Ever wonder how much microbial activity is in your soil? I wondered the same thing about some of the areas at the Briggs Community Garden (BCG) and I decided to get to the bottom of it. Enter the "Soil Your Undies Challenge".
This basic test is based on the premise that soil microbes eat carbon, and a pair of 💯 % cotton underwear is mainly that. On March 12, 2021, I buried 9 pairs of underwear in 3 locations at BCG each with a different use history. After 8 weeks these will be uncovered to discover the amount of degradation that occurred. The more worse for wear the underwear; the greater the microbial activity.
Are you interested in learning more about Soil Health? We are hosting a seminar series on soil health featuring different topics presented by soil health researchers each month.
In May , Dr. Deanna Osmond presents: Soil Health: What is it? Can it help? Register Here. Learn More »
AGVET training program accepting applications
Have you ever thought about career in farming or agriculture? Are you military? If you answered yes to both of these, you should check out this training program.
The Veteran Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden has two 6-week sessions of the Agricultural Veterans (AGVET) training program coming up, the first beginning on April 30th.
This program is open to ALL military members within North Carolina: active duty, reservist, retirees, veterans and spouses.
The AGVET training program addresses all the necessary skills and tools needed to start a successful business in agriculture. There is no cost associated with the attendance of this program, and all of the needed personal protective equipment (i.e. masks, gloves and hand sanitizer) will be provided free of charge. Please contact Lovay Wallace-Singleton to request an application.
Kira Sims and Dr. Katie Jennings are inviting blueberry, grape, and strawberry growers to participate in a 10 minute survey on weed management in these production systems.
This is a very busy time for growers, but participation and information will be beneficial in helping to identify current weed issues and management practices in blueberry, grape and strawberry, which will help lead to future research.
If anyone would like more information or has any questions about this study, please contact Kira (klchalou@ncsu.edu) or Dr. Jennings (kmjennin@ncsu.edu).
To participate in the survey, please follow the links below for each small fruit grown by May 7, 2021.
Stay tuned for an email on Monday, May 3. The window to apply for NC Farm School will open. If you have been farming for a little while and want to take it to the next level, this is the class for you.
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.
