April Newsletter - Burke County

April Garden Tasks
Taylor Campbell, Extension Agent, Horticulture

April is right around the corner, and with that comes spring gardening chores. Fertilize early bloomers such as forsythia the first week of April. Late blooming plants such as rhododendrons should be fertilized later in the month when their flowers fade. If you have house plants, now is the time to fertilize them and consider repotting. Plant annuals outside later in the month. Azaleas can also be transplanted in April. Now is also the time to establish warm season grasses such as bermuda grass and centipede grass. Prune berry-producing trees and shrubs such as holly during flowering. Prune flowering trees and shrubs such as redbud and flowering cherry after the bloom is over. It is also a good idea to start scouting for insect pests and start creating a pest control plan. As it gets warmer outside, consider adding mulch to your garden if you haven’t already.

As for which plants we can expect to see bloom in the coming weeks, be on the lookout for flowering dogwood, tulips, trillium, magnolia, and larkspur.

4-H Update
Nicki Carpenter, Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development

Teen Leader Council

Teen Leader Workshops: In Person meetings. Ages 12-18. Free. Contact office to sign up if you plan to attend. Name and contact information.
Monday April 3, 5-6:30pm
Wednesday April 12, 1:30-3pm

Coming up in May
4-H Garage Sale
May 20,2023
De-clutter to Donate to the 4-H Garage Sale

Adult Leadership 4-H Opportunities:
We are currently looking for adult volunteers to lead youth in the 4-H areas of:
*Healthy Living (cooking, fitness, family focus, etc.)
*Sewing (Fashion Revue, Quilting, service projects)
*BeeKeeping (work with Jr. Beekeepers program
*Animal Science (livestock, poultry and horse)
*Shooting Sports Education and safety
Adults must register in 4-H Online and obtain background check approval with NCSU. Contact Nicki @ 828-764-9480 or nicki_carpenter@ncsu.edu

Helping Children Bloom
Brandi Silver, Extension Agent, FCS

Parents are continually encouraged to read aloud to their children from birth. Learning and development happens in the home long before children begin their formal education. Research studies have determined that children that have been read to during their preschool years tend to do better in school later on.

A parent or guardian is generally the child’s first educator and the leading resource of developing a love for reading. Children develop many skills from story time such as vocabulary, comprehension, listening and attention skills, sequencing events and identifying emotions.

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Rotational Grazing
Damon Pollard, Extension Agent, Livestock

Abundant forage growth is wonderful to see in pastures. Following basic recommendations like fertilizing according to soil test results, controlling weeds and planting clovers will help provide this growth. However, don’t follow good forage production with poor harvest procedures.

One of the mistakes that occur every year in pastures is poor utilization of excess pasture growth. A tall fescue plant’s initial growth during the spring is good quality forage. The new leaves are high in protein and energy.

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