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GARDENING TIPS: If you didn’t get around to cleaning your gardening tools before putting them up this winter, do so now at the beginning of the season. Look them over and give them a good cleaning. Sharpen the business edges of shovels and hoes. Sand down wooden handles and then rub them down with linseed oil. Here’s one way to keep trowels, shovels, and other tools from getting rusty: Fill a 5-gallon bucket with sand almost to the top and then sprinkle some motor oil over the top. Stick the sharp ends of your tools in there when they’re not in use and they won’t get all rusty. Citizen Science Adventure online events
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, and the Prairie Ridge Ecostation will cohost Moths at Night Goes Virtual! (Citizen Science Adventure) on Saturday, July 18, 9–11pm. Learn how to identify various moths and citizen-science projects that you can participate in. Click here for more info.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, and the Prairie Ridge Ecostation will cohost the National Moth Week Video Launch (Citizen Science Adventure) on Monday, July 13, 2:30–3:30pm. Learn how to attract moths to your garden/yard, how to identify them, and how to share your observations with scientists as a “citizen scientist.” Click here for more info. Lily bulb giveaway!
It’s time for Keep Durham Beautiful’s Lily Bulb Blitz 2020. They’re giving away bulbs to local community gardens, faith-based gardens, garden clubs, schools, and civic and neighborhood groups. Please note that these lily bulbs need to be planted immediately (they have probably already started sprouting). Click here to fill out the application by the Wednesday, July 1 midnight deadline; when accepted, you’ll be able to pick up your bulbs at the Keep Durham Beautiful office (2011 Fay St) on Thursday, July 2, 3:30–6pm or Friday, July 3, 9am–noon.
The Weekend Gardener
WPTF’s Weekend Gardener radio show has been on the air since 1985 and is a wonderful 3-hour exploration of flower and lawn care, soil improvement and pest control ideas, and much more. It airs every Saturday, 8–11am, on 680am AND 98.5fm. If you were too busy to listen, you can always click here and listen to past shows.
Duke Gardens workshops, tours & shows
Sarah P Duke Gardens will host Ethnobotany: A Free Virtual Walk on the Wild Side on Thursday, July 2, 11am–noon. Enjoy a “stroll” through the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants and learn about many useful plants, including the endangered native sunflower. Click here for more info and click here to join the event on Zoom.
How to run a community garden during the pandemic
The North Carolina Cooperative Extension has put together a guide for managers of community gardens who want to maintain successful community gardens while practicing proper social distancing. Some of the topics include planning the garden, how to build a handwashing station for less than $20, and how to keep everyone safely engaged. Click here to read “Steps for Garden Managers and Gardeners.”
How to tell certain ‘flying things’ apart
NC State’s ‘Extension Gardener’
Here’s the Winter edition of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s online publication, “Extension Gardener”:
Digging Durham Seed Library
A creative partnership of the Durham County Library, SEEDS, the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, NC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, and the Durham Library Foundation has resulted in the Digging Durham Seed Library. Now you have a place to get free seeds to start your garden, including flowers, vegetables, and herbs. The South Regional, East Regional, North Regional, and Southwest Regional libraries have seed libraries. Contact Margaret Anderson at 919-560-8598 or manderson@dconc.gov for more details.
Tell us your success story about planting a garden using seeds from the Digging Durham Seed Library: Main Library—300 N Roxboro St, 919-560-0100 [closed; under renovation] South Regional—4505 S Alston Ave, 919-560-7409 East Regional—211 Lick Creek Ln, 919-560-0203 North Regional—221 Milton Rd, 919-560-0231 Southwest Regional—3605 Shannon Rd, 919-560-8590. |
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