Foodscaping With Natives

A presentation by Brie Arthur

Author of the bestseller The Foodscape Revolution

Saturday, October 5th, 1 pm at the Warren County Courthouse in Warrenton, NC

Thoughtful design and management of landscapes is more important than ever as concerns of climate, water quality and invasive plants increase. Brie will discuss how to create a foodscape using native plants mixed with favorite seasonal food crops. The best organic products are featured and easy, earth friendly maintenance strategies are highlighted. Learn about native edible plants and the pollinators they attract that aid in ecological restoration. Get inspired to see the potential every landscape offers by transforming them into purposeful spaces that embrace solutions to modern day landscape problems. 

FREE BONUS EVENT - WALKING TOUR OF WARRENTON Hosted by Preservation Warrenton. Enjoy a relaxed walking tour of this historic town, featuring many fascinating stories from the past. Departing from the lobby of the Warren County Courthouse at 9:45 am, concluding at 11 am.

By Paul McKenzie, Extension Agent

Join the Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Vance/Warren Counties on Saturday, October 5, 2019, for their Fall Gardening Symposium, which will be held in historic Warrenton, NC. This year the symposium will feature Brie Arthur, author of The Foodscape Revolution. Brie studied Landscape Design and Horticulture at Purdue University and since has worked as a grower, propagator, author, and correspondent on the Growing A Greener World show on PBS. She has a passion for sustainable, local food production and will share advice on how to practice this in your own backyard. The presentation by Brie Arthur will take place at 1 p.m. in the Warren County Courthouse, conveniently located in the heart of Warrenton. Registration is $20. Read more about this exciting event and find the link to register at http://go.ncsu.edu/foodscapewarren

PLEASE JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND

GARDEN DEDICATION, VANCE COUNTY, NC

MEMORIAL GARDEN CELEBRATION

Wednesday, June 12, 2019   10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Vance County Regional Farmers Market

210 Southpark Drive just off Beckford Dr. Henderson, NC 27536

Join the Extension Master Gardener volunteers for a drop-in celebration as we hold the official opening and dedication of the Memorial Garden at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. We will have light refreshments and a short program, and we then invite you to stroll around the garden and visit with us. The garden is dedicated to the memory of members of our group who are no longer with us. It features drought tolerant plants that attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, and is also a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
http://go.ncsu.edu/vancegarden

Interested in becoming an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer?

Late July marks the start of a new class for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers.  Do you enjoy gardening and helping others learn more about gardening?  Would you like to learn more about gardening and help share the joys of getting your hands in the soil?  Please consider joining the team  of volunteers in Vance and Warren County.  There will be an informational open house at the Cooperative Extension Office in both Warren and Vance counties.  For more information see https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/2019/04/get-trained-to-be-a-volunteer-in-the-master-gardener-program/

Fire Ants: A Good Question

Ask your Master Gardener:
The first question for the Question and Answer column comes from Linda Sigmon:
“Since Hurricane Florence, there seems to be a proliferation of fire ants. What is causing this?”

Yes, you are seeing more fire ant mounds since Hurricane Florence dumped so much water on our region. The short answer is that the ants have been there all along, living in an underground nest, even if there was no distinctive mound that showed their presence. With the abundant rainfall, the soil became looser and the ants were able to make their nests larger by mounding up the soil on top.

Many colonies with a small number of ants are started in the spring and fall. As the colony adds more ants through reproduction, the size of the mound on top gets larger. The Red Imported Fire Ant (the fire ant species that is common in our area) is happiest when temperatures are between 70F and 95F. Therefore, they are feeding, growing larger colonies and establishing new colonies much of the year in our area.
New colonies are started by winged males and females by leaving the nest and engaging in aerial mating. This allows the females to be widely dispersed from their parent colony. Each female is going to try to start a colony after her eggs are fertilized and, as described, the small colony is likely to go unnoticed for some time.

I know you are interested in control so here are a few things to consider.

GETTING READY FOR HUMMERS & OTHERS from the May 2015 Garden Path Newsletter

GARDENING FOR THE BIRDS & THE BEES PLUS BUTTERFLIES & ME

 By Edna Gaston, May 2105

It’s spring so now it’s time to plan for our summer feathered friends. One of my favorites is the hummingbird. In my yard they are especially fond of my hanging baskets and containers. Hanging baskets easily brighten any space and if they will attract birds then so much the better.
So here are a few suggestions.
1. FLOWERS – red is the color usually associated with hummers. This is a color that can be seen from a distance but mine also go to white, yellow and other pale colors. But select plants with tubular flowers. Also hummers seem to like floppy, open form plants that produce numerous flowers. I’ve

Spring 2019 Symposium coming soon.

Annual Gardening Symposium Scheduled for March 23

— Written By Paul McKenzie

The theme for the 2019 Vance County gardening symposium is “Gardening for a Sustainable Future.” This event, hosted by the Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Vance and Warren Counties, will take place at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market.

Our presenters this year include Dr. Ashley Troth, Extension Agent in Durham County, Mark Weathington, Director of NC State University’s JC Raulston Arboretum, and Kit Flynn, Master Gardener volunteer emeritus and garden writer. Register by February 28 to receive the early bird registration rate of $30. Lunch and snacks are included in the registration cost.

Visit http://go.ncsu.edu/vancegarden for complete details. Questions may be directed to 252-438-8188 or paul_mckenzie@ncsu.edu.

Late Winter In The Tyro's Corner

THE TYRO’S CORNER

By Eileen Novak

Previously published on Blogger.com.  Reprinted with permission of the author.

I enjoy the winter here in North Carolina.  Of course, much of that has to do with the fact that I grew up north of Buffalo, New York. I can remember when we would get Halloween costumes, and needing to be sure that it would fit over a snowsuit.

And the snow.  It is rumored that the Eskimos have many words for snow, referring to the texture, the weight, whether or not it’s good for igloos or just snowballs. In Buffalo, we have lots of words for it too, none of which are suitable to print in this publication.

Sizing Your Rain Garden

How to Build a Rain Garden  

Part 2  Planning My Rain Garden – Does Size Matter?

By Joy Smith

I am excited about the idea of building a rain garden to capture some of the runoff from our road, our driveway and our roof.  I am energized by what I am reading, but of course the labor part of the project doesn’t thrill me as much. I will recruit help for that.  I will use the Tom Sawyer method if possible. Remember how much fun fence painting is?

Right now I am thinking about where to locate my rain garden and figuring out how big it needs to be. To state the obvious, it needs to be between the source of our runoff and the lake. It needs to be located on our property because the Army Corp of Engineers does not look kindly on anything on their property, unless you have a permit.  

Spring Gardening Task List

SPRING CHECKLIST  of Things to do in the Garden  

By Mary Jane Bosworth

March, April and May are my favorite times in the garden.  Everything is new and fresh and I am still full of energy and determined to do better than the previous year.

March

• It's time to plant cool season vegetables, such as peas, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce,   spinach and root crops.  
• Vegetables and flowers that you want to plant outdoors next month may be started from seed indoors at this time.  These include tomatoes, eggplant and peppers as well as zinnias and cosmos.
• Before woody plants break dormancy, prune and apply dormant oil if needed.
• Prepare beds where vegetables will be grown when the soil is dry enough to crumble.
• Apply pre-emergent herbicides by the time dogwoods are in bloom.
• Deadhead spring flowering bulbs but leave the foliage until it is dry.
• After early flowering shrubs such as forsythia have blossomed, cut 1/3 of the oldest canes to the ground.

Amaryllis Annoyances

WHAT’S BUGGING ME?

Amaryllis Annoyances, by Juel Duke

The amaryllis is a plant that most everyone has had in their home, even if only for one bloom season.  They are popular gifts and dramatic decorations for the winter holidays. Most people know that the bulbs can be kept  and encouraged to bloom again. The bulbs can even be planted outside in most areas of Vance and Warren County, NC. Frankly, I’ve never been that brave, though I do keep them outside in the summer.

I have, over the years, kept bulbs from year to year with success though I don’t work at having them bloom for the holidays.  The bulb I bought a few years ago didn’t bloom last year despite having bloomed the previous two years.

That’s what bugs me about growing them. I just can’t seem to get it right.  

Tent Caterpillars Bugging You?

WHAT’S BUGGING YOU?  by Eileen Novak

It’s spring… no, it’s winter… no, it feels like summer… no, it’s almost spring… maybe.

Whatever the weather, you must know that the calendar says that spring is on its way.  So let’s learn about another of the pesky things in the garden and what you can and/or should do about them.

Tent Caterpillars.  Eastern tent caterpillars are somewhat hairy and black with gold, white and blue markings. They mostly like to invade wild cherry trees, but they will settle for apples and crabapples too.  They are easy to identify when they leave the tent that they spin for their protection in the crotch of trees. There is a white stripe down the back. The caterpillars grow up to almost 2 inches long.  When they are that long, you will find them crawling everywhere: up the screens and window, in the garage, just everywhere.

Part 1: What and Why of a Rain Garden

Building a Rain Garden in Your Yard 
               Can Be a Win-Win For Everyone
by Joy Smith
A rain garden can be a beautiful way to control runoff in your yard. We will learn more in a follow-up article about how to build a rain garden and what beautiful plants you can use, but let’s get started now with talking about why a rain garden is a win-win project for everyone.
We all have water that runs off our roof, our driveway, and our other impermeable surfaces. Watching water run swiftly down your driveway can be fun to watch, unless it is running into your garage or where you need to walk. Runoff is also a nuisance if it is washing away the mulch you just bought and put down, washing away your expensive grass seed, or making gullies in your golf cart and walking paths. What if the water is sitting on your sidewalk and you have to get your feet wet to get in or out of your house? Well, maybe we can direct the water to our neighbors’ yard. I have seen this done, but that is rather unkind and there are better ways. If we can stop the runoff from being a nuisance it is a definite win for us and a rain garden can do this.
A rain garden can be environmentally friendly. Rain gardens are built to encourage runoff to seep back into the ground, where it is naturally filtered, rather than running directly into storm drains or natural bodies of water like rivers, streams and lakes. Runoff can contain pollutants such as fertilizer and motor oil that it picks up on its journey off your roof, down your street or through your yard. So what can we do? You guessed it, build a rain gardens to help prevent runoff from pouring those pollutants directly into our drinking water and recreational areas.
You may have noticed that rain gardens are being built in many commercial developments like office building, schools and shopping centers. If you have not noticed, start looking around, they are there. This is happening because these projects often have very large impermeable surfaces that generate a lot of runoff. So once again, the rain gardens serve a purpose and they add interest to the landscape. I am always interested in them when I see them.
Finally, I just like doing things that make me feel like a good citizen. How about you? I bet you feel the same way. So building a rain garden in your yard can be a win for you and a win for our water. Did I peak your interest? If so, look for another installment, “How to Build a Rain Garden” in the next edition of The Garden Path.
If you can’t wait for that and want to learn more now check out all this resource: https://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/RGmanual2015.pdf