Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover: Choosing Childcare
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
Tag Archive for: #thelocalskinny
Home And Garden Show
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- When seedlings emerge check for areas that might need reseeding.
- Should you skip mowing this month?
- Start checking for insect pests and signs of disease.
- Make sure you have a good nitrogen only fertilizer on hand for vegetable gardens and flower beds. These areas may need supplemental nitrogen through the season. Blood meal is an excellent choice, organic and slow release.
- Check out your irrigation system
- Do you have garden areas that won’t be used this year? If so, plant a cover crop.
- Don’t over water plants check soil media first if it is moist wait another to water your plants
- It is way past the recommended date for fertilizing and seeding tall fescue, as well as spraying for broadleaf weeds.
- Wear sun protective clothing even on cloudy days.
- Growing vegetables in containers? Use large container that are clean, plus good quality potting mix. Never use soil from yard or garden.
Click Play!
The Local Skinny! Shriner’s Fish Fry Is Scheduled For May 17th
The Tri-County Shriner’s Fish Fry is on again for its traditional third Wednesday in May and area Shriners are gearing up for another long, but productive day, with delicious results for its patrons.
Plates are $10 each – take-out only – and sales will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17, said chairman Vernon Mustian.
Mustian and Donald Seifert were guests on WIZS “The Local Skinny!” to talk up the 59th fish fry.
You just may spy Mustian near the cookers on Fish Fry Day. “I have been cooking there for awhile,” he acknowledged. He holds the club’s office of First Vice President, but the club also put him in charge of the whole event this year. “It is a chore,” he said, adding that his admiration has grown for those who have organized past events.
“We try to put out a good plate,” Seifert said. “The price is reasonable and if we have good weather, I’m sure we’ll have a good turnout.”
Drive out to 210 Industry Drive near Lowe’s and Mako Medical to pick up plates. Delivery is available for 10 or more plates. Call 919.369.0316 to make delivery arrangements.
You can buy tickets in advance or purchase plates at the take-out tent.
“We are hoping to raise more than last year, “ Mustian said. “We had a good year last year, and we’re looking for a big number – at least $10,000.”
Shriner Henry Gupton told WIZS in an earlier interview that all proceeds after expenses will be donated to the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Greenville, SC.
THIS STORY WAS ORGINALLY PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2023 AND IS BEING RE-POSTED FOR VIEWING AT THIS TIME.
CLICK PLAY!
Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Tomato Planting
Chances are, most of us have planted tomato plants in our lives – either in neat rows in a beautifully tilled garden or in a container placed in the sunniest part of the yard.
There’s the “if you plant it, it will live” philosophy and then there are those more serious gardeners who time their plantings, amend the soil and pay attention to what the folks at the extension office have to say about growing the juicy, summertime produce that actually is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Vance County Cooperative Extension’s Resource Technician Wayne Rowland suggests trying several different varieties of tomatoes to find one that suits your needs – and your growing conditions.
Better Boy, Whopper and Celebrity, for example, are good performers and also are resistant to certain diseases that often plague tomato plants.
It’s also important to amend soil that is either heavy with clay or too sandy to provide proper nutrients. Mixing in a few inches of organic material like compost or leaf mold will help, and if you haven’t done a soil test, you may want to consider sending off a sample to the folks in Raleigh to learn the pH of the soil in the garden.
The soil sample results helps gardeners know what type of fertilizer to use, but if you don’t have a soil sample, no need to fret: you can make your own at home.
A simple fertilizer recipe is ¾ c. of lime (the mineral, not the fruit) and ½ c. of 8-8-8 fertilizer makes a good multi-purpose fertilizer, Rowland said.
As for how to plant those tomato plants to get the best yield and to make harvesting easier, Rowland recommends spacing the plants 1-2 feet apart along the row, and having 3-4 feet of space between rows.
If your transplants have gotten tall and leggy (maybe because you just couldn’t wait and bought them weeks ago in anticipation of planting time), Rowland shared a gardener’s trick that could help: Instead of digging a hole, dig a trench and plant the tomato, roots and bare stem sideways!
If using this trench method, remove all the leave along the stem except for the top leaf cluster. Lay the plant on its side and cover the roots and the stem with a few inches of soil, taking care not to tamp down the soil too hard that you break the stem.
No matter which method you use, the tomato plants will benefit from applying a starter solution, something that’s available at local garden centers or you can make your own.
If you need a lot, mix 1 pound of 8-8-8 fertilizer in 10 gallons of water.
If you don’t need that much, add 3 tablespoons of 8-8-8 to 1 gallon of water.
Whether you want cherry tomatoes to put in a fresh salad, Romas for spaghetti sauce or if you have your mouth set for a juicy slice of tomato slathered with Duke’s mayo between two slices of white bread, now’s the time to get those plants in the ground. With these helpful tips from N.C. Cooperative Extension, your work surely will pay dividends later in the summer.
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
Cooperative Extension With Jamon Glover Balancing Family And Work, Pt. 4
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!
The Local Skinny! COVID Has Not Gone Away
There aren’t as many people still following the CDC guidelines that call for mask-wearing in public, but there remain some for whom “COVID fatigue” has not affected.
Schools, hospitals, doctors’ offices and other places that once required temperature checks and masks before entering have loosened those protocols.
Dr. Tracei Ball, a spokesperson for NC Department of Health and Human Services, encourages everyone to stay current on COVID vaccinations to reduce the risk of contracting the disease.
As long as it’s around, people are susceptible, so it’s imperative to stay protected, Ball said.
Ball is chief medical officer for OnCall Mobile Medical and Wellness in the Charlotte Metro area, and she told Bill Harris on Wednesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! that even though COVID no longer steals the headlines and news broadcasts as it did over the past couple of years, it still poses a risk.
“We’re still seeing hospitalizations and deaths,” she said. “We need to stay abreast of what’s happening with COVID regardless of what’s happening in the headlines.”
The bivalent vaccine against COVID works, she said. “That’s going to give you the greatest protection against COVID right now,” Ball said.
And by the way, if the last vaccine you received was before September 2022, you’re due for a booster. And anyone 65 or older or who has a medical condition that puts you in a higher risk for infection is eligible for a booster if it’s been more than four months since your last one.
“If we all work together and do our part, we protect not only ourselves, but our loved ones as well,” Ball said. “We may have to deal with COVID for some time.”
CLICK PLAY!
The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show 04-26-23
On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
- Protect transplants from cutworms by placing a cardboard collar made from a empty paper towel roll around the stem of the transplant . You can make 4 collars from 1 paper towel roll.
- Tomato tip: Plant multiple varieties, including cherry and disease resistant hybrids.
- When planting transplants try to plant them on non windy days.
- Tomato tip: Provide consistent soil moisture through drip irrigation.
- When planting seed in conventional rows and we get a hard rain within two days of your planting use a leaf rake to lightly loosen the soil surface to get rid of crusty soil so seedlings can emerge through the top edge of soil.
- Tomato tip: Look for healthy transplants – stocky, deep green foliage, healthy roots.
- Don’t over water plants check soil media first if it is moist wait another to water your plants
Click Play!
The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Unveils Oasis Room Art
The staff at Maria Parham Health have enjoyed the amenities of their Oasis room for about a year – the massage chairs, a TV, soothing music, beverages and snacks are just a few of the perks that filled the space.
The blank wall was a perfect candidate for some artwork, and thanks to high school junior and budding artist Abi Short, that wall now is the permanent home for a painting Short calls “Peace.”
Short, 16, is the daughter of MPH Cardiologist Dr. Sydney Short. She joined her parents, hospital staff and community leaders as her painting was unveiled Monday.
The idea for the Oasis room came about as hospital employees and health professionals everywhere were strained because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital came up with the idea for a spot where staff could take a step away from the stress of their jobs for just a few minutes – a quick cup of coffee while listening to some music or a few minutes in a massage chair can do wonders during the work day.
MPH CEO Bert Beard told those assembled at the unveiling that the space is a place to recharge and relax. “We want to continue to do things that are going to enhance our workplace,” Beard said, because we know “that enhances the care we give to our patients.”
Cancer Center Director Kimberly Smith is on the hospital’s Awards and Resilience Committee and she said having a spot like the Oasis room helps reduce staff burnout – it’s a place where people can “come in and take a break and a breather,” she said.
Donna Young, MPH marketing director, said the hospital invited employees’ families to enter an art contest to find the perfect painting for the accent wall inside the Oasis room.
“We knew we wanted something really special,” Young said. “We got some wonderful entries…put it to a vote and Abi’s won.”
The young artist described her work as a reflection of memories of family vacations to the mountains.
CLICK PLAY to Hear Unveiling!
Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
Click Play!