By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post Recent wet snows and falling rain make us all yearn for spring's arrival. Cabin fever is taking its toll and many are yearning to get outdoors. Rowan residents can have a bit of spring with a spectacu ...Read More

At this time of year, many landscapes are not at their best. Bad weather seems to always compound the situation. Most plants look rather drab and in many situations, some landscapes could use a partial, or in some instances, a total makeover. Now is ...Read More

The Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Guild, in cooperation with the Cooperative Extension in Rowan County, will host a Garden Symposium to benefit the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra and its educational programs on Saturday, March 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2727-A ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post February is an excellent time of the year to prune grapes. Pruning is an annual chore that must be severe to renew fruiting wood and to prevent vines from becoming tangled masses of unproductive and oft ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post With the weather we've experienced in the past few days, it's hard to imagine that the month of February is a transitional month for home gardeners. Many are preparing for spring maintenance chores for ...Read More

One of the pleasures of winter is having a spring-like break between freezing temperatures and the next blast of Arctic air. On such a day, when the thermometer rises to 60 degrees, any housebound Master Gardener will do a few tasks around his or ...Read More

It seems like every weather report I hear is telling us that this January is the coldest ever on record. That's fine by me, because the cold weather is a whole lot easier for farmers and livestock to deal with than all the rain and resulting mud we h ...Read More

Rowan County 4-H is now taking orders for their annual Spring Plant Sale. Varieties available include: raspberries — Nova; blueberries — Brightwell, Climax and Powderblue; blackberries — Apache and Arapaho; muscadines — Welder and Bountiful and f ...Read More

Cooperative Extension receives numerous inquiries about pruning trees during the fall and winter months. Generally, winter is a good time to judiciously prune trees. Landscape crews and tree removal companies are busy cutting away trees from power ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post Now is the time when home gardeners receive a steady supply of garden and seed catalogs. With the weather we've had lately, seed and plant catalogs provide a welcome escape for gardeners. This escape ...Read More

Unseasonably frigid weather is difficult for just about everything, including our birds. Successive days of freezing temperatures greatly reduce the chance of survival for song birds and other wildlife. Providing ample feed and water is the key du ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post The unseasonably arctic blast Rowan County has experienced over the past week may cause serious damage to landscape plant materials. Dry, cold weather causes problems with evergreen materials and cold ...Read More

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is invisible, odorless and tasteless. Radon is released harmlessly from the ground into outdoor air, but it can accumulate and reach harmful levels when trapped in homes and buildings. Scientists ...Read More

Piedmont Farmers Market: Winter Tailgate Market will be open Saturday 9 a.m. until noon at 518 Winecoff School Road in Concord. Local farmers and producers will be on hand with fresh seasonal produce, grass fed beef, pastured pork and free range egg ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post It can be frustrating when fruit trees fail to bear fruit. Now that the season is over for many fruit bearing plants homeowners may be able to correct problems associated with nonbearing or poorly bearin ...Read More

With today's high density housing, the use of screens and border plantings of trees and shrubs for privacy is becoming increasingly important. Formal sheared hedges reminiscent of older homes have been replaced with informal mass plantings of trees ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post Pecan trees are very popular in Rowan County for their delicious nut crop and for the abundant shade. Cooperative Extension gets many inquiries about this tree, especially during the Christmas holiday ...Read More

Christmas cactus or "Holiday cactus" seems to be making a comeback as a traditional Christmas plant. These houseplants are now in full bloom at local garden centers and retail outlets across Rowan County. Increased interest in these plants may be ...Read More

By Pam Ervin Master Gardener As autumn arrives and all the leaves have been mulched or vacuumed, it is important to properly prepare your mower for the winter. Getting your mower ready for storage should include the following: - Clean above and below ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post During the holiday season Patterson Farms is usually busy with poinsettias, but they are experimenting with another red crop over the holidays — fresh, locally grown strawberries. Doug and Randall Pat ...Read More

Generally, December is a slow month for Cooperative Extension. However, many have called with questions and concerns about holiday plants and other items. Below are a few questions Cooperative Extension has received over the past few weeks. Q: I wan ...Read More

By Darrell Blackwelder For the Salisbury Post The Christmas season began this year early, almost two weeks before Thanksgiving. Home Shopping Network began selling mail-order tabletop fraser fir Christmas trees just after Halloween this year. The ...Read More

Paperwhites have become almost as synonymous during the Christmas Holidays as poinsettias. Paperwhites are actually narcissus bulbs, one of the easiest flower bulbs for homeowners to force. Since these bulbs require no chilling and very little effort ...Read More

Rowan poinsettia producers spend almost five months — from cuttings to sale — producing our favorite holiday plant. Even with the amount of time and care given to the development of this plant, poinsettias are a great bargain. Christmas is not the ...Read More

This fall has been one of the times that I have been more aware of the foliage and plants around me. Perhaps it has been the rain and moisture the area has experienced this year. Several varieties of trees have outdone themselves with color. I ha ...Read More