March 10th – Garden Club Meeting @ 6:30pm (Educational Topic: Gardening with Clay Soil)
March 14th – Beekeepers Meeting @ 7pm
March 17th – Plant Sale Pickup (9am – 5pm)
March 22nd – Home Foods Processor Class @ 10am (Those interested in making homemade foods to sell, especially at our Farmers Market, are encouraged to attend.)
Grubs and the Aftermath they Cause
Is anyone seeing or feeling rather, the soft tunnels in your yard right now? Well those soft tunnels are made from moles who are trying to find food… AKA grubs. Moles are pesky little creatures that can be hard to get rid of, but before initiating a control program for moles, be sure that they are truly out of place. Moles actually play an important role in the management of soil and of grubs that destroy lawns. Tunneling through the soil and shifting of soil particles permits better aeration of the soil and
subsoil, carrying humus further down and bringing the subsoil nearer the surface where the elements of plant food may be made available.
Methods that may be effective include packing the soil or reducing the soil moisture which may reduce the habitat's attractiveness, frightening with those noise/ vibrations stakes that you can get at a local hardware store, and reducing their food supply by killing grubs with insecticides.
These white grubs are actually the larvae of June bugs and Japanese beetles which come early summer to dissipate our roses, grapes, and many other ornamental and fruiting
plants. They have a one-year life cycle and spend about 10 months of that cycle in the ground. Eggs are laid in early July and the larvae hatch out two weeks later. These larvae feed on grass roots until cool weather arrives in October. In November, the grubs burrow deeper into the soil to over-winter. The grubs return to the root zone and begin feeding in March. Larvae pupate, and adults emerge in May and early June to begin the cycle over again.
Grub control treatment should be applied in March through early May and then again in August through October when the grubs are feeding. No matter which product or
approach is selected, be sure to read and follow label directions. Some grub controls call for watering in the insecticide, while others you should not water in.
Recent studies indicate that traps for Japanese beetle adults have no impact on the subsequent population of grubs in the soil. The use of Japanese beetle traps can also actually attract adult beetles to the area where they may feed on ornamental landscape plants rather than entering the trap. For this reason, we do not recommend Japanese beetle traps for home landscapes.
Also, even when you apply grub control, keep in mind that you can
still have June bugs and Japanese beetles in your yard and on your plants. This is because they can travel long distances and fly in from an infested yard down the street.
If you have any questions about controlling moles, or grubs, please contact our office at 828-632-4451.
The Alexander County Fruit
Sale is still going! Many of our items have SOLD OUT! Below is a list and details of what is still available. These plants will be ready for pickup March 17th, when you may also make your payments.
If you have any questions about the varieties we have or would like to place an order, contact Cari Mitchell, Horticulture Agent, at 828-632-4451 or stop by our office (151 W Main Ave., Taylorsville).
Strawberries: $10/ bundle of 25 Earliglow- early bearing Cavendish- early-mid season bearing Albion- ever-bearing Pecans: $25/ tree Pawnee & Sumner (suggested pair) Plums: $20/ tree Methley & Santa Rosa (both are self-fertile but recommended to plant in multiples or with another variety to ensure better cropping)
April Garden Calendar
Plants in flower:
Flowering cherry
Redbud
Ajuga
Weigela
Bloodroot
Columbine
Bleeding heart
Pieris
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Trillium
Anemone
Azaleas
Fertilizing:
Fertilize shrubs and shade trees
Fertilize asparagus beds early this month before spear growth begins
Before planting your vegetables, fertilize your garden as recommended by your soil test results
Apply the recommended amount of lime if this
was not done in the fall
Month-by-month lists of common plant diseases, pests, and other problems you may encounter in North Carolina yards and gardens. Straight from our PDIC (Plant Disease & Insect Clinic) entomologists and pathologists!
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local
governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
