4-H Chickens, Sheep, and Goats

OK, I know this is a blog for lawns, gardens, and such but I wanted to share some exciting news. I have been incubating chicken eggs for the last three weeks, and they are starting to hatch today! The chickens are for the second annual 4-H chicken club and show! The show is held at the Avery Agriculture and Horticulture Fair on Saturday September 11, 2010!!!!! I have also arranged for 4-H to start sheep and goat showmanship club lambs and kids. We will have no less than two sheep and goats available for children to take home, raise, train, and show this year at the Fair! The sheep are "free" but come with some stricter responsibilities outlined in their contract. There will be a small fee for the goats but, less obligations will come with them. I am super excited and currently working on the contracts. I ask you, my followers for assistance in getting the word out, I need children to sign up or at least contact the office if they are interested in participating this year! So, Please help spread the word. And a big THANK YOU! for helping.

Farmers Market Now Open for the 2010 Season

I am happy to say that the Avery Farmer's Market will be open tomorrow! I hope to get there, the Newland Elementary School parking lot on Hwy 184 in Newland, to get some of the best food ever. Fresh asparagus, the famous Elk Park sour dough bread, local grass fed beef, the best goat cheese ever, transplants for my garden, and hopefully some great greens and other foods should be available. Only time will tell. If you are interested in participating please come on down, we kick off the season at 8 am on Saturday. I look forward to seeing you there!

NEW POST!!!!

Hello bloggers, I know, I know, it has been a very long time sense my last post, and I know I've said that it wouldn't happen again...but, I must say that is has been a busy spring this year. I'm sure that I'm not the only one to feel this way. I haven't even been able to till my garden yet, with farm visits, training requirements, speaking at workshops, hosting workshops, teaching embryology at schools, lining up for the 4-H Chicken Club/Show, calving on the farm, etc..., I just haven't had the time to spend getting my own garden planted. Hopefully I will be able to get into the garden soon. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my family is going to enlarge by one sometime around the 1st of August. How exciting. Well, enough rambling on, now to important things. Soil temperatures are up and it is time to get gardens well underway, ground should be ready, soil tests completed, fertilizer and lime applied, and ground prepared for planting. Now is the time for planting crops you are starting from seed! Transplants can wait for a little longer but, you should be sourcing out your plants already. Most garden seed needs soil temperatures above 55 degrees F for proper germination and some seed (such as corn) need soil temps above 65 degrees, we are now above or at that mark. So get your seed out and start planting! As for transplants, we still have a slight chance of seeing frost, even heavy frost in our area, especially in the higher elevations, so keeping a close eye on the forecast, and having frost protection in place will be critical to a successful growing season. If you can wait another 10 days, until May 21st, we should be out of our frost/freeze period and it should be safe to plant all transplants without worrying about protecting those young tender plants. Hopefully, I will be able to post regularly throughout the year and keep up to date information available for you.

Happy Gardening.

2010 Avery County Cooperative Extension Service Plant Sale

That is right people. It is time for the 2010 Plant Sale! I know that winter has been long and everyone is now thinking of spring and planting new plants in their yards, gardens, and orchards. Well I think that this is going to be a great Plant Sale. We have some very popular heirloom apple varieties that you always look for, and new "too us" varieties of heirloom apples that have been asked for, for several years. We also have blueberries, strawberries, brambles, and other plants available this year. The sale is now underway and orders are coming in like crazy. If you want something that reminds you of the old apples you ate growing up, or just want to enjoy some of the terrific old time flavor make sure to get your orders in quickly. Don't forget, if you don't want apples but are interested in the other fruits we sell, we will in no way frown on you or turn you away. (Blueberries and strawberries for my little girl are a sure thing this year at the Keener house). We do hope to hear from you. You can get the catalog and order forms at the Avery County Extension Office, Avery True Value Hardware, Brinkley's Hardware, or Christa's Country Corner. You can also get it Here, and the Order Form Here.

Been a Long Time, and A Long Winter

I know it has been some time since my last post. I want to apologize for the long absence. I would like to get started back up and will do my best to keep regular updates coming. I know that you, the readers, are wanting information and looking forward to getting news on a regular basis.

Speaking of long times.....Is it just me or has this been a long winter? We have seen more cold weather, and snow this year than we have in a very long time. With the ground being covered in snow and frozen for so long, I do hope that we will see a reduced number of insect problems during this next growing season. Today marked the first day since December 17, 2009 that I could see my entire front yard with zero snow on it! WOW.

So, now that we have seen a few days of warm weather I am more than ready for spring. I do, however, fear that we are not completely in the clear just yet. I know that we are chewing at the bit, when it comes to thinking of spring, and planting or gardening but I want to remind you all to be patient. I will not be long now until spring finally arrives. It is time to start planning, but not much else. I hope this finds you all well, safe, sound, and warm.

Questions of the month

I have had two major and common questions coming in this month. What is killing my squash? What is killing my tomatoes? These two questions have come in various forms and from all ends of the county. The major squash problem has been mildew. Downy mildew has culprit in most of the cucurbit cases (squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, etc.) More information on this disease can be found at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/extension/fact_sheets/Cucurbits_-_Downy_Mildew.htm In the case of tomatoes it has been much more difficult to correctly diagnose. The trouble in correctly diagnosing these tomato problems is that there are so many diseases that present themselves similarly. But one disease that has been confirmed in western North Carolina is late blight. Information on late blight can be found at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/extension/fact_sheets/Tomato_-_Field_Staked_-_Late_Blight.htm I know it has been a difficult year for gardens with such a warm rainy year, but look on the bright side, no drought.

Farmer's Market Update

Just a little update on our local Farmer's Market. This past Saturday was a great day at the market. The day was absolutely beautiful, sun shining, warm, and a light breeze. WOW. There was wonderful potted ready to plant, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs available. Some great fresh baked breads, we have eaten almost two loaves already at my house. And a new vendor that brought fresh and aged goat cheese from Oak Moon Creamery. You can check out their web page here. Their cheese is fabulous and has been enjoyed at our home. You could also enjoy fresh picked salad greens, or locally made jams. If you have not visited, then check it out as soon as you could. We are open every Saturday from 8-Noon, located at the Newland Elementary School upper parking lot on Hwy 184 in Newland.