Tips from the Southside Master Gardeners to keep your garden healthy.

PLANT Late August is the best time to plant Oriental poppies.  A mulch of oak or sycamore leaves will give them needed protection the first winter.

PRUNE
Maples and birches may be pruned after new growth has hardened.

FERTILIZE
At the beginning of the month trim back and fertilize perennials for the second blooming.

Feed roses for the last time this season.  When cutting blossoms, cut above the 5-leaflet leaf.

WATER
During dry weather be sure to thoroughly water azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons, and heather

Clean Virginia Waterways (CVW) announces an upcoming “Train the Trainer” workshop for nonprofit organizations, community groups and other groups that would like to host their own “Make a Rain Barrel Workshop” for the public.

After taking this CVW workshop, your organization or group may order our recycled food barrels and hardware kits for use in your own rain barrel making workshops.

Do you own, or aspire to own, a small farm?  If so, one of the biggest obstacles can be diversifying your operations enough to spread the risk around.  To learn from farmers who have successfully diversified their operation, make plans to attend this Agriculture Diversification Field Day, sponsored by VA Tech's Small Farm Outreach & Technical Assistance Program.

The Field Day is July 13 from 10 am-12 noon in South Hill, and is free and open to the public.

The Southside Master Gardener Association will hold a rain barrel workshop from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on June 5^th during HaliFair at the Halifax County Fairgrounds.  Cost of the class is $40 per barrel.  Class size is limited so pre-registration is required.  Call the Halifax Extension Office at 434-476-2147 to make your reservation.  Class will be held rain or shine.

For more information, visit www.halifairva.com.

The Southside Master Gardeners’ Spring Plant Sale will be held at the Halifax Extension Office and Public Library parking area on Saturday, May 1 from 7:30 a.m. to noon, rain or shine.  Among the educational exhibits will be an exhibit on vermiculture.

Whether you are a plant lover or an avid fisherman, you won’t want to miss this Vermiculture exhibit.  Vermiculture is the art of raising earthworms. Find out how these little wonders of nature can turn your organic kitchen wastes, such as coffee grounds, egg shells and fruit peels, into some of the most sought-after organic fertilizer around. Your plants will thrive when they get fertilized with “worm castings”.