Lawn, Gardening & Pests
A yard that feels and looks like home. A bountiful harvest. Grow your own and sow something beautiful.
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Get the 2022 Garden Calendar
The WVU Extension Garden Calendar is produced and distributed each year as a service to West Virginia’s many home gardeners and agricultural producers.
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Lawn, Gardening & Pests Learning Activities
Germinate SeedsMaster Gardener Program
The WVEMGA helps West Virginians understand horticultural and environmental issues through community engagement in gardening and beautification projects at schools, parks, public institutions, and locations throughout the state.
How to Join WVEGMAUpcoming Lawn, Gardening & Pests Events
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Mar 31
This presentation will show adaptive tools that can help make gardening less painful and prevent secondary injuries. To register please visit:... -
Mar 31
- Jun 30
Benefits of becoming a WVU Extension Master Gardener Among the many benefits for getting involved with the WVU Extension Master Gardener program, here are the highest-ranking...
Recent News
Apple Trees
Although apples are an adapted species, they hold a significant place in West Virginia’s history. One of today’s most popular apple cultivars, Golden Delicious, was found in Clay County in 1912. West Virginia’s star apple was marketed by Stark Brother’s Nursery to obtain nationwide, and eventually worldwide, fame. The Golden Delicious apple was designated as the state fruit in 1995. However, West Virginia was growing apples long before the discovery of the Golden Delicious.
Johnny Appleseed is said to have crossed the northern panhandle of the state in the early 1800s, and he may have planted the seed that developed into West Virginia’s first successful and super sweet cultivar, Grimes Golden.
Pawpaw Trees
With the outward look of a mango and the tropical taste of a banana, native pawpaws may seem as if they belong in more tropical regions. However, pawpaws have a range covering much of the southeastern United States, including West Virginia.
Pawpaws belong to the custard apple family, which is more widespread in the tropics. Yet, pawpaws are adapted to the more temperate climate of the Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas.
AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew
Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) has now been found in Monongalia County, West Virginia, as well as neighboring states – Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. For the latest information, visit the CDM regional map at https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/.
Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) is a destructive disease that can affect most members of the gourd family or Cucurbitaceae, such as cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin, squash, watermelon and zucchini. However, cucumbers are the worst affected cucurbit that can be completely killed in two weeks from the onset of the disease.
Symptoms of the disease may vary slightly from species to species, but in general, it causes angular chlorotic lesions on the foliage. These lesions appear angular because they are bound by leaf veins. During humid conditions, the lower surface of the leaf is covered with a downy, pale gray to blackish mildew.
Read AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew
Join the Fall 2022 Master Gardener Training
WVU Extension Master Gardener training, typically offered through in-person courses organized by WVU Extension offices around the state, will once again be available online via Zoom sessions.
Something we learned through this COVID-induced way of conducting our training is that many people found it very appealing and wanted to have the online training opportunity again this fall. We understand that some prefer in-person sessions, but given the persistence and volatility of the COVID situation, the best approach is to have a hybrid platform.
Read Join the Fall 2022 Master Gardener Training
Three Sisters Gardening Method
The Three Sisters Garden can be a fun and rewarding experiment for the family in the backyard vegetable plot. This ancient method dates back to Native American culture.
The trio of corn, pole beans and squash are planted together in hills, a crop management system called interplanting or companion planting. All three of these vegetables are warm-season crops, so they should not be planted before soil temperatures have warmed to 60 F, which is around mid-May.