Fall Lawn Care for the Homeowner
RESCHEDULED
September 29, 2018 
Morganton Ace Hardware
10:00am - 12:00pm
Join our Horticulture Agent, Donna Teasley at Ace Hardware in Morganton for an informative, free workshop on lawn care for the fall and getting the lawn ready for winter.
|
Hurricane Florence Recovery
Hurricane Florence made landfall on the North Carolina coast the morning of Friday, September 14, 2018, causing catastrophic flooding, damaging winds, and widespread power outages across the Carolinas. As the storm moved inland, from September 15 to 17, heavy rain caused widespread inland flooding, swamping cities such as Fayetteville, Lumberton, and Swansboro, to name a few. Millions of North Carolina residents lost their homes, property, livestock, crops, and businesses.
N.C. Cooperative Extension is helping groups, organizations and individuals come together to help families and farmers throughout Southeast NC in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
How can you help? There are multiple ways:
Emergency Farm Supply Distribution
Currently, in need of Dump trucks and drivers to help rebuild farm roads and paths. If interested in donating feed or other farm supplies call (
252) 521-1706 for information on immediate needs.
Creating Essentials Kits (These can be dropped off at our office)
Use boxes, baskets, book bags, plastic storage tubs (smaller ones) to pack essential items for these people to use while they are displaced.
Kits to be packed around the following themes:
Non-Perishables - include diapers, formula, wipes, hand sanitizer, bottled water
Hygiene items - soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloths, laundry detergent
Craft supplies
Game supplies
First Aid supplies
Visit the Extension Disaster website
|
North Carolina State Fair
October 11-21, 2018
Burke County 4-Hers will be participating in the NC State Fair this year! Come check out the exhibits, projects and livestock shows.
Visit the State Fair website for complete information on attractions, competitions, and tickets.
|
Report to the People 
October 30, 2018
This year's event will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018 at the Foothills Higher Education Center in Morganton, NC. Participants will enjoy a special evening
and meal to celebrate the partners and
volunteers of N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke County Center. In addition, staff will share some of the accomplishments and impacts made throughout 2018. Invitations have been sent out and RSVP is required by Oct. 23rd. If you would like more information about the event, please contact us at (828)764-9480.
|
|
Fall is for Planting
Landscape & Design Workshop
October 4, 2018
Fall is here and there's no better time for landscaping and planting. Nights are cool and days are warm and the rain is usually abundant. It's a great time to work on the home landscape, whether it is starting over or just adding some plants.
There are methods to planning a landscape that make the process much easier and certainly more economical and time-saving to the home gardener. Drawing a plan to scale takes all the guesswork out of trying to figure out how many plants to purchase and where to place them. It also gives the gardener the opportunity to be creative in the landscape.
On Thursday, October 4 at 6:00 at program on Landscape Drafting & Design will be presented at the Burke County Agricultural Building, located at 130 Ammons Drive in Morganton. The participants will draw a landscape plan to scale and they will also learn how to get the right plants in the right spots.
This workshop is free but registration is appreciated. Call the Extension office at 764-9480 to register or for more information.
|
2019 Winter Vegetable Conference 
& Annual Tomato Growers Meeting
Event Date
: February 20th and 21st, 2019
Time
: 9:30 am Wednesday through lunch on Thursday
Location
: Crowne Plaza Resort, Asheville, NC
Cost
: $40 per person with pre-registration prior to February 7th.
Registration at the door is $50
Conference Contact
: To exhibit or sponsor, or for more information, contact Ellen Moss at 828-685-3989,
ellen_moss@yahoo.com
.
Description:
This is the largest commercial vegetable grower event in the region with a high quality educational program put together by vegetable extension specialist/agents at NC State University Cooperative Extension. There will also be a trade show and a fundraiser that supports student scholarships. The program will include presentations on many different topics to help vegetable growers. The final program will be completed in December 2018. Topics will include such things as Management of Foliar Diseases of Tomato, Using Chemigation to Manage Phytophthora Blight, Breeding for Late Blight Resistance and Tolerance to Bacterial Spot and Verticillium Wilt, Evaluation of Tomato Lines for Late Blight Resistance, Flavonoids in Tomato, Evaluation of Insecticides for Key Pests of Fruiting Vegetable Crops, Native Natural Enemies on Biological Control of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Growing Industrial Hemp for Cannabinoids in Western North Carolina, to name a few. There will be a sponsored lunch and awards program at noon on Thursday. Pesticide credits will be offered.
|
North Carolina Cattle Industry Referendum 
The North Carolina Cattlemen's Association (NCCA) has announced that the N. C. Cattle Industry Assessment Referendum vote will take place on October 4, 2018. The North Carolina Cattlemen's Association will conduct a referendum to continue the N. C. Cattle Industry Assessment. Arrangements have been made with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension to facilitate the voting. The Extension offices in each county will be the polling places.
John Langdon, president of the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association, said that the referendum will be to assess all cattle sold and marketed in North Carolina one dollar per head for the purposes of advancing the cattle industry in the state. The money collected will continue to fund the following five areas: youth programs, cattle research, education, promotion of North Carolina cattle and beef, and issues management. The North Carolina dairy industry will also benefit from the funds collected, as a portion of the income will be allocated to the same areas within the dairy sector.
The referendum would continue the original state assessment program, which was first established in 1957. The national beef checkoff assessment of one dollar per head will still be collected and will be used according to the guidelines set forth in federal law.
According to Mr. Langdon, "The national beef checkoff does a tremendous job of promoting beef and the beef industry, returning $11.20 per dollar invested; however, these funds cannot be used for many of the production and regulatory-oriented issues facing the industry today. The N. C. Cattle Industry Assessment Referendum would allow producers to continue to provide funds that would be controlled totally by the North Carolina beef and dairy producers to promote our product, our youth, our industry, and to provide research and advocacy to protect their way of life."
Since the assessment was reinstated on January 1, 2010, research and education projects have been funded to deal with production issues facing North Carolina cattlemen in the areas of management, forage production, feed efficiency, and general input reductions. In addition, we have been able to provide additional services in issues management to help the public have a better understanding of our industry and training for farmers to help them to be more efficient and provide more research-based management for them and the cattle in their care. Youth programs have been a huge beneficiary of the investments from the assessment as we have been able to support livestock schools, judging contests, Skillathon contests, leadership development, and the very popular Youth Beef Industry Tour, among many others.
Bryan Blinson, executive director of the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association, states that the assessment will be for a period of six years with a recurring referendum if requested. Also, Mr. Blinson states that producers will be eligible for a full refund of their North Carolina assessment by request within 60 days of the sale of the animal with proof of sale. This is a provision that is not available in the national program due to federal law.
All cattle owners who are at least 18 years of age as of October 4, 2018, will be eligible to vote. Voting will take place at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension offices. All eligible voters must vote in their county of residence. Absentee ballots may be obtained by contacting the North Carolina Cooperative Extension office. The North Carolina Cattlemen's Association can assist with directing you to your local office.
For additional details on voting procedures or funding information, please contact your local county office of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association.
|
Red Maple Poisoning 
Fall is a wonderful time to enjoy being outdoors, but with fall comes the seasonal hazard of toxic poisoning from falling leaves. Red maples are particularly dangerous to horses. They are abundant in Burke County and whenever they are stressed by drought or change of season, chemical changes within the leaves create toxins that are fatal to horses.
An abscission layer forms on each leaf stem and seals off water from the roots. The trapped chemicals within the leaf become toxic and when eaten by a horse, cause the kidneys to hemorrhage and they essentially bleed to death.
In the buds on each twig are tiny leaves which may also be a threat during winter. Horses allowed access to red maples during winter can be poisoned from browsing on these buds. Canadian vets call red maple poisoning "red snow disease", identifiable by the trail of bloody urine through the snow, from horses who have consumed the buds.
So, identify the red maples in and around your pastures and eliminate them whenever possible. Avoid feeding hay under or around red maple trees, and manage forage to provide adequate grazing, supplementing it with good quality hay when pastures are dormant, as most poisoning occurs from accidental ingestion.
|
Caring for Water-Damaged Landscapes 
Too much water can have a detrimental effect on area trees and landscapes. Oxygen is present in the soil and is needed by plant roots to survive. When the oxygen is displaced by water it can damage plant roots due to the lack of oxygen. Damage can occur from saturated soils also.
Whenever soil and sediments are deposited around tree roots it should be raked away if possible. As little as 3 inches of soil can cause damage. These soil deposits can also alter the pH of the soil, causing poor growth and difficulty in taking up nutrients by the plant. If plants don't seem to be recovering after flooding, a soil test should be done to check the pH of the soil.
Flooding can also leach away nutrients and while the fall isn't the time to be fertilizing ornamentals, an application of fertilizer in the spring would be beneficial to the landscape. Plants will come in to the next growing season in a stressed condition so extra care should be taken to prevent stress next spring by watering during dry conditions and keeping insects and diseases under control. Extra care should be taken when mowing to keep trunk damage at a minimum from lawnmowers and trimmers.
While the landscape should not be your top priority when flooding or prolonged periods of saturated soil occur, knowing what to do could possibly save some of your valuable ornamentals.
|
 |
 4-H Update
October
Tuesday, October 2 @ 6:00 pm
Burke County Agricultural Building
4-H Discovery Night. This is for ANY 4-H'er or persons interested in learning more about what 4-H can offer. This is a great way to invite and encourage new youth to participate. For our current 4-H'ers, this is a time to connect with other county members, learn new things and expand your experiences.
We will elect officers this night. Any current 4-H'er age 12 and up can run for a county position. You must be able to participate in at least 8 of the 12 Discovery nights and willing to represent Burke County by upholding the position for at least 12 months. This is great for achievement plans, project records, applications and resume's. Nominations will be taken from the floor. Mystery fun activity too! Contact Nicki Carpenter at 828-764-9480 if you have any questions.
Saturday, October 6 from 10:00am to 2:00pm
Rural King in Morganton
Burke County 4-H will hand out hot dogs and sell concessions at Rural King from
10am to 2pm. Volunteers (adult and youth) are needed to help and we also need donations of other items to sell. Rural King provides the hot dogs and condiments. Contact Nicki Carpenter for more information.
National 4-H Week
October 7-13, 2018
4-H will be in the spotlight all week! 4-Hers need to send in pictures and information on their projects and clubs for feature articles in the newspaper. 4-Hers are also asked to come in and do radio spots to be featured this week.
Look for 4-H challenges on our Facebook page throughout the week!
Friday, October 12, 2018
Project Book Workday
9:00am - 2:00pm
4-Hers can come work on their project record books for ages 9 (as of Jan.1, 2018) to 18. We will enjoy a leisurely day of some "fall" fun and time for getting record books started or completed. Pack a lunch if you're staying the whole time.
Pledges at the Commissioner Meeting
October 16, 2018
5:30pm
|
THE GREAT PUMPKIN SEARCH 
With the coming of fall, many of us will go on a search for that perfect pumpkin. It could be used for autumn decoration, a jack-o-lantern or even pumpkin pie. Whatever you may have planned for your pumpkin, most will agree that the hunt for just the right one is great fun.
Did you know that 99% of the pumpkins grown in the U.S. are used for decoration rather than cooking? The pumpkin has been our country's symbol of a bountiful harvest since colonial times and the idea of the jack-o-lantern was brought to our country by Irish and Scottish immigrants as a way to scare off evil spirits.
When selecting a pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern, look for good color and firm fruit. Be sure and check the bottom for soft spots or discoloration. Sit your pumpkin on a piece of cardboard rather than on cement or bare ground to prevent rot. Protect from freezing weather and also from hot and humid conditions. Make sure your pumpkin has a nice, long, green stem as this is an assurance of freshness. Washing the pumpkin in a mild chlorine solution will also help it to last longer.
If you are purchasing a pumpkin for pie making, the best selection is a pie pumpkin or sweet pumpkin. These are smaller than jack-o-lantern pumpkins and the flesh is sweeter and less watery. Look for a heavy fruit and remember that lopsided is not a bad thing when the end result is pie. Avoid stemless pumpkins or those that have soft spots.
Nothing enhances the fall season like great glowing piles of bright orange pumpkins. It just makes you want to go rake some leaves or build a fire in the fireplace or any one of the things that signal the end of one season and the start of another.
|
Burke County Beekeepers
Monday, October 8, 2018
6:30 pm
The Burke County Beekeepers Association (BCBA) meets monthly at the Burke County Agricultural Building located at 130 Ammons Drive in Morganton. There is a featured speaker each month and the public is invited to attend. The BCBA is a chapter of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association.
|
|
NC State Extension is committed to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, political beliefs, family and marital status, sex, age, veteran status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability.
|
|
|
|
|
|
