Snow and ice gripped much of Oklahoma for several days in January, but never fear, gardening season is near. The crew at “Oklahoma Gardening” is busy preparing for the new season that will begin Feb. 10.
Casey Hentges, Oklahoma State University Extension associate specialist and host of the popular gardening show, said part of this season will focus on how gardening helps create a healthy lifestyle.
“Gardening is a great way to improve overall physical and mental health,” she said. “It can be as relaxed or as vigorous as you want it to be.”
Gardening is a good muscle-strengthening activity and one of the physical activities with the lowest injury rates.
The show will feature information on physical activity in the garden, nutrition, mental health and the importance of staying hydrated. Special cooking segments will feature healthy recipes using fresh ingredients from the garden.
Also on tap for the season will be a series of videos highlighting the service the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center on the OSU campus offers to Oklahomans. Hentges said she will work with FAPC specialists to take basil from the garden and turn it into a marketable dry herb product.
“Native plants are growing in popularity, and I’ll showcase a variety of them,” she said. “Topics related to growing native plants will include renovating a traditional landscape to a native landscape, as well as native plant maintenance, where to purchase native plants and what a native garden looks like throughout the different seasons.”
As construction continues on New Frontiers Agricultural Hall on campus, Hentges said she will follow its phases from landscape planning to the installation of plants. The new building is slated to open for the fall 2024 semester.
“As we’ve done in previous years, we’ll continue to provide gardening enthusiasts information on new plants and gardening tips and tricks,” said Hentges, who begins her ninth year as host of the show. “The home garden tours remain popular, and we’ll continue those this season.”
“Oklahoma Gardening” airs Saturday mornings at 11 a.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. on local OETA-TV channels across the state. Viewers can also subscribe to the “Oklahoma Gardening” YouTube channel to see full shows or search for specific segments.
Check out the “Oklahoma Gardening” website for video clips, links to gardening resources, featured recipes and more. “Oklahoma Gardening” can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Botanic Garden at OSU is the home of the “Oklahoma Gardening” studio garden and is located west of Stillwater on the north side of Highway 51. The show is produced by OSU Extension, OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the OSU Agriculture Office of Communications and Marketing.
By Trisha Gedon
OSU Extension uses research-based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state’s 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.
