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Article ItemLooking for a lush lawn this spring? Virginia Tech expert recommends patience and restraint , article
With spring seemingly here to stay, Virginia gardeners and lawn care enthusiasts are starting to look forward to the revival of their lawns after a particularly cold winter.
Date: Apr 14, 2025 -
Article ItemExtension Master Gardeners divert garden seed from the landfill to those in need , article
If you have ever purchased a packet of garden seeds, you may have noticed the current year printed on the outside of the package. Seed companies must test and label seed to be sold each year — but what happens if those packets haven’t been sold by the end of the year?
Date: Mar 12, 2025 -
Article ItemCalifornia wildfires highlight the importance of fire preparedness in all communities , article
As Virginia’s fire season begins, all communities can take steps now to prepare for risks posed by wildfire.
Date: Feb 17, 2025 -
Article ItemTips for those who want spring color before spring weather , article
A Virginia Cooperative Extension agent offers iunformation about growing camellias, a plant with colorful flowers that blooms in winter.
Date: Feb 14, 2025 -
Article ItemNorthern Virginia Master Gardeners recognized for youth education programs , article
Extension Master Gardeners received the 2024 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award for a program focused on horticulture education within the public school system.
Date: Feb 13, 2025 -
Article ItemFor Extension Master Gardeners, community power is key to controlling invasive species , article
Anyone with invasive plants or insects in their garden knows how frustrating these pests can be. Rapidan River Extension Master Gardeners provide hands-on education for removing invasive species through a Giving Day-funded project.
Date: Feb 06, 2025 -
Article ItemHave a bounty of Virginia apples? Here’s how to keep them fresh longer , article
To preserve them, you could make applesauce or pie filling — but with proper storage technique, you can also keep your apples fresh for eating through the winter.
Date: Nov 14, 2024 -
Article ItemRock gardens offer landscaping that can withstand drought and poor soil, Virginia Cooperative Extension expert says , article
Are you exhausted after a summer of watering, fertilizing, and struggling with a stubborn dry part of your yard? A rock garden is one solution to landscape a problematic area.
Date: Oct 11, 2024 -
Article ItemHow to overwinter fall mums, according to Virginia Cooperative Extension experts , article
Although they are a perennial in Virginia, large, showy garden mums planted in-ground after flowering in late fall are unlikely to make it through the winter and come back next year.
Date: Sep 30, 2024 -
Article ItemCelebrate Virginia Pollinator Week with the Master Gardener program , article
This week Virginians will celebrate the bees, butterflies, birds, and bats that perform the vital work of pollination, following Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s declaration of the week of June 17-23 as Virginia Pollinator Week.
Date: Jun 17, 2024 -
Article ItemFor Virginia, Less-Mow April is better than No Mow May, Virginia Cooperative Extension recommends , article
Recent studies on urban bees suggest that in addition to specialized pollinator gardens, yards with spontaneous lawn flowers also support bees and are important part of the urban pollinator ecosystem.
Date: Apr 15, 2024 -
Article ItemSharpen lawnmower blades now for a perfect spring lawn , article
Dull mower blades will tear grass rather than slicing through it, resulting in a ragged-looking lawn, said Mike Goatley, turf specialist for Virginia Cooperative Extension and associate professor of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences.
Date: Apr 12, 2024 -
Article ItemDespite hype, cicada double-brood emergence won’t affect Virginia, Virginia Tech expert says , article
Starting in late April, Virginians living south of Caroline and east of the Interstate 95 corridor should begin looking for the emergence of Brood XIX, a population of 13-year periodical cicadas. No other periodical brood is due to hatch in Virginia this year.
Date: Apr 03, 2024 -
Article ItemCallery pear trees are blooming again, and that’s bad news , article
The Callery pear, also known as a Bradford pear tree, is an invasive species that forms dense thickets that leaf out early and outcompete native plant species growing around them, said Eric Wiseman, associate professor of urban forestry and arboriculture and Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist.
Date: Mar 25, 2024