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Invite Worms to Work in Your Garden by Carol Nelson

INVITE WORMS TO WORK IN YOUR GARDEN

by Carol Nelson

            The annual Southside Master Gardener Association Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 6th from 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot in front of the Halifax County Extension Office, 171 S. Main Street, Halifax.  All types of plants will be available including annuals, herbs, perennials, vegetables, shrubs and trees.  The sale will offer an educational exhibit on bucket vermiculture with pre-drilled worm buckets for sale.

            Gardeners are used to struggling with the heavy clay soil that is so common to the Piedmont and all through the coastal states. We dig and till it, amend it with leaves and fertilizers, but it takes years to develop a good deep layer of soil loose enough to produce healthy plants.

            Worms can help. Just by their action of tunneling, worms add air to compacted garden soil. Even better are the worm castings (or the stuff ejected from the south end of a worm heading north) that they produce. Worm castings are instant compost, rich in digested nutrients to feed hungry plants. A great way to increase worm activity and generate a lot of castings is to install worm buckets in garden beds.

            The idea is simple: drill ½-in access holes in 5-gallon plastic buckets and sink them in the ground, leaving about 6” above the surface. The buckets become mini-composters, filled with a starter mixture of shredded paper, a little aged manure, grass clippings, kitchen trimmings and a few sprinkles of water. The top goes on and within days worms will enter to go to work on all that food. Once or twice a week, more vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and weeds can be added. When it’s time to harvest the fluffy compost, feeding is stopped for a couple weeks to encourage the worms to move out long enough for the bucket to be scooped out. Worms will happily work all summer and then go back deep into the soil when temperatures dip.

            It’s important to note that worm buckets operate with common garden worms, unlike the larger vermiculture bins that rely on red wiggler worms. An advantage to having lots of smaller buckets scattered throughout the garden is that the native worms condition and improve the soil in their area. Red wigglers often don’t live through the winter unless you have space to bring them indoors. Other perks of worm buckets are their portability (take the fluffy compost where you need it) and their location right next to areas you may be trimming veggie leaves or weeding (pop the refuse right into the bucket).

            Master Gardeners will offer pre-drilled worm buckets at their annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 6th, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the lawn in front of the Halifax Library on Main Street, Halifax. Come learn about adding these handy buckets to your garden. Worm “tea,” an organic brew that provides beneficial minerals such as nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and phosphate to plants, will be available. Worm tea has also been shown to be a natural fungicide and insect repellant that keeps away mites, aphids and white flies. Red wigglers will be available for those who prefer to set up traditional worm bins.  Stop by the Bake Sale table to purchase something to nibble on while walking through the sale.  Master Gardeners will be available to answer your gardening questions throughout the sale.  If you want more information or are interested in the Master Gardener program visit www.ssmga.org, like on Facebook, contact the Halifax Extension Office at 434-476-2147 or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

vericulturebucket

Caption for picture: Bring more worms into your garden for better soil and healthier plants with these easy to use worm buckets.  These buckets and lots and lots of plants and garden art will be available at the Master Gardener Plant Sale on May 6th. 

 

Get Ready For National Library Week

GET READY FOR NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK!

Drawings at both branches for a box of new books.

National Library Week and Read bookmarks.

Stickers for the kids.

A special surprise contest, but you've got to visit one of the libraries to find out more.

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Jay Stephens

Director

Halifax County South Boston Public Library

Town of Halifax Spring Clean-Up Scheduled for May 19th & 20th

l Public Service Announcement:

The Town of Halifax Solid Waste Department will conduct its annual free spring clean-up for town residents and businesses by appointment only on Friday, May 19th and Saturday, May 20th. This service will be subject to the following conditions:

  1. Residents and businesses are required to call the Halifax Town Hall (434-476-2343) for notification to remove discarded household/business items and yard debris too large for regular trash pick-up and must give their name, telephone number and physical address (notification for sign-up must be made prior to 12:00 noon on Wednesday, May 17th).
  2. Only household/business items that can be lifted by two grown men will be accepted, and no caustic solvents, toxic or hazardous materials or petroleum based liquids will be permitted.
  3. Tree limbs and brush must be cut in lengths no greater than 4 feet and neatly piled by participant along with qualifying household/business items near the curbside of the property or customary pick up site to be easily visible and accessible from the road by Town Solid Waste personnel.
  4. Town employees will not be responsible for cutting or removing tree trunks or tree limbs with a diameter of 4 inches or greater.
  5. The Solid Waste Supervisor will not be required to remove the qualifying material mentioned above if resident or business owner has failed to notify the Halifax Town Hall to schedule a pick-up.

 

Master Gardeners Annual Plant Sale - May 6th

Plant Sale Coming Your Way

            The annual Southside Master Gardener Association Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 6th from 7:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the parking lot in front of the Halifax County Extension Office, 171 S. Main Street, Halifax.  All types of plants will be available including annuals, herbs, perennials, vegetables, shrubs and trees.  The sale will offer some special features such as garden art, rain barrels and a bake sale.  There will be educational exhibits and handouts as well.

            The Master Gardeners have been busy making unique garden/yard art treasures that will make your garden shine.  A very special item is the famous “Wine Chimes” made from repurposed wine bottles.  Lots of colors and styles will be available this year.  Puddlers will also be available.  The puddler is filled with sand and salt and collects rain for the bees and butterflies to have a drink.  There will also be painted milk cans and garden statuary made from used metal parts.

            Hypertufa is the name of a process of making garden containers, ornaments, sculptures or stepping-stones using Portland cement, perlite and peat.  The process was developed as a substitute for volcanic rock called Tufa that was traditionally used to make Alpine troughs.  This

year, there will be draped and basket hypertufa. These are wonderful containers for your outdoor potted plants.

            One of the miracles of gardening is growing plants from seeds.  The beauty is that the end result isn’t always what we expected.  For germination, seeds usually need warmth, moisture and sometimes light.  There will be an educational display at the sale showing how to make your own simple germination box.  The box is made from items readily available and provides those three main needs for proper germination. 

            Naturally, there will be lots and lots of plants.  Everything from trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, annuals, houseplants and vegetables will be available.  These plants will be priced to sell.  Plants that are grown locally usually do better than those that were grown further away.  They have adapted to our soils and climates.

            Master Gardeners are not only gardeners but can cook up some mean desserts.  Stop by the Bake Sale table to purchase something to nibble on while walking through the sale.  Master Gardeners will be available to answer your gardening questions throughout the sale.  If you want more information or are interested in the Master Gardener program visit www.ssmga.org, like on Facebook, contact the Halifax Extension Office at 434-476-2147 or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Caption for picture:  Pictured is a painted milk can that will be available at the Southside Master Gardener Plant Sale on Saturday, May 6th in the Halifax Extension Office parking lot.  Stop by to load up on cheap plants and garden art.

 

Master Gardener 2nd Saturdays Schedule