NC Cooperative Extension Updates


GARDEN SYMPOSIUM PLANNED FOR MAY 18th
Kerr Lake Extension Master Gardeners present GREAT GARDENING…GET IN GEAR, our first ever gardening symposium.  The event will be held from 9 am to noon at First Presbyterian Church in Henderson. Advance registration is $5 (through May 1), or $7 at the door. Presentation topics include: Daylilies, Vegetable Gardening, and Soil Improvement. To download a flyer/registration form, click here: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/symposium2013.pdf

THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN
1. Keep new flower and vegetable plantings well-watered, they dry out quickly.
2. OK to plant many crops, but wait until May 1 for beans, eggplant, okra, Southern Peas, peppers, and May 15 for sweet potatoes.
3. Although fall is better for planting trees and shrubs, they can be planted now as well. Just be sure to water through the summer!
4. For each flower bed, plan to spend 10 minutes weeding every week or so.
5. Try planting a few flower seeds. Zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, marigolds, Rudbeckia, and many other germinate quickly and grow well.
6. For outdoor containers, use high quality potting mix, and replace every couple years.
7. Maintain mowing height for fescue lawns at 3 to 3.5 inches.
8. Identify insect pests before spraying so you can pick the right product. Also be sure it’s not a “beneficial”.
9. Learn about invasive plants. Avoid planting them, and work on eliminating them from your landscape (wisteria, English ivy, honeysuckle, etc.)
10. Do not fertilize tall fescue until September.