LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Cooperative Extension is giving away free seedlings to people who live in the county.
For Catherine Shake and her husband, life on their Jefferson County farm is great.
Catherine Shake, who is extension district board chair for the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension said, “Oh we love it! It’s so nice to be outside among the air, just growing things. To watch something grow from a seedling to a fully grown vegetable, it’s just very rewarding.”
She and her husband own and run Shake Farms, which grows commercial produce. They sell all their veggies at an on-farm market. They grow tomatoes, buttercrunch lettuce, onions, squash and peppers.
Shake said, “Basically, any type of summer vegetable, we try to grow everything here on the farm and sell it locally to our customers.”
The Jefferson County Extension is giving away potato and onion seedlings to any Jefferson County residents who want them. It’s thanks to a donation of thousands of pounds of surplus seed potato and onion seedlings by Caudill Seed Company. The community response has been strong.
She said “Oh it’s been wild. It is the busiest I think I have ever seen the extension office. People have just come in droves. They’ve picked up bags of stuff and taken it home. We try to give them the information they need on how to plant them and how to grow ‘em and how to take care of them.”
The extension encourages people to grow their own food, enjoy your own fresh produce and support local agriculture.
“Louisville is a food desert,” Shake explained “There’s just not enough local fresh food available for people and any time we can help fill that need and teach people how to grow their own gardens and create this for themselves, it’s a great thing for the community and for them.”
Shake said the extension expects to get another shipment next week of several thousand pounds, possibly of potatoes.
Shake said customers should bring in a container. They can collect the seedlings at the Jefferson County Extension office at 4200 Gardiner View Avenue.
The hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Shake said they are tracking the names and addresses of people so they can share with Metro Council of how many people from their districts came and received the items from the extension office.
Shake said that’s letting them know that extension is important to all Jefferson County residents and everyone benefits from a healthy extension office.
