Garden Planting Calendar:
Interested in growing food? One of the great things about gardening in central North Carolina is, regardless of the season, there are food crops that can be planted! Check out this Garden Planting Calendar created by the NC Cooperative Extension for information on what food crops can be planted each month: NC State Extension Garden Planting Calendar.
Getting Started Growing Food:
The NC State Extension website provides detailed information on how to create and maintain a vegetable garden. Here are some helpful resources to get you started: Vegetable Gardening 101, Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner's Guide, and North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook.
Plant Finder Tool:
If you are interested in adding plants to your landscape or garden, consider using the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, which offers a robust search function for identifying suitable plants based on light and moisture requirements, landscape goals, environmental conditions, garden theme, flower and leaf color, and many additional variables.
Backyard Composting: Composting is a wonderful way to keep food waste out of the landfill, and adding compost to your garden soil is an ideal way to improve soil quality. Interested in making your own compost? Check out these instructional resources: NC State Extension Backyard Composting and Town of Cary Backyard Composting Solutions.
Creating a Pollinator Garden:
More than 85% of flowering plants and one third of our food crops are dependent on animal pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, flies, hummingbirds, beetles, ants, and bats. Pollinator populations have been declining due to land development, habitat destruction, pathogens, and pesticide use. We can help rebuild pollinator populations through the plants we choose to grow in our landscapes. Here are some helpful resources on creating pollinator gardens: Growing a Pollinator Garden, Pollinator Conservation Guide, and Pollinator Plant List.
Gardening for Wildlife:
Homegrown National Park is a nonprofit organization with the mission to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by catalyzing individual landowners to plant native plants and remove invasive plants. It is the largest cooperative conservation project ever conceived or attempted. Visit their website to learn more about simple steps you can take to rebuild biodiversity and why it matters.
2/3 for the Birds is an organization dedicated to reversing the dramatic decline in bird populations we have witnessed over the last several decades. Visit their website to learn more about the factors leading to bird decline and how we can be a part of rebuilding bird populations through the plants we choose for our landscapes and gardens.
The North Carolina Native Plant Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the enjoyment and conservation of NC's native plants and their habitats. Growing native plants is critical to safeguarding and strengthening our natural ecosystems and this website provides a helpful plant finder tool to search for native plants that will grow well in your yard's specific conditions as well as a list of invasive, non-native plants (many of which remain available for purchase at area garden centers!) that threaten our natural ecosystems.
Gardening with Children:
Children reap many benefits through gardening, from developing an appreciation for nature and respect for living things to engaging in physical exercise, learning to work cooperatively with others, and gaining an increased willingness to eat fruits and vegetables. Kids Gardening contains many garden-related activities and lessons that caregivers and educators can do with children. Additional resources for gardening with children in educational settings can be found on the NC State Extension website and Wake County Public Schools' school garden website. If you are seeking fun and educational garden-related activities to do with your family or youth organization, check out the JC Raultston Arboretum's children's programming.
Interested in growing food? One of the great things about gardening in central North Carolina is, regardless of the season, there are food crops that can be planted! Check out this Garden Planting Calendar created by the NC Cooperative Extension for information on what food crops can be planted each month: NC State Extension Garden Planting Calendar.
Getting Started Growing Food:
The NC State Extension website provides detailed information on how to create and maintain a vegetable garden. Here are some helpful resources to get you started: Vegetable Gardening 101, Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner's Guide, and North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook.
Plant Finder Tool:
If you are interested in adding plants to your landscape or garden, consider using the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, which offers a robust search function for identifying suitable plants based on light and moisture requirements, landscape goals, environmental conditions, garden theme, flower and leaf color, and many additional variables.
Backyard Composting: Composting is a wonderful way to keep food waste out of the landfill, and adding compost to your garden soil is an ideal way to improve soil quality. Interested in making your own compost? Check out these instructional resources: NC State Extension Backyard Composting and Town of Cary Backyard Composting Solutions.
Creating a Pollinator Garden:
More than 85% of flowering plants and one third of our food crops are dependent on animal pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, flies, hummingbirds, beetles, ants, and bats. Pollinator populations have been declining due to land development, habitat destruction, pathogens, and pesticide use. We can help rebuild pollinator populations through the plants we choose to grow in our landscapes. Here are some helpful resources on creating pollinator gardens: Growing a Pollinator Garden, Pollinator Conservation Guide, and Pollinator Plant List.
Gardening for Wildlife:
Homegrown National Park is a nonprofit organization with the mission to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by catalyzing individual landowners to plant native plants and remove invasive plants. It is the largest cooperative conservation project ever conceived or attempted. Visit their website to learn more about simple steps you can take to rebuild biodiversity and why it matters.
2/3 for the Birds is an organization dedicated to reversing the dramatic decline in bird populations we have witnessed over the last several decades. Visit their website to learn more about the factors leading to bird decline and how we can be a part of rebuilding bird populations through the plants we choose for our landscapes and gardens.
The North Carolina Native Plant Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the enjoyment and conservation of NC's native plants and their habitats. Growing native plants is critical to safeguarding and strengthening our natural ecosystems and this website provides a helpful plant finder tool to search for native plants that will grow well in your yard's specific conditions as well as a list of invasive, non-native plants (many of which remain available for purchase at area garden centers!) that threaten our natural ecosystems.
Gardening with Children:
Children reap many benefits through gardening, from developing an appreciation for nature and respect for living things to engaging in physical exercise, learning to work cooperatively with others, and gaining an increased willingness to eat fruits and vegetables. Kids Gardening contains many garden-related activities and lessons that caregivers and educators can do with children. Additional resources for gardening with children in educational settings can be found on the NC State Extension website and Wake County Public Schools' school garden website. If you are seeking fun and educational garden-related activities to do with your family or youth organization, check out the JC Raultston Arboretum's children's programming.
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