Craven Extension Master Gardener Volunteers

Congratulations to two dedicated volunteers! John Wright and Cheryl Wyatt received pins for 1000 hours of volunteer work! Thanks you two for all the hard work.

Are there any beneficial insects? And, if so, how can I make my
garden inviting so as to attract them?

By Judi Lloyd

When you ask a vegetable gardener about insects in their garden, the typical reaction is to cringe and tell you their tried-and-true way of getting rid of them! Most people think of insects as foes, rather than friends. But did you know that there are many insects that can actually help us keep the “bad” insects at bay? These helpful critters are called “beneficial” insects. They can help reduce the populations of problem pests in the garden. But in order to do so, we must
provide them with habitat to do so. Beneficial insects include parasitic wasps, ground beetles, lady beetles, lacewings, and others.

Parasitic wasps control pests by laying eggs on or in the bodies of pests, and as the eggs hatch they feed on the pest, slowly killing it. One example of this is the Braconid wasp that lays its eggs in a tomato hornworm. Once the larvae hatch inside the hornworm, the spin white cocoons attached to the hornworm and will emerge as adults several days later. Parasitic wasps also lay eggs in aphids. Ground beetles will feed on slugs, and they also will eat w**d seeds. There are many plants that host or attract beneficials but several plant families are particularly attractive to beneficials. One of those plant families is the carrot family, Apiaceae. Plants in this
family that are particularly attractive are dill, fennel, cilantro, Bishop’s flower, and Queen Anne’s Lace. These plants tend to attract parasitic wasps and flies. It is important to let them
flower if you want to attract the beneficial insects, and fortunately their flowers are very attractive! Interplant these among your vegetables to keep beneficials on duty. Plants in the daisy or aster family (Asteraceae) and the verbena family (Verbenaceae) are attractive to both beneficial insects and to the human eye! These plant families have many of our popular flowers.

Good flowers for beneficials in the aster family include sunflowers, marigolds, yarrow, calendula, coneflower, and coreopsis. Asters are especially attractive to beetles and lady beetles. Plants in the verbena family attract a variety of beneficials. Good plants in this family include lantana, hybrid verbena, and lilac vervain. Certain plants in the legume family (Fabaceae), such as sweet clover, hairy vetch, and fava bean, are grown as cover crops to protect soil and add nutrients to the soil when another crop is not growing. They are also attractive to a number of beneficial insects. For the best habitat, intersperse a mix of attractant plants in your vegetable garden, or consider dedicating a bed to be for a “beneficial insect mix”. Besides planting flowers, a diverse landscape including well-managed lawn, trees, shrubs, and perennials that provide flowers throughout the season can help sustain beneficial insects.
Undisturbed areas such as a perennial landscape or forest edge provide a place for overwintering. Mulch in the vegetable garden provides habitat for ground beetles. Beneficial insects also need water. An easy way to provide it is in a shallow pot saucer with pebbles in it for the insect to land on. While having a healthy population of beneficial insects will reduce your need to apply pesticides, there is still a possibility that you will need to apply a pesticide to control insects or slugs during the season. Be aware that pesticides can harm beneficial insects in addition to pests. Before spraying, make sure the insects you see are pests and not
beneficials. To reduce the effect on beneficials, apply pesticides only when needed. Choose pesticides with little residual activity, such as insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Apply pesticides in the evening and avoid contact with flowers that attract beneficials will also reduce the exposure beneficial insects have with the pesticide.

This article was written by Eli Snyder and last updated by Tina Lovejoy of the Caldwell County, N.C. State Extension.

Read more at:

Attract Your Allies: Make Your Garden Inviting to Beneficial Insects - Caldwell County Center | N.C. Cooperative Extension When you ask a vegetable gardener about insects in their garden, the typical reaction is to cringe and tell you their tried-and-true way of getting rid of them! Most people think of insects as foes,…

Plants are on their way to the Extension! See you at the plant sale tomorrow - 10:00am.
300 Industrial Drive

See you Saturday at the Extension! We'll have some great plants available.

Hello, everyone. This is Laura working on my projects. I did not get much done this week.. I had bad fall, in the yard if course and I'm on the injured list. Using crutches to get around and minimize pain.
So I have caught up my garden book. I keep note of all the plants I buy and plant. Then I can monitor how they do or why not. Like the camellias that were poorly lat summer. I could check when I planted them, name of cultivars and expected conditions. I have a pocket in the back of my garden book and I keep the tags when I buy a plant. So as I was updating, I see i last did maps for the placement of everything. I need to catch this up also.
Before I was injured, I was trying to get my walkway project finished. Soon close! but it will get done soon enough. I am also watching my pollinators garden and see tons of new growth. I tried some corn this year, but I do not see any sprouts.
I planted a rhododendron, about 2 years ago but it has poor tolerance of the heat. So used some old fencing, looped it over the top and secured it. Then I planted some long green beans to clean I my up and shade the Rhoda. We'll see if it helps but I may transplant it in t he fall. So I'll continue to look at my garden and make more lists. Happy Gardening!!

We need pollinators, pollinators need us!

By Judi Lloyd

Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination – they need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators. If we want to talk dollars and cents, pollinators add 217 billion dollars to the global economy, and honey bees alone are responsible for between
1.2 and 5.4 billion dollars in agricultural productivity in the United States. In addition to the food that we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.

Pollinators are insects and animals that collect and carry pollen from one flowering plant to another, facilitating fertilization. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat, everything from almonds and blueberries to bananas and cocoa exists because of pollinators like bees, birds, and bats.

Bright colors, fragrances, and sweet nectar into transporting pollen which contains genetic material from the male reproductive organs of one plant to the female organs of another.

About 80% of flowering plants depend on this kind of animal pollination; the remaining 20% rely on wind to carry lightweight pollen grains through the air.

Pollinator populations have declined significantly in recent decades due to habitat loss resulting from agricultural expansion and urbanization, the use of pesticides, and climate change. The
populations of some North American species of wild bees have decreased by 96% over the last two decades, putting pollinator-dependent food production at risk.

Top 5 Perennials for Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden
These colorful perennials produce a significant amount of nectar and attract a wide range of pollinators. Depending on your zone and the type of pollinator you want to attract, you might want to tailor your perennial selection to you-but these will get you on the
right track. Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida), Coneflowers (Echinacea), Bee Balm (Monarda), Milkw**d (Asclepias) and Asters (Asteraceae). These plants are all easy to find and easy to grow, needing very little care. They are well-suited for our area and will
return to your garden year after year!

Plant sales are everywhere these days and ours is coming up soon! Be sure. to check us out Saturday May 16 - 10 am til noon at the Extension.

300 Industrial Drive
New Bern

The bog garden at the Extension is looking particularly lovely these days.

Hello everyone.This is Laura. I hope you have been able to get out in this cooler weather . Not many left before it stays hot and humid. I had to take a break from my gardening projects to paint the rails on my porch. I notic Ed many carpenter bees making holes in the wood. I have been told they leave treated wood alone, so I guess I'll see. Here are a few pictures for you. The first is my walkway project we it where I am removing big papers and many, many , many small rocks. The rocks area somewhat scattered around the yard, but 3-4"were under the papers. T They are all mixed with so I l, dead leaves, and even a snake nursery. There were about 5-6 baby garter snakes, about 8" long and I moved them to good habitat in the yard.
The next few pictures are some of my flowers. I have a beautiful dark pink peony from Uncle Roy, I found some pinks at the nursery and then an inclusive shot of the wildflwer/pollinators garden. Many plants coming up with some buds even. I love the surprise of flowers. It's like getting a present!
This week I will do a big push to get azaleas trimmed since they stopped blooming. Few hollies, a sasanqua and an unknown shrub which is very overgrown.
Have a good, productive week!