery store for planting – most have been chemically treated so they do not sprout.
Read about Grow a Colorful Potato Patch
Request a Garden Calendar
Visit your local county office to get a copy of WVU Extension's free Garden Calendar.