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NC Agritunity Conference & Tradeshow
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
Iredell County Agricultural Center
444 Bristol Drive, Statesville, NC 28677
8:30am-2:30pm
Join us for our 3rd NC Agritunity Conference and Tradeshow. The conference offer several break out session and a tradeshow of local vendors. Our key note speaker this year is Carol Coulter. Carol Coulter and her husband owns and runs Heritage Homestead Dairy Goat in Ashe County where raise Saanens, Alpines, and Nubians Goats. They sell at the local farmer's market and retail shops.
Continuing education credits (CEUs) and pesticide training credits will be available in some of the presentations for existing license holders. To learn more about the educational sessions and featured vendors, please visit our website at:
The event is free and open to the public.
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2019 Small Fruit Plant Sale
We are currently taking orders for many different types and varieties of plants.
For more information and details please click on the following link
If you have any questions please contact the
N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander Center at 828-632-4451
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Upcoming Horticulture Events
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Timber Sales: Is it time to Sell?
Time: February 18th, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Center
Blueberry Pruning Workshop
Time: February 19th, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Location: Campbell's U-pick Farm
N.C. State University Extension Growing Fruit Trees Workshop
Time:March 6th, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Location: N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Center
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Click on the following link to learn more about these events and other events
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https://alexander.ces.ncsu.edu/ |
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February Garden Calendar
Plants in Flower
- Wintersweet, Breath-of-Spring (Winter Honeysuckle), Lenten-Rose (Helleborus), Trailing Arbutus, Crocus, Violets, and Japanese Flowering Apricot
Fertilizing
- Shade trees can be fertilized.
- Fertilize emerging spring flowering bulbs.
- Spread wood ashes around the vegetable garden, flowering bulb beds and non-acid loving plants if the pH is below 6.0.
Planting
- First week in February start broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower plants inside your home.
- Plant English peas, onions, Irish potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, kale, turnips, and carrots the last week of February.
- Plant asparagus crowns when soil is dry enough to work.
- Plant fruit trees and grape vines while dormant, before buds open.
Pruning
- Prune bunch grape vines this month.
- Prune blueberries this month.
- Trim ornamental grasses like liriope, mondo grass, and pampass grass.
- Cut back any overgrown shrubs.
- Prune fruit trees, such as apples, cherry, nectarine, peach, pear and plum while dormant, before buds open.
- While pruning, remove leaves and clippings to prevent disease problems.
Spraying
- Peach and nectarine trees need to be sprayed with a fungicide to prevent leaf curl.
- Spray all fruit trees with dormant oil to help eliminate some insects.
Lawn Care
- Cool season lawns like tall fescue should be fertilized. Follow soil test results.
- Control wild onion in your lawn with spot sprays of a recommended herbicide.
Propagation
- Divide perennials like daylily and shasta daisy when the ground is dry enough.
- Hardwood cuttings of many landscape plants like Crape Myrtle, Flowering Quince, forsythia, hydrangea, juniper, spirae, and weigela can be taken this month.
Specific Chores
- Clean out bluebird boxes.
- Develop a vegetable and landscape plan for your home grounds.
- Order strawberry & blueberry plants.
- Bring cut branches of forsythia, winter honeysuckle, spirea and quince inside. Place branches in water filled vases to enjoy early blooms.
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Save the Dates! N.C. Farm School
March 19 - Cattle
April 19 - Small Ruminant
April 23 - Pastured Poultry
May 14 - Small Fruit
May 28 - Market Garden
For more information visit the link below:
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Alexander County
Commissioner's Choice Awards
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The Alexander County Commissioners and N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Center would like to recognize individual volunteers, organizations, communities, etc. for their hard work. This can include, but is not limited to, school classroom volunteers, school PTO boards, church volunteer groups, civic clubs, high school clubs, scouts, 4-H clubs, and many others.
The most outstanding adult and youth volunteer organizations will be awarded monetary awards of $200 each. Other monetary awards will be given for second ($125) and third ($75) in both the adult and youth categories.
Also, there is a "Community Spark" Award for which you may nominate some outstanding individual, group, or both on your application.
The Commissioner's Choice Awards Banquet will be held Monday, April 8, 6:30 p.m. at Alexander Central High School Cafeteria.
Please click the link below for an application:
Applications are due to the NC Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Center by Friday, March 8th.
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Alexander County 4-H youth attended the 2019 South Central District Winter Enrichment on January 12th in
Charlotte, NC. Representing Alexander County were Anna Beth Harris and Kaylor Berwick.
They are pictured with the N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County 4-H Agent, DJ Salyer, at the Nascar Hall of Fame where a portion of this event took place.
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NC State University and N.C. A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, genetic information, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sexual identity (including pregnancy) and veteran status. NC State, N.C. A&T, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
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