March E-News

TIME IS LIMITED!!

Last few weeks to order your Small Fruit Plants!

Mitchell County Cooperative Extension is now taking orders for the 2023 Small Fruit Plant Sale! This year’s sale includes: asparagus, horseradish, blackberries, black and red raspberries, strawberries, elderberries, blueberries, and apple and fig trees.

(Horseradish, Elderberry, and Figs are new this year!!)

Download/print the order form, complete and return it to:
N.C. Cooperative Extension, Mitchell County Center, PO Box 366, Bakersville, NC 28705. Be sure to include your check made payable to: Mitchell County Extension.

Orders/payment must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 17.

Small Farms Week

Each year, Small Farms Week highlights the programs and activities conducted by Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University that support limited resource, small-scale, part-time and alternative-enterprise farmers. Small Farms Week 2023 honors the small-scale growers who put food on our tables.

The 37th annual Small Farms Week celebration runs from March 27 to 31 in person on the campus of N.C. A&T State University, with a kickoff in Robeson County at the farm of Millard and Connie Locklear.

To find out more CLICK HERE. Or call N.C. Cooperative Extension, Mitchell County Center (828) 688-4811.

Mitchell County Cooperative Extension Center will be hosting an

Apple Tree Workshop
Tuesday, March 21st from 6-8pm
at the Mitchell County Senior Citizens Center (152 Ledger School Rd Bakersville, NC.)

Dr. Sara Villani will be the guest speaker, Dr. Villani is an Extension Apple Specialist for this district. She will be presenting a lecture on the various types of apple diseases and other production issues.

Please make plans to attend the cost is $12.00 you can register at the N.C Cooperative Extension, Mitchell County Center. If you have any questions please contact Shane Biddix at 828-688-4811 or sabiddix@ncsu.edu.

WHAT'S NEXT????

Now that you have attended the Apple Tree Workshop, your next step is to LEARN how to prune them.

Mark your calendars for March 25, 2023 as the Mitchell County Cooperative Extension Agent, Shane Biddix will be hosting an Apple Tree Pruning Workshop at 110 Fred Sparks Road in Bakersville from 10am-12pm.

The presentation will cover what to prune, timing, proper pruning cuts, branch training, cultural practices, and discussion of diseases and insects. If you have any questions or to sign up please contact Shane at 828-688-4811 or sabiddix@ncsu.edu.

Does your child enjoy working with animals?

If so, the Tri-County Chick to Chicken Program is an excellent opportunity for youth to learn more about raising and showing chickens through hands-on experience! In this six month program, youth receive chicks and raise them until the final events of showing them in the Avery County Fair and WNC Mountain State Fair. During the program, youth will attend one workshop per month where they will bring their chickens and work with them, learning how to care for and show them.

The workshops take place at 5:30 p.m. on the following dates:

* April 4th * April 18th * May 2nd * June 6th * August 1st.

There will be a mock show on August 29th at 6:00 p.m. at the Avery County Fair Grounds (Heritage Park: 661 Vale Rd, Newland, NC 28657).

The required show will take place at the Avery County Fair- September 6th at 6:00 p.m.

A final program celebration will take place on September 12th. At the conclusion of the program, participants can either auction off their chickens, or keep them. Youth will be placed into age categories where they will be showing/competing against each other in their same age category. Youth ages 5-7 will show their chickens and be asked questions, but will not be judged. The age categories are as follows: Ages 5-7, Ages 8-12, Ages 13-15, and Ages 14-18.

The cost of participating in the program is $50, due at the mandatory April 4th meeting. There will be an interest meeting on March 7th at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Spruce Pine (15 Hemlock Ave, Spruce Pine, NC 28777).

Chicks will be given to participants at the mandatory chick adoption workshop on April 18th @ 5:30 p.m. All workshops will take place at Riverside Park in Spruce Pine (305 Tappan Street, Spruce Pine, NC 28777).

For more information, please contact Michelle South at (828) 387-5748 or mcsouth@ncsu.edu

Farmer's Think Tank

By popular demand, the Mitchell County Cooperative Extension Service will be hosting a Farmer's Market Think Tank on March 13, 2023 from 5-6 PM at the Mitchell Extension Center 10 S. Mitchell Avenue, Bakersville, NC 28705. The purpose of this meeting is to explore the possibility of establishing a permanent market in Mitchell County. This meeting is open to producers, buyers, and anyone who desires accessibility to fresh local food! Topics to be discussed are infrastructure, location, time, and producer participation. If you are interested please contact Shane Biddix at 688-4811 or sabiddix@ncsu.edu.

Mitchell County

Annual Livestock Meeting

The Mitchell County Cooperative Extension Center will be holding their Annual Livestock Meeting
and Meal on March 16th, 2023 at the Bakersville Fire Department @ 6:00pm.

This meeting will highlight agricultural equipment available for producers use through the Cooperative Extension Service and Mitchell County Soil and Water Office. Extension Agent, Michelle South will be displaying and presenting on the various equipment that is available to producers through Extension. Producers will also be provided with hands-on opportunities with each piece throughout the meeting. In addition to Extension’s equipment, District Director, Mark Byrd will be presenting on equipment that is available to producers through Mitchell County Soil and Water Office.

A full meal will be provided. Please RSVP by contacting Michelle South 828.688.4811.

The Dinah Gore 4-H Healthy Food Challenge

The Dinah Gore 4-H Healthy Food Challenge is a contest that challenges a team of three to four 4-H members to create a dish that will serve three people using a predetermined ingredient, food category (Protein, Grains, Fruit & Vegetable, and Dairy) and items from the pantry. Once the ingredient is revealed, the team will have 40 minutes to prepare the dish, clean up and prepare their presentation for the judges. The team will make a presentation to the judges after the dish is ready. The presentation, about their dish, should include its health benefits and the nutrients that the dish provides to the body. The presentations is no more than 10 minutes long.

The Mitchell Cooperative Extension Center is pleased to announce the promotion of 12 Extension Master Gardener interns to Extension Master Gardeners. Interns will be promoted by a pinning ceremony at the Spruce Pine Episcopal Church on Saturday March 11th. These new Master Gardeners completed a 13 week curriculum which included lectures by Extension specialists, weekly exams, and class projects. After completion of the classroom section, interns were required to complete 40 hours of additional training to earn the title Extension Master Gardener. Training included assisting Extension Staff with client and plant issues, operating a plant help line, and promoting the Master Gardener program as well as other Extension programming. If you have any questions about this program or are interested in becoming a Master Gardener please contact Shane Biddix at 828-688-4811 or sabiddix@ncsu.edu