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Lawn, Gardening & Pests

A yard that feels and looks like home. A bountiful harvest. Grow your own and sow something beautiful.

WVU Garden Calendar 2022

Get the 2024 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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Master Gardener Program

Master 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.

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Recent News

Bite Into History With the Red York Apple

Close up of Red York apples hanging from tree branches in an orchard.

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 Bite Into History With the Red York Apple

The Historied Mortgage Lifter Tomato

Two ripe red Mortgage Lifter tomatoes hang on the vine, left one is spotted with yellow at the top.

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 The Historied Mortgage Lifter Tomato

Fat Man Pole Beans – An Heirloom Favorite

Greenish yellow Fat Man Bean pods hang from the vine on a vertical trellis system.

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 Fat Man Pole Beans – An Heirloom Favorite

The Classic West Virginia '63 Tomato

Three WV '63 tomatoes hanging on the vine at various stages of ripeness, from bright red to light green.


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 The Classic West Virginia '63 Tomato

Plant Appalachian Garden Staple Hickory King Corn

Hands holding a small pile of light yellow heirloom dent corn variety Hickory King, grass in background

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 Plant Appalachian Garden Staple Hickory King Corn