Green Thumb Gazette, October 2026

Hummingbird Migration: When to Remove Feeders

Figure 20–2. A hummingbird feeder. Red parts will attract the birds. There is no need to dye the sugar syrup red.

Francesco Veronesi, Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

Keep those hummingbird feeders clean, filled, and ready to go through late fall and early winter!

According to the National Audubon Society, maintaining your feeders after your seasonal regulars depart provides a vital lifeline for late-migrating stragglers.
Fall migration usually peaks through North Carolina in September and early October. The birds travel down through the Southeast and gather along the Gulf Coast before attempting a massive leg of their journey. To reach Central America, many perform an incredible non-stop flight straight across the Gulf of Mexico—a 500-mile, 18-to-24-hour journey over open water—while others choose an overland route through Texas and Mexico.
Because these tiny travellers have such a long journey ahead, keeping a reliable stopover in your garden is key. Here is how to keep your feeding station safe and inviting:
The Proper Nectar Recipe Stick to a simple 4:1 ratio of water to plain granulated white sugar. Avoid commercial mixes with red dyes, which are harmful to the birds.
Routine Feeder Maintenance & Cleaning Clean your feeder every time you refill it—ideally every 1 to 3 days depending on the weather. Hotter temperatures speed up mold and bacteria growth, requiring daily or every-other-day cleanings, while milder fall weather allows you to stretch it to every 3 days.

Regular Cleaning: Wash the feeder and all port holes thoroughly using hot water, a weak vinegar solution, and a scrub brush (and pipe cleaner for the holes!). Rinse completely before refilling. Avoid using dish soap, as it can leave behind a harmful residue.

Deep Cleaning: If you spot mold or want to do a periodic deep clean, soak the feeder for a few hours in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts warm water. Scrub, rinse thoroughly, and refill!

Apple Season is in Full Swing Across Alexander County!

Peak harvest is here, and local apple houses are buzzing! Our brushy mountain region (Alexander and Wilkes Counties) proudly ranks second largest for NC for apple production, driven by progressive growers switching to modern high-density orchards as older blocks of apples are taken out. Growers using high density are using a variety of methods to plant more apples per acre, which helps produce higher yields with less chemical use.

Whether you're after crisp new varieties like Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Cameo, and Crimson Crisp, or classics like Stayman Winesap, Arkansas Black, and Granny Smith, our three premier family-owned orchards have you covered:

Sugarloaf Orchards: (7415 NC-16, Taylorsville, NC 28681/ Phone: (828) 635-7477

Fifth generation orchard and roadside market off NC Hwy 16N,

State-recognized Century Farm, operating the oldest apple house in the county, growing apples, peaches, Asian pears, cherries, and plums across 50+ acres.

Deal Orchards : (7400 NC-16, Taylorsville, NC 28681/ Phone: (828) 632-2304

Third Generation orchard and roadside market off NC Hwy 16N

This 100+ acre orchard participates in our NC Farm to School program, providing apples for our NC school system!

Perry Lowe Orchards: (8741 NC-16, Moravian Falls, NC 28654/ Phone: 336-921-3123

Sixth-generation orchard and roadside market off NC Hwy 16N on the Alexander/Wilkes County line.

This 100 acre orchard also offers U-Pick on the weekends with lots of activities for the kids as well!

Beyond the Apple Tree: Don't forget to stock up on pumpkins, fresh cider, apple slushies, cider donuts, local honey, jams, country ham, cheeses, cornmeal, and baking apples for homemade pie season.

Can’t make it this week? Don't worry—thanks to local cold storage facilities, fresh-picked apples will be available well past Christmas. Stop by a local farm stand to support our local families, enjoy unmatched freshness, and snag prices that easily beat the grocery store!

🥕 Community Garden Updates

Our community garden beds have produced over 237lbs of produce that have been donated in our community - and we still need to harvest all of our sweet potatoes!!

Gardeners—now is the time to:

Remove summer crops & weeds

Prep for fall plantings

Contact Cari if you’re not renewing your bed so it can be winterized

⚠️ Heads-up: Root-knot nematodes have been spotted in our beds.

🌱 Nematode Management Quick Tips

Resistant Varieties: Look for "VFN" on tomato & pepper seeds

Cover Crops: Marigolds, cowpeas, winter rye, crimson clover

Crop Rotation: Don’t plant the same family in the same spot yearly

Tool Sanitation: Clean tools with alcohol or 10% bleach between beds

Cultural Practices: Remove roots after harvest, till soil in fall, add compost

Soil Solarization: Use clear plastic in summer to reduce nematodes

🐦 4-H Garden Club

This past month, our 4-H Garden Club learned about cover crops and cool season veggies! They helped re-plant some of our community garden beds with crops like radish, kale, beets, and cover crops like crimson clover!

✨ What’s Next?
The club usually meets every second Thursday at 4:00 pm at the Extension Office.

2026-2027 Meeting Dates:

October 8th - Autumn Activities

November - No Meeting

December 10th - Holiday Wreath How-To

January - No Meeting

February - No Meeting

March 11th - Migration and Plants for Birds

April 8th - Spring Veggies & Re-Grow Veggies

May 13th - Terrariums

June 10th - Bug Out!

July - No Meeting (Summer Fun Schedule)

August - No Meeting (Summer Fun Schedule)

Plus, stay tuned for our Junior Master Gardener Summer Camp—coming as the school year wraps up.