The New Year is a time for looking back on
the past, and even more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to
reflect on the changes we want or need to make and resolve to follow through on
those changes. As gardeners, there are
steps that we can take to improve the ecology and sustainability of our
landscapes. Consider adopting one or
more of these resolutions for your garden in the New Year:
Commit to eating more seasonally and locally.
·
Buy produce during its peak
season. This is when a crop is at its
freshest and most delicious and also when you can buy it from a local
grower.
·
Support your local farmers
market, CSA (community supported agriculture) or farm stand.
·
Plan your vegetable garden for
year round production. In Onslow County,
you can grow some sort of vegetable almost year round. Nothing is more local than your
backyard.
·
Incorporate fruit crops into your
landscape. Fruit trees and blueberry
bushes can be beautiful additions to the yard while also producing fruit.
·
Choose plants and varieties that
are low maintenance and easy to grow in our area - figs, muscadine grapes,
rabbiteye blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries grow well in Onslow
County.
 |
| A selection of spring produce at the Onslow County Farmers Market. |
Find dates and locations for the Onslow
County Farmers Market on their website at http://onslowncfarmersmarket.com or follow them on Facebook.
The Farmers Market will reopen for the 2015 season in April.
Find local farms, farm stands and
pick-your-own operations at http://www.ncfarmfresh.com.
Be pollinator friendly. Protect honeybees, native bees and other
pollinators by taking the following steps:
·
Plant flowers that serve as
pollen and nectar sources throughout the season. Check out this publication from the Xerces
Society for a list of pollinator-friendly plants for the Southeast:
·
Use pesticides only when needed. Ensure that cultural (examples include crop
rotation, early or late planting dates to avoid pests), mechanical (examples
include hand pulling weeds or handpicking insect pests, row covers) and biological
control options (promoting insects and predators that prey on pests) are your
first line of defense.
·
Avoid planting crops that will
require a lot of pesticide sprays (such as apples or non-muscadine grapes) to
produce a quality crop.
·
When pesticides are needed:
o
Never apply pesticides to plants
that are flowering.
o
Choose liquid formulations over
dusts.
o
Apply late in the day when
pollinators are no longer foraging.
o
Ensure that pesticide sprays do
not drift to nearby flowering weeds or water puddles.
 |
| A bumblebee forages the flowers of Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' in the Discovery Gardens. |
Reduce your water footprint – and water bill!:
·
Build your soil’s ability to hold
water and nutrients by adding compost each year. Aim for 2-3 inches of compost tilled in to
each new bed that you bring into production and a topdressing of 1 inch of
compost to established beds.
·
Harvest rainwater through the use
of rainbarrels or cisterns. Use this
water first to irrigate new plantings, the vegetable garden, container plantings
or lawn.
·
Choose plants that are a good fit
for the location. Use moisture-loving
plants in low damp areas and choose plants that are drought tolerant for drier
areas. Remember that drought tolerant
plants need regular watering after planting to get established.
 |
| New plantings in the Discovery Gardens are irrigated with rainwater collected in our cisterns. |
Whichever resolution you choose, I want to
wish you and your garden a Happy New Year!
