Gardening | Extension | West Virginia University

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Gardening Guide

plot of wooden raised garden beds in community garden

Creative Gardening

Find new, adaptive ways to make use of limited and difficult space for gardening. Get fun and creative in your growing solutions.

Container Gardening
Gardening with Limited Space
Grow Your Own Pizza Garden

Grow Your Own Salad Garden

Raised Bed Gardening

Using Bulbs to Beautify Your Garden

Gardening 101

Gardening requires time and attention. But, with the right guidance and some patience, even a beginner gardener can have a successful garden.

Bringing Back the Victory Garden

Conserving Water with Rain Barrels

Growing Blueberries for Beginners

Growing Broccoli for Beginners

Growing Grapes for Beginners

Growing Strawberries for Beginners

Growing Sunflowers for Beginners

Herb Gardening for Beginners

Insects in the Garden

Low Tunnels for Beginners

Planning Your Garden

Seed Starting

Setting up a Garden

Soil Testing for Beginning Gardeners

Understanding Your Seed Catalog

Using Transplants in the Garden

Variety Selection for the Home Garden

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

hand in soil starting a garden of lettuce

Garden Management

Make your garden work for you and get the most out of your precious resources all year long.

Beneficial Insects Commonly Encountered by Gardeners

Common Problems Encountered in Indoor-grown Seedlings and Transplants

Companion Planting

Controlling Garden Pests Year-round

Getting Ready for Fall

Invasive Species in Your Landscape

Succession Planting

Too Much of a Good Thing? Garden Fertilization Tips
Which is Best? Fall Planting or Spring Planting

Heritage beans growing on poles with a barn in the background.

West Virginia Garden Guide

Get gardening recommendations suited for West Virginia's unique growing conditions, like hilly terrain, and microclimates created by mountains and valleys.

Growing Basil

Growing Beets
Growing Cauliflower

Growing Garlic

Growing Green Beans
Growing Melons

Growing Peas

Growing Peppers
Growing Popcorn

Growing Pumpkins

Growing Sweet Corn

Growing Summer Squash

Growing Tomatoes

Managing Garden Diseases

Potato plant herbicide injury: symptoms of exposed growth regulator include wilting foliage.

Identifying & Preventing Herbicide Injury

Colors of the Garden Background of assorted vegetables with the outline of West Virginia that reads "Colors of the Garden"

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 2023 Garden Calendar Get a Garden Calendar at Your Local County Office

This PDF download is provided as a convenience for printing the document at home.
WVU 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

Importance of Color in the Garden

An exciting benefit of gardening is the vast palate of colors that can be observed with garden plants. Vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruits contain natural pigments that can be visually seen as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black and brown.

The colors we find among our garden plants are the result of complicated genetic traits that are expressed over the course of the growing season. Color can even be an indicator of plant nutrition and overall plant health. Sometimes, poor color expression, like yellow or dull leaves, can be a signal for plant disease or nutrient stress. Colorful plants also attract pollinators and other beneficial insects to the garden.

The color of vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruits commonly grown in West Virginia gardens is derived primarily from pigments like chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins. These pigments are dominant in certain plant parts and can exist alone or in combinations, creating various shades of colors.

Browse Garden Calendar Articles

Extension Master Gardener Program

We’re growing

The WVU Extension Master Gardener Program provides people interested in gardening with the opportunity to expand their knowledge and sharpen their skills by taking part in Basic/Level 1 and Advanced/Level 2 training programs that provide in-depth training in various aspects of horticulture.

The program helps residents better understand horticultural and environmental issues through community engagement in gardening and beautification projects at schools, parks, public institutions, community organizations, and locations throughout the state.

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 ones:

Getting to know more about gardening and horticulture to expand personal horizons and be able to help others
Significant improvements in quality of life, including physical activity, social activity, self-esteem and nutrition
Offers opportunities for professional development through continuing training opportunities
Meeting like-minded people and engaging in the garden activities you are passionate about
Opportunities to assume responsibility
Encourages individual independence
Gaining respect in the community for your newly developed horticultural skills
Flexibility to conduct volunteer work

Learn more about Extension's Master Gardener Program