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This manual, updated every year, covers pesticide use and safety information, chemical application equipment, fertilizer use, insect control, chemical weed control, plant growth regulators, animal damage control and disease control.
Longleaf pine trees deposit an annual blanket of needles, often called pine straw, on the forest floor. Many forest owners do not realize that it is possible to sell this straw. But in fact, wise management of this resource can substantially increase an owner’s income from forestland.
Youth spend a significant time on social media. This fact sheet aims to provide educators, youth workers, and community leaders with practical strategies to leverage social media for amplifying youth voices.
This publication answers some frequently asked questions about termite swarmers.
This publication provides information on budding and grafting techniques, which can be used successfully in commercial operations.
This Soils and Plant Nutrients Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook examines the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as the important role organic matter plays. The chapter discusses how to submit a soil sample for testing and how to read the report to apply necessary fertilizers.
In central North Carolina almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be grown successfully provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Also included is a planting chart and calendar.
The following management practices will help you care for your lawn throughout the year. Location, terrain, soil type and condition, age of the lawn, previous lawn care, and other factors affect turf performance, so adjust these management practices and dates to suit your particular lawn.
This comprehensive guide offers information on different grasses for North Carolina lawns, as well as how to establish, care for, maintain, and renovate a new lawn.
This factsheet provides instructions on how to properly care for tall fescue grass year round. It includes recommendations for mowing, fertilization, watering, pest control, and renovation.
This lawns chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook reviews installation and care of turfgrass as well as management strategies for turfgrass problems. This chapter also reviews options for turfgrass alternatives.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses different mite pests whose biting and bloodsucking behavior may cause discomfort or allergic reactions to their hosts (domestic animals and people).
This gardening handbook, developed for NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers and home gardeners, is a primary source for research-based information on gardening and landscaping in North Carolina and the Southeast. It explains the basics of gardening from soils and composting to vegetable gardening and wildlife management. Advice on garden design, preparation, and maintenance covers all types of plantings including lawns, ornamentals, fruits, trees, and containers.
This publication provides information about planning and maintaining a home vegetable garden. Topics include site selection, soil preparation, and pest and disease management.
This Tree Fruit and Nuts chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explains how to select, plant, and maintain home orchard trees. This chapter also discusses common problems and integrated pest management solutions.
This Landscape Design Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook discusses the principles design as well as guiding readers through the steps to create an environmentally friendly landscape design.
This integrated pest management (IPM) chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook familiarizes readers with a systematic approach to managing insect and animal garden pests in an environmentally responsible manner.
An introduction to soil acidity and liming for farmers and gardeners to increase crop income and improve lawn and garden performance. Topics covered include soil pH, soil testing, liming standards and application and incorporation of lime into soil.
This Plants Grown in Containers chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook teaches gardeners about selecting appropriate plants and containers, and their maintenance. Both indoor houseplants and outdoor container gardening are covered.
Blueberries can be grown in home gardens anywhere in North Carolina if the right species and proper soil modifications are used. Blueberries are typically used in the landscape as hedges for screening purposes, but they can also be used in cluster plantings, or as single specimen plants. Blueberries are an ideal year round addition to the landscape. They have delicate white or pink flowers in the spring, the summer fruit has an attractive sky blue color, and the fall foliage adds great red and yellow colors to the landscape.
Propagation by stem cuttings is the most commonly used method to propagate many woody ornamental plants. Stem cuttings of many favorite shrubs are quite easy to root. Typically, stem cuttings of tree species are more difficult to root. However, cuttings from trees such as crape myrtles, some elms, and birches can be rooted.
This propagation chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explains how and why to grow new plants from seed (sexual reproduction) and from cuttings (asexual propagation).
This calendar provides detailed information for the proper care of centipedegrass.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses identifying aquatic midges and how to control them.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses the life cycle, habits, and management of millipedes in and around homes and other buildings.
This publication for homeowners and landscapers describes how to mow, fertilize, irrigate, and control weeds in a zoysiagrass lawn.
Many landscape maintenance professionals have grown reliant on glyphosate for weed control. Landscape weed control without glyphosate is certainly possible but will require more planning, careful consideration of alternative treatments, more frequent site visits, and higher costs. This publication discusses alternative treatments, their properties, uses and limitations.
This factsheet describes the biology and management of the wool sower gall wasp, Callirhytis seminator, and provides residential management recommendations.
Stems that are still attached to their parent plant may form roots where they come in contact with a rooting medium. This method of vegetative propagation is generally successful, because water stress is minimized and carbohydrate and mineral nutrient levels are high. The development of roots on a stem while the stem is still attached to the parent plant is called layering. A layer is the rooted stem following detachment (removal) from the parent plant.
This factsheet offers some information on the signs, symptoms, and treatment of coccidiosis, the most common cause of diarrhea in young goats.
This publication is a home gardener's guide to planting, maintaining and harvesting blackberries.
This native plants chapter of the Extension Gardener Handbook defines the term native, why gardeners would want to use native plants, basic principles of gardening with natives and also reviews common misconceptions around native plants.
This factsheet describes the biology of the spicebush swallowtail, Papilio troilus.
In western North Carolina, almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be successfully grown provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season, and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Includes a planting chart and calendar.
This publication describes common fabric pests, their habits, and what to do if you find an infestation of these pests and how to prevent damage.
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This diseases and disorders chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook discusses how to keep plants healthy through cultural practices. The types of plant pathogens including: fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, and parasitic plants are discussed. Strategies are reviewed for managing diseases using an integrated pest management approach.
Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are native to the eastern North American mountains. They can be found growing in patches in rich, moist, deciduous forests and bottoms from as far north as Canada, west to Missouri and Minnesota, and south to North Carolina and Tennessee. In early spring, ramps send up smooth, broad, lily-of-the-valley-like leaves that disappear by summer before the white flowers appear. The bulbs have the pleasant taste of sweet spring onions with a strong garlic-like aroma.
This publication, chapter 7 of the 2023 Southeast Regional Caneberry Production Guide, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various trellis systems for blackberry and raspberry production.
This publication provides the basic concepts of tree identification using observation and a dichotomous key. It features an illustrated guide to distinguishing leaf characteristics, instructions for using a dichotomous key, and illustrated descriptions of 21 common trees in North Carolina.
In eastern North Carolina, almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be successfully grown provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season, and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Includes a planting chart and calendar.
This factsheet describes early blight of tomato, including identification, transmission and disease management, and control.
This factsheet identifies several varieties of the ornamental Callery Pear tree and their impacts on native ecosystems.
This publication explains genetic engineering and its use in food, agriculture, and the environment. It answers key questions about genetic engineering, including its definition, applications, safety, ethical issues, and related regulations. The publication also discusses potential risks and concludes with resources for more information.
This publication focuses on the management techniques and economic analysis of orchards with more than 150 to 180 trees per acre.
This vegetable gardening chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explores the different types and techniques as well as how to select and implement a vegetable garden that fits the needs of the gardener. It explores seed selection, proper sowing, transplanting, and maintenance techniques as well as harvesting guidelines. The chapter concludes with a section on herb gardens.
This publication discusses ways in which mosquitoes could become a problem for rainwater harvesting systems and provides solutions and preventative measures to protect cisterns, rain barrels, and other rainwater collection systems from becoming havens for mosquitoes.
This factsheet describes the black and yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia, a common spider around residential homes.
This insects chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook will teach readers to identify insects, understand the value of insects in the garden, and recognize damage caused by insects. Guidance on minimizing insect damage is available in the integrated pest management chapter.
This article describes and defines the different types of insects that sting and are also often mistaken for honey bees.
This is the first chapter in the collection, How to Manage a Successful Bee Hotel. It covers the benefits of bees, pollination in cities and towns, and how bee hotels can support native bees.
This publication is designed to help you identify common weeds found in southeastern North Carolina pastures, hayfields, and sprayfields. It presents descriptions and pictures of some of the most common weeds, and it provides references for other weeds that are not in this publication. Weeds are categorized here as broadleaf, grass, or other, and as warm season or cool season. This publication does not recommend specific chemical control methods because differences in situations, rapidly changing labels, and new products make generalized recommendations impractical.
A step-by-step instruction and description of how to install and maintain a new colony of honey bees.
