Spring 2020 Stanly Gardener Quarterly

With everyone in a Stay at Home Order, the first in this generation’s history, we’re all looking for ways to entertain our family while caring for them at the same time. Children are home from school so we’re learning how to conduct Home School, spouses are working from home so many homes now have home offices, some of us lost our jobs and are looking for ways to not only cut costs but feed our families as well.

With Stanly County being a rural county, many households have gardens but not everyone. For instance, our newest residents may have never had a garden before and don’t know how to begin. Stanly County Extension Master Garden Volunteers (EMGV) are here for all levels of gardeners. After all, we were beginners once too. Some of us may have specialties while others are generalists who like all types of gardening. Learn more about us at our website. Stanly County Extension Master Gardeners. This issue of the Stanly Gardener Quarterly is about feeding our families. We include a section on Farmers Markets with opening dates, hours, and times. Youth Opportunities lists a variety of activities for at home youngsters announced by 4-H Agent Kacie Hatley, and, drawing from NCSU’s Extension Master Gardeners, Caroline Richardson teaches us how to grow young gardeners – now is an excellent time to get them involved.

A Native Plants article by Laura Krug introduces Doug Tallamy, Ph.D. who has taught generations about the benefits of native plants. Dustin Adcock follows with an article about how to Grow an Edible Landscape which includes native plants that provide fruits and vegetables.

Our Gardening section begins with Dr. Lucy Bradley’s article on how much she loves her garden and why she looks forward to visiting it. Anne Houck introduces the benefits of having a Vitality Garden. Cynthia Housel’s article on container gardening is for those with small plots or apartment balconies as gardens. Dustin Adcock’s article on how much to plant is repeated because of its timeliness. Rounding out this issue is Laura Krug’s pearls of wisdom on gardening.

If you want to learn more about gardening, we’re here for you. Call Dustin Adcock at 704-983-3987 or email him at dustin_adcock@ncsu.edu.

Happy Gardening,
Pat Allen, Exctension Master Gardener, Editor