Virginia Cooperative Extension - Montgomery County

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: If you haven't encountered these insects, you and your garden/lawn have been lucky. Say hello to the Japanese Beetle, an invasive pest of many plants. 🪲

These insects were first discovered in the U.S. in 1916 in New Jersey after being accidentally introduced from Japan. They are now found throughout the eastern United States. Adult Japanese beetles will feed on the leaves, flowers, and fruit of over 300 plant species, but they prefer rose, grape, apple, raspberry, etc. The grubs chew on grass roots, reducing water and nutrient uptake. This can result in dead patches of grass.

Adults emerge in late June/early July and feed primarily July-August. While there are traps homeowners can use, these pheromone lure traps only capture about 75% of the Japanese beetles while attracting the rest to your yard. If you use these traps, it is recommended to place them on the boundary of your property, NOT in your garden or near the plants they are feeding on. You can also handpick the beetles off of plants in the early morning or evening and throw them into soapy water.

For more information and control options, check out the USDA's "Managing the Japanese Beetle: A Homeowner's Handbook"-https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/JBhandbook.pdf

Raised Bed Chronicles: The Search for the Destructor

If you walked past our raised beds a few days ago, you may have seen a frantic lady blurting out phrases of "I know you're here somewhere!" or "I will find you." That lady was our ANR agent searching for the hornworm that she discovered signs of throughout the plants. First, she noticed the frass (insect p**p), then the munched-on fruit, and the defoliated leaves. Classic signs of a hornworm! After 10 minutes of searching, she located the culprit for removal.

Hornworms can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time! It's always good to be observant and catch them early before they decimate your tomato plants. Once found, they can easily be removed by hand, but sometimes it is difficult to locate their green bodies in a sea of leaves. If necessary, 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴 (Bt) can be used to control them.

You can find more information on hornworms in the VCE publication, "Hornworms in the Home Garden":https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/3104/3104-1551/ENTO-561.pdf

Canning isn't the only way to preserve your food! 🫑🌽

Join us for our 6th session in our "Seed to Shelf" series: Freezing & Drying!

Register: https://forms.gle/ADRq57R5ZApyRcLWA

Hello
Sharing some information
We are excited about our Caregiver Conference coming up on Friday, August 9, 2024 at Edwards Hall at New River Community College from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you can take a minute to look at the attached information, you will see that there are some very interesting and helpful workshops planned. In addition to this, we have dynamic keynote speakers and a huge variety of exhibitors with a lot of resource information to share. To make it even more appealing, we have a delicious lunch planned and many door prizes, all at no cost to family caregivers.
If you or someone you know could benefit from attending, please share this information with them. Registration can also be done on our website, www.nrvaoa.org Please let me know if you have any questions.
We hope you can join us!

Save the date, ladies! You won't want to miss out on our Cattle and Equipment WISE event!

Just something to consider during this dry weather!

We harvested some basil and cilantro from our raised beds this morning to share! 🌱

Many herbs grown for their leaves, like basil and cilantro, need periodic harvesting throughout the summer to keep them from flowering. It also promotes new growth for fuller plants!

Agriculture is an industry of risk and a lack of control. Weather is one of the main culprits for the risk involved.

Currently, Montgomery County, along with 88% of Virginia, is currently experiencing moderate drought. 2% of Virginia is already in severe drought. These conditions affect yield of crops (for both human and animal consumption), quality of forage (in current pastures as well as hay for the winter), and the establishment of new plantings.

Image and data provided by US Drought Monitor.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: If you discover aphids on your plants in your garden, take a closer look! You may find some of these garden friends helping to control them!

Say hello to the aphid midge, 𝘈𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘺𝘻𝘢!

Pictured are the larvae of this tiny fly feasting upon the aphids on a tomato plant in our garden. These small, orange, worm-like larvae are incredible predators of aphids, so much so that commercial greenhouse operations around the world utilize them in their integrated pest management (IPM) plans as biological control tools. The aphid midge's control efficiency begins with the adult female fly. These mothers will specifically search for leaves with aphids on which to lay their eggs. (In one study, 𝘈. 𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘺𝘻𝘢 located the one infested plant out of 75.) Each larva will need at least 7 aphids to feed on to complete its life cycle but will feed on up to 80 aphids (not including the aphids they just kill without eating).

So, how do these magot-like larvae possibly kill and eat aphids that seem to be more mobile than themselves? Easy. They paralyze the aphids by attacking their leg joints! Once paralyzed, the aphid midge larva literally sucks the life from the aphid leaving a shriveled aphid body behind. So, if you happen to see these orange friends in your garden, leave them be! They are there to help!

For more information on the aphid midge, check out Cornell's publication: https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/Aphidoletes.php

Just a reminder to register for our Boiling Water Bath & Pressure Canning hands-on session happening this Saturday, June 29th!

Can with confidence at home! 🍅🫙🥕

Join us for our 5th session in our "Seed to Shelf" series: Hands-On Boiling Water Bath & Pressure Canning!

Register: https://forms.gle/NqLVBd3LCCdN1gag9

We almost forgot that it's National Pollinator Week! How could we?!?

Pollinators are critical tools in the growing and production of many of the fruits and vegetables that we eat! It's important to acknowledge the role they play in feeding the world and encourage smart practices to support their populations.

Below are some of the native pollinators we've captured on camera! Don't forget, there are many pollinators out there other than honeybees and butterflies! We need them all!

Click on each picture to see what pollinator is featured and for a fun fact about them!

The updated 2024 NRV Food Assistance Directory is here thanks to the Community Foundation of the New River Valley!

You can find some hardcopies in the Montgomery County Government Center lobby and outside of our office door. You can also access it online:https://cfnrv.org/wp-content/uploads/Spring-2024-NRV-Food-Assistance-Directory_web.pdf

We had a blast at our Bucket Gardening Workshop last month!

Participants left with two buckets prepped for growing, two vegetable/herb seedlings of their choice, a "Cooking is a SNAP" cookbook, and hopefully, the knowledge on how to grow a successful bucket garden! Angie Helm, our FNP facilitator, demonstrated how to create a quick and healthy salsa from ingredients they could grow in buckets (including zucchini, which we're always looking for more ways to utilize when it's abundant).

Thank you again to Tractor Supply and Northwest Ace Hardware in Christiansburg for contributing half of the buckets! And thank you to our NRV Master Gardener volunteers for helping with this program!

Also, check out an update picture from one of our program participants! She bought a couple more buckets and added yellow tomatoes and cucumbers to the Beefsteak and Early Girl tomato plants she got at the workshop. We love to see what people are growing!

2024 ServSafe Managers Classes

Our June Newsblast is now available. Check out the variety of summer workshops and gatherings happening.

https://www.vabeginningfarmer.alce.vt.edu/news.html

Virginia Cooperative Extension Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural, Leadership, & Community Education VSU College of Agriculture VABF Virginia Association for Biological Farming

Can with confidence at home! 🍅🫙🥕

Join us for our 5th session in our "Seed to Shelf" series: Hands-On Boiling Water Bath & Pressure Canning!

Register: https://forms.gle/NqLVBd3LCCdN1gag9

Just one example of the many projects our Master Gardeners do within our community!

🌿 We're finally making progress on our raised beds at the Montgomery County Government Center! 🌿

Soon, we'll have some educational information in the sign to inform you of what's growing, different growing techniques, and other gardening information throughout the year!

We hope to use this as a tool for the public to learn more about what is possible to grow even with limited space!

Summer Fun is Coming Soon! Register for a Montgomery County 4-H Day Camp @ https://bit.ly/4HDayCampMont24

We are excited to invite you to the inaugural Virginia Beef Cattle University, taking place from July 14-16 at the Inn at Virginia Tech.

Hosted by Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech School of Animal Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, and Virginia Cattle Industry Board, this event is designed to provide valuable insights and networking opportunities for beef cattle producers in the Mid-Atlantic Region and South - Eastern Region.

Event Highlights:

Sunday, July 14: Tours of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech Lane Stadium, and Kentland Farms.

Monday, July 15: Keynote by Dr. Cliff Lamb, industry tradeshow, breakout sessions, network happy hour, and a prime rib supper with entertainment.

Tuesday, July 16: Keynote by NCBA President Mark Eisele, additional breakout sessions, and optional hands-on activities.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow producers and industry experts.

For more details and to register, visit vabeefcattleu.com. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa McCormick at [email protected].

All of our spaces for our Bucket Gardening Workshop tomorrow have been filled! 🌿

We want to give a huge thanks to our Christiansburg Tractor Supply and our Christiansburg Northwest Ace Hardware for donating buckets to support this program! Your support makes programs like this possible!

The New River Valley Master Gardener Association volunteers are busy setting up for their plant sale this morning! 🌱🪻🍅

Join us at the Montgomery County Government Center from 9am-2pm!

The majority of plants sold are grown and cared for by the Master Gardeners with some help through donations from local businesses. All funds raised from the plant sale are used for their Community Grants Program that awards funds to local non-profits and school groups for educational horticulture projects.

🌿🌷Tomorrow is the day!🍅🌱

Hope to see you there!

We're all excited to have Kendra join our team as our 4-H agent!

Meet the new 4-H Extension Agent for Montgomery County, Kendra (Kyle) Young. Kendra has been an agent for 26+ years. She is no stranger to the area, grew up in Blacksburg and a Virginia Tech graduate. Kendra is a Montgomery County 4-H alumni and a Virginia 4-H All Star. She looks forward to meeting the 4-H members, volunteers, leaders, donors, and community partners. Let's welcome Kendra with a big 4-H!

💧Do you have a private well? This is a great opportunity to have your water tested! Sample kits are $70 each.

Register online at: https://tinyurl.com/MontVCE-VAHWQP

Interested in a subsidized kit, contact Meredith Hoggatt at (540-382-5790) or [email protected] for the registration link.

There's still time to register for our Bucket Gardening Workshop!

No yard required! 🌿🍅

Contact Meredith Hoggatt ([email protected] or 540-382-5790) to register!

🌱🍅No yard? No problem! 🥕🥒
You can still grow your own food!

Join us on May 18th for our Bucket Gardening Workshop!

To Register: Contact Meredith Hoggatt (540-382-5790 or [email protected])

Space is limited!

Plant and Seed Swap at the Christiansburg Library this Satuday from 1-2 PM! See below for more information.

We’re excited to provide our "Seed to Shelf" Series in Montgomery County and increase your knowledge and confidence in growing and utilizing your own produce!

Join us as we continue with the 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠!" 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟔𝐩𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 (𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐬𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞, 𝐕𝐀). Dawn Barnes, FCS Agent, will address The Science of Canning. Come learn about the science and "how to" of pressure canning, boiling water bath and steam canning.

Register here: https://forms.gle/etdQHUvruuVMdsjf6

Questions?
Reach out to Meredith Hoggatt ([email protected]) or Dawn Barnes ([email protected]) with Montgomery County Extension (540-382-5790)