Plant and garden Resources

(More information coming soon!)

HANDOUTS

• Carrboro Farmers Market and Eno River Farmers Market

• About the Master Gardener volunteers of Orange County

• Potting Basics

• Plant for Success

• Pruning Roses

RESOURCES

NC STATE EXTENSION WEBSITE

Many of the following resource listings are from the NC State Extension website. It has excellent publications, handouts and videos on a wide range of plant and garden subjects. Visit the website and enter your topic in the search box.

PLANT TOOLBOX

The North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox has information and photographs on more than 4,000 plants that grow in our state. Click on the “Find A Plant” box to find a plant that will suit your location - you can select lighting and soil conditions, bloom time, moisture requirements, size of the plant and other features.

SOIL

Composting:

Backyard Composting of Yard, Garden and Food Debris, from NC State Extension.

Soil Testing:

Testing is free April–November (it’s $4/test in winter months, the state soil lab’s busy season). You can pick up and drop off soil boxes, forms and sampling instructions at an outdoor station next to the front door of the Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, 1020 US-70W, Hillsborough, NC 27278.

• Lawn & Garden Soil Sample Form and Instructions

• Soil Sampling for Home Lawns and Gardens

LAWNS

• Tall Fescue & Kentucky Bluegrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

• Zoysiagrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

• Carolina Lawns

• Organic Lawn Care

• Weed Control in Home Lawns

• Toxicity of Lawn Care Products

PLANTS

Plant Selection

• NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

• JC Raulston Arboretum Plant Trials

• Mt Cuba Plant Trials

Native Plants

• Native Plants

• NC Native Plant Society

• Recommended Native Species

• North Carolina Botanical Garden: Natives

• Return Natives to Piedmont Landscapes

Plants For Pollinators And Birds

• Pollinator Conservation Resources: Mid-Atlantic Region (Xerces Society)

• Selecting Plants for Pollinators

• Create a Pollinator Garden

• Twelve Ways to Design a Bird-friendly Garden

• Managing Backyards and Other Urban Habitats for Birds

• Environmentally Responsible Landscaping for Bluebirds and Other Birds

Vegetables

• Planting and Harvesting Guide for Piedmont Vegetables and Herbs 
  from Chatham County Extension

• Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs, from NC State Extension

• Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide, from NC State Extension

• Vegetable Gardening, from North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook

• Vegetable Variety List, from Chatham County Extension

Pruning

• Pruning Calendar

• Evergreen Tree Pruning Calendar 

• Deciduous Tree Pruning Calendar 

• Shrub Pruning Calendar 

• A Guide to Successful Shrub Pruning

• Pruning subshrubs

Plant problems

Insects & Diseases

• Pest Management Calendars

• Insect identification

• Common Landscape Diseases…

• NC Plant Disease & Insect Clinic (PDIC)

• PDIC BOLOs (Be On the LookOut monthly guides)

• Garden Insects: Friend or Foe?

Weeds

• Weed gallery

• Non-selective post-emergence herbicides
  comparison tables, glyphosate amounts, timing

• Controlling Invasive Plants

• Are There Alternatives to Glyphosate for Weed Control in Landscapes?

COMMUNITY SEED LIBRARY

Free seed is available from our Master Gardener Seed Library, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., M–F, in the lobby of the Extension Office, Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, 1020 US-70W, Hillsborough, NC 27278.

WEATHER

• Current Soil Moisture

• Dealing with drought

• Average first and last freeze dates, from NC State Extension

RECYCLING

You can take garden chemicals, yard waste, and food waste, cardboard, metal and other items to recycling centers in Orange County.

FOREST RANGER

The Orange County Forest Ranger can visit your property.