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Feature Article:
Inspiring Sustainability
By Roy Lewis, EMGV
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Rethinking toward Sustainable Lawns
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In recent years, "sustainability" has become the buzz word of the American lexicon. Like a milking stool, the concept of sustainability rests upon three legs or pillars: economic, environmental, and human social mores. Sustainable living doesn't mean living without luxuries or reverting to a pre-fossil fuel, pre-technology driven economy. Imagine the chaos and vile air quality this concept would insure. We must focus upon meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, using technological breakthroughs to embrace these concepts to perpetuate the three pillars of society. How do we
encourage and inspire the positive, factual and workable attributes associated with eco-friendly living? Respectfully, I suggest that we individually begin by exploring our personal homes, landscapes, and gardens and consult research such as this article
for guidance.
Sustainability has traditionally been associated predominantly with agrarian economies that have powered the world for centuries. These economies are completely dependent upon nutrient-rich, workable, friable soil. Men and women in the agricultural communities/societies have long understood that they must strive to protect and rejuvenate these natural resources constantly. Most readers don't realize that a tablespoon of topsoil contains more microbes than the entire world population. Soils can't sustain plant life without these tiny miracles. We can't truly have sustainability without understanding the biodiversity that forms the basis of environmental ecology and the regenerative processes of nature.
Our home landscapes and gardens are only tiny urban farms, snapshots of biodiversity! These smaller parcels require the same care and protection that our farming ancestors demonstrated with forty acres and a mule. How might readers be inspired to embrace sustainability practices?
Contemplate these ideas!
Consider reducing your lawn size substantially. I've viewed a few Monet landscapes that emphasized the lawn. Let the plantings, textures, and colors be highlighted by small open areas of turf. Unfortunately, perfect lawns require substantial chemical product usage, fertilizers, and labor. Many of the chemicals may have toxic effects upon wildlife, pollinators, beneficial insects, soil microorganisms and pollute our water supply. Some of these products are persistent in the environment. Elimination or at least a great reduction of these products is an ecological win-win, saving money plus long hours of managing turf in the Carolina heat. Cultivated turfs offer limited biodiversity whereas having a little clover in a reduced lawn area
isn't the end of your homestead!
Let's take boring out of our "New Urban Farms" by replacing the reduced lawn areas with natural, native colorful ground covers, low growing blooming shrubs, multicolored/textured hedging for privacy or increased numbers of indigenous plant varieties including perennial ornamental grasses. Native "showstopper" trees may be included to increase curb/eye appeal, height variations or shade. Adding bulbs and seasonal drought-tolerant annuals into the landscape can increase transitional seasonal color with potential fragrance. Native plants are well suited to area soil types and climate thus requiring less water. Natives are essential for creating wildlife/beneficial insect habitat and food resources. These plants have a natural
resistance to damaging pests, heat and drought stress! Native plant species may increase welcomed bird populations into the landscape as well. According to my feline companions, this is an example of biodiversity at its best!
Installation of three to four inches of mulch is a great way to prevent weeds from springing up in the landscape areas or gardens. Mulch is the ultimate method of soil moisture conservation. Natural mulches harness rainfall or irrigation waters keeping the soil moisture stable, roots insulated while releasing excess moisture naturally. Mulch offers micro and macro-organisms protection and food sources thus offering continual slow-release fertilization to landscapes or gardens. Over time, natural/organic mulches decompose developing soil structure and long term fertility.
Finally, learn to grow your own food or at least some of it! Vegetable/herb gardening is an essential part of a sustainable lifestyle. Vegetables harvested within a couple of hours of preparation taste better, offer high nutritional value and hopefully are grown organically. Plant intensively, by season, and only the foods that you like. In eastern North Carolina, three seasons of fresh garden vegetable production per year is the goal.
The processes of biodiversity, bio-ecology, and bio-regeneration are ongoing. Depending on the new urban farmer's commitment of time, research, and planning as well as the property's inherited features will determine the length of time it might take to declare the property ecologically sustainable. Generally, it's a seven to ten-year process to paint the Monet landscape of your dreams!
Happy Gardening!
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Grow Native:
Repurposing Pictorial
standing with nature & getting what I need
By Barb Barakat, EMGV
The whole idea of repurposing is to use what you have to get what you need . . . clean out the shed & unleash your creativity to make things that function and bring joy. Space permitting, save everything - you never know when you'll need it. The natural world thanks you for using and reusing and using and reusing the many resources it provides.
Pallets are recycling at its best - a great source of wood for all your DIY projects. Here are some tips: find good, clean pallets, disassemble by cutting the planks from the 2x4s with a reciprocating saw - wear safety goggles, gloves & a dust mask. The uses for cleaned old wood are limitless: walkways, raised beds, benches, tables, picture frames -- for ideas, check out google images and Pinterest.
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Get a jump on the season with DIY cold frames repurposed from old windows, just stop & ask where you see window replacement going on
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Never throw away an old tool - improve the habitat by creating free standing bird houses
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You can never own enough old hose, its so useful |
Garden Art is whatever brings you a smile - it'd be easy to substitute your worn-out mower blades in this design
Gosh, I have to stop buying black hose.
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Old rakes never go out of style
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Use your old jeans and feed sacks to make garden aprons, tool belts, totes, kneel pads
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Got old clothes? Make a scarecrow
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Use logs to grow mushrooms
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Enrich your soil with potash-rich wood ash (raise your PH), dry coffee grounds (lowers the PH), and crushed egg shells (Calcium) |
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Put leaves to work - mulch your garden beds in the fall using the leaves you rake - in spring, push leaves aside to plant, then back as mulch when the seedlings emerge - kind-of-reverse what most of us do. |
Turn everything veggie into next year's food - make soil. Compost all your veggie kitchen scrapes, shredded paper, Kleenex . . . Buy it used - look on craigslist & facebook market place |
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Make a crevice garden from your (or you neighbor's) old driveway cement
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And finally, relax on that bench you made from pallet slats
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Veggie Tale:
Why I Use Rain Barrels
By Jyl Burgener, EMGV
Water from rain barrels can save money on your monthly bill if using municipal/city water. Rain barrels are useful for obtaining non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated water for your plants. My plants definitely prefer rainwater over tap water. I use my rainwater as much as possible for my plants, but sometimes, due to lack of rain and excessive use (yes, the plants require more water as they grow larger), I supplement my rain barrels in the summer with my garden hose.
I have 5 water barrels on 2 downspouts in my backyard. They easily fill up with less than an inch of rain (this will depend on the size of your roof). I have combined them together using washing machine hoses. Although I have commercially made barrels, often people will make their own using a large plastic food barrel (Do not use a barrel that was used to store chemicals). Directions for DIY rain barrels are easily found online.
There are some considerations for rain barrels. Do not collect your rain from your roof if your shingles contain asbestos or are treated cedar shakes. The water from your roof is not fit for human consumption without further processing, but it is fine for your plants.
Rain barrels do need to be cleaned as they can acquire asphalt from the asphalt shingles, will grow algae if sunlight hits the rain barrel (try to put the barrel in the shade) and will be used by mosquitos to lay their eggs if they can get into the rain barrel water (a good reason to have screening on the barrel). However, if you can empty the rain barrel every 10 days or less, you can break the growth cycle of the mosquito.
If you're interested in finding out more:
NCSU How to build & install:
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Quick Tip:
Buying Local Produce in Your Area
By Brandon Parker, Commercial Horticulture Agent
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As we are quickly heading toward spring and many produce growers are already starting to seed greenhouses for spring transplants it is important to remember there are numerous local produce sources in and around Johnston County. There are several road-side stands, pick your own and farmers' market options in and around Johnston County which provide many local produce options for this coming year.
To find some of the options available you can visit https://www.ncfarmfresh.com/farms.asp.
We also have a new option for locating farms and businesses selling local goods called the Visit NC Farms App. You can find more information regarding this app here hhttps://visitncfarmstoday.com/counties-map
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Ask An Expert:
Small Farmer &
Sustainability
Creating a Win-Win Strategy
By Dr. Kathleen Liang, Director of Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro, NC
Small farmers account for the majority of farmers in the United States, according to the most recent Census of Agriculture. Many of these small farmers are family farms producing diverse crops, livestock, and other agricultural-related products. Supporting small farmers in rural communities has been a focus of my career path for more than 30 years. One of the most common questions people ask me is about sustainability - what it is, how to achieve it, and how it impacts small farmers. Literature offers different definitions and interpretations of sustainability based on the frameworks, perspectives, contents, relevance, and impacts. Through the years, I have learned from many small farmers about their ideas of sustainability, how the small farmers think about achieving sustainability, and challenges for small farmers to achieve sustainability. It has been a pleasure to get to know these small farmers who are dedicated and committed to farming. I summarized what I have learned to help people understand the nature and contents of sustainability from a small farmer's perspective.
In general, small farmers believe sustainability means to prolong, re-produce, and continue to support individuals and families by engaging in cost-effective farming to use natural resources protectively. We need to support small farmers to understand the needs in the community, and set priorities to support community people and organizations given various cultural and demographic characteristics (social sustainability). Of course, all farmers need to earn sufficient income like entrepreneurs, which means that small farmers need to be economically sustainable. Small farmers have the ability, capacity, and flexibility to maintain the working landscape in rural areas through existing resources and relationships. When we calculate the total profits, there are two variables that we need to consider - yields or total outputs, and market prices. There are many ways to incorporate innovative practices to increase total outputs or to receive competitive price margins, for example - to produce more for existing customers, to produce new things for new markets, and to find new ways to sell more products. There are also new aspects to generate multi-functional agriculture among small farmers to introduce dynamic employment and community development ideas. Environmental sustainability is the third component that small farmers shared with me. Many farmers understand the importance of applying environmentally friendly practices (e.g., organic practices, cover crops, and other conservation methods) to reduce the potential harm to our soil, water, and natural habitat. Some farmers agreed that it takes time to learn about environmentally friendly practices, it takes trial and error to reach the optimized level for different farming scale, it needs to have consistent records to show the input/output relationships, and we need more research that small farmers could adopt.
There are challenges for small farmers to achieve long-term sustainability from social, economic, and environmental aspects. Farmers shared their concerns, such as lack of time, lack of financial support to improve farming practices, lack of information, and lack of patience. Very often, it is challenging to balance financial returns with impacts on society and the environment. There are no perfect solutions. However, we can work together to come up with win-win strategies and to support each other in designing, identifying, and establishing new opportunities to empower small farmers to achieve long-term sustainability!
Here's the link to our website: The Center for Environmental Farming Systems
https://cefs.ncsu.edu/field-research/small-farm-unit/
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Got Gardening Questions?
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Our Johnston County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (EMGV) can help with various horticulture questions.
Email the EMGV at jcemastergardener@gmail.com
or call (919) 989-5380
to speak with one of our
Master Gardener volunteers.
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EDIBLES
- Plant cool-weather vegetable crops such as lettuce, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, onions, potatoes, spinach, and cole crops (such as cabbage and collards) as soon as soil can be worked.
- If a ball of soil crumbles when squeezed in your fist, the soil is workable.
- Take a soil test to see how much fertilizer to apply around pecan trees. It's time!
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Beets, broccoli, cauliflower and Chinese cabbage can be started by the third or fourth week of March.
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Now is the time to start seeds indoors for vegetables such as tomato, pepper, eggplant, and others to get a jump-start on the summer growing season.
WILDLIFE & INSECTS
- Put up martin and bluebird houses by mid-March to encourage these birds to nest. Learn how to build a bluebird nest box by checking out these great resources.
- Clean out last year's birdhouse nesting materials to make them more attractive to house-hunting birds.
LANDSCAPE IDEAS
- Take photographs of your yard while your spring bulbs are blooming to help you remember where to plant more bulbs in the fall.
TREES, SHRUBS, & ORNAMENTALS
- Divide fall-blooming perennials that are overgrown, such as asters, primrose, irises, Shasta daisies and mums. This is an easy way to enlarge your garden.
- Control leaf gall on azaleas and camellias. Leaf gall, a fungal disease, shows up as swollen leaves covered with a white powdery material. It is unsightly but generally not harmful to the plant. Pick off the affected leaves and dispose of them to avoid spreading the fungus.
- Do not compost diseased plant material.
- Remove protective winter mulch from tender perennials in early March to warm the soil and stimulate the plant to grow.
- Spring flowering shrubs such as quince, spirea, forsythia, azalea, Camellia japonica, Carolina Jessamine , viburnum, mock orange, weigela, magnolia and Indian Hawthorn flower on old growth. Prune them soon AFTER they bloom.
- Time for heavy, rejuvenation pruning of summer-blooming shrubs. Prune holly, Nandina and Beautyberry before new growth begins. Althea, Buddleia, Vitex, Crape Myrtle and Pomegranate can be pruned at the beginning of March to stimulate more flower production later.
- Prune roses before bud break. Check out roses for North Carolina for pruning tips and more.
- For a better show next spring, let the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs die back naturally.
- Mulch or living ground covers are better choices under large trees. Ground covers act as "living mulch." Low-maintenance, shade-tolerant ground covers include pachysandra, periwinkle (vinca), ajuga (bugleweed), liriope and mondo grass. A 2"-3" thick layer of composted mulch conserves moisture, reduces erosion and provides nutrients to the tree. Keep mulch away from the trunk of the tree to discourage rodents and rot.
- Protect shade tree roots from injury. Remember that most of a tree's feeder roots are near the soil surface, under and just outside the tree canopy. If digging, foot traffic, or vehicles injure roots then damage to the tree can range from slowed growth (minor) to the death of the tree (major!). Some trees, such as dogwoods, are very susceptible to root damage; others, like maples, are more tolerant.
LAWN CARE
- The best defense against weeds is a healthy lawn. Learn how to care for your lawn throughout the year. Visit TurfFile and click on Turf Tips to learn more about your lawn type. Keep it happy, healthy, and weed free.
- Control existing weeds now, before they get large and/or set seed.
- For yards with an established weed problem, use pre-emergent herbicides to kill seedlings as they germinate. Pre-emergent herbicides can be used to control crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds. Pre-emergent herbicides should be applied while the forsythia is in bloom - late February to mid-March.
- Sharpen mower blades! A sharp blade cuts. A dull blade tears, making grass susceptible to diseases.
- Check out the various turfgrasses for your area and learn how best to care for it.
Click on each type of grass for individual maintenance calendar:
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Helpful Links from Johnston County Cooperative Extension
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For more information visit:
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