Radishes and Muscadines

The radishes, as of April 16, sprouted quickly
 after planting. Often radishes make a great
choice to mark where other seeds were
planted because they sprout so much
 quicker and finish much sooner.

NC Cooperative Extension Service Publication on Radishes

The muscadine next to our vegetable garden has just
 leafed out. In a few short months, this vine should
be sharing its wonderful harvest with us.

NC Cooperative Extension Service Publication on Muscadines with multiple links

Family Gardening Day

Several people came out for Family Gardening Day on April 12, 2014 and learned about square-foot gardening. (Many people remarked about the new fence.)

To demonstrate square-foot gardening, we transplanted some tomatoes, peppers, basil, thyme, and marigolds. It is a little early without season extenders for some of the plants, so we will have to compare them to the ones we plant later.

The weather forecaster is calling for lows in the 30s on April 16, 2014.

Family Gardening Day April 12, 2014

Starting Tomatoes

Even though the garden centers are pushing tomato transplants now, you still have time to start tomatoes from seed. In the Greensboro, NC area, tomatoes can go in from mid-April until mid-June. For the upcoming Tomato Tasting Festival at the NC A&T Farm in July, the Guilford EMGVs started seeds at the NC A&T Farm today.

Peat Pellets: Before and After Soaking

20 Hopeful Tomatoes

4 Siberian Tomatoes (Det. 52-65 days)
4 Moonglow Tomatoes
4 Mini orange Tomatoes
4 Dr. Carolyn Tomatoes
4 Green Zebra Tomatoes  

Our New Fence

The long awaited fence is up. Thank you to everyone for your patience and your assistance. It should work out great! As one of our EMGVs said, "Bring on the deer!"

Our Maximum Security Deer Fence

Here is a view through our new fence.
 We hope this view is the same that the deer
will now have.

Several EMGVs helped in the construction of the fence.

The crew that came out helped get this
fence up fast! Well done!

Garden Update

Signage in a garden is crucial. A few EMGVs
 came up with the idea of using plastic forks as label holders.

This is our pre-fenced garden. The string will assist with square-foot gardening, which has a no-till component to it.
Once a crop is done, the plant is removed, compost it added, and a new plants goes into the same space.

One of our expert square-foot EMGVs is transplanting
kale, beets, lettuce, and a few other crops.

One of our talented EMGVs made a sign for
 our "Salsa Garden."

Here are rescued cilantro plants that
 came back from last year.

Mushroom Log Update

Not much is happening on the outside, but inside the magic is beginning. By September, we may be sautéing our first shiitake mushrooms.

Twenty-seven inoculated logs await 4 pounds of shiitake mushrooms each!

Composting and Hardy Kiwis

Everyone has something to compost. We have both a compost tumbler and a three-bin compost system working in the Demonstration Garden.  

NC Composting Publication  (with designs)

Some people have gym memberships while
others choose to shovel compost.

It was time to allocate one bin of compost to make
 room for a new pile.

This sprouting seed was found in the
 unfinished compost.
 Nature always does it better.

This month's recipient of the compost award was the Hardy Kiwis who recently experienced a tough pruning.

2 of our 3 Hardy Kiwis (the male does not matter)

Dumbarton Oaks: Named after the public garden in which an old vine of this variety was growing and from which plants of this variety were originally propagated. Has good 
flavor.

Ananasnaya: The name of this variety in Russian means "pineapple like." Because of the tongue-twisting name, many nursery catalogs will refer to this variety as "Anna." The fruit is of very good quality, with a sweet aroma and intense flavor. The skin is green and develops a purple-red blush in the sun. A very vigorous vine, this variety is currently the only "standard" that we have to compare to others.

Source: Penn State Extenstion

Preparing the Beds and Planting a Few Seeds

Preparing the beds for the
spring crops takes a team effort.

Two of our EMGVs (Extension Master Gardener Volunteers)
are sticking some seeds in the ground.

Here  is another of our  EMGVs prepping one of our beds before
 others come in to plant.

Putting up the Deer Fence

One of our EMGVs is breaking up the
 old concrete in preparation for the
 new deer  fence .

 Getting the posts level quickly is crucial
when using a fast-setting concrete mix.

Here are our new fence posts. Soon the fencing
 will be attached.