Mark Your Calendars for the 2023 Chatham County Fair!

Come join in on the fun with your friends and family at the Chatham County Fair, taking place from September 21-24, 2023. The fair will be held at

191 Fairgrounds Rd, Pittsboro, NC 27312, so make sure to save the date!

Please note that our office will be closed on September 4th in observance of Labor Day.

Please note that our office will be closed on September 4th in observance of Labor Day.

Thanks for the Memories

Thank you for a wonderful 4-H camp season this year! Through the generous donations of community groups, dedicated community members, and grant opportunities, Chatham County 4-H was able to award $8,860 in summer camp scholarships this year. Thank you to everyone who helped to make sure that all Chatham County youth had an opportunity to take part in 4-H Summer Camps and build life-long memories!

Native Perennials for the Home Garden

Identification of Trees of the Piedmont

Extension Gardener Workshop and Webinar

September 20, 2023

9:00-11:00 a.m. (in-person) & 6:00-7:30 p.m. (Online)

Extension Gardener Workshop September 23, 2023

9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.

Join Matt Jones (Extension Horticulture Agent) and the Master Gardener Volunteers of Chatham County for a hands-on workshop about how to identify trees in the North Carolina Piedmont. Participants will learn about plant morphology and the terminology helpful for identification, as well as how to find and use dichotomous keys for plants in our region. We’ll then practice using these keys in the classroom with sample tree parts. The workshop will conclude with a brief hike at White Pines Nature Preserve to learn about some of the field characters to ID local trees.

Join Matt Jones (Extension Horticulture Agent) and the Master Gardener Volunteers of Chatham County for a presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to garden with native herbaceous perennials and grasses. Participants will learn why native plants are so important for local food webs, how to select plants based on their adaptation to site conditions, aesthetic value, and their capacity to support beneficial insects and other wildlife vital to ecosystem health. We will also explore examples of native perennials adapted to different site conditions and how to provide habitat or leaf, nectar, and pollen forage throughout the year. Master Gardener Volunteers (SM) will help demonstrate proper planting and establishment techniques.

Image: Cathy Dewitt CC BY 4.0

Click here for more details and to register for this in person event

Photo: Jim Robbins CC By NC ND 3.0

Click here for more details and to register for this event

From NC State Extension Publications

The Flora Apps

Tomato Late Blight Vegetable

Pathology Factsheets

Access the Tomato Late Blight Vegetable Pathology Factsheets

We are pleased to announce a new set of FloraQuest apps. In May 2023 the Southeastern Flora Team, led by Alan Weakley, Michael Lee, Scott Ward, Chris Ludwig, and Katie Gibson, released the first app called FloraQuest: Northern Tier that covers the northern part of the Flora area.

The app covers more than 5,800 wildflowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, and other vascular plants that occur outside of cultivation in the Northern Tier region.

Find out more about the Flora Apps

Summer Snapshots From Extension’s Pollinator Paradise Garden

It's been a super steamy summer in Cooperative Extension's Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden in Pittsboro, but the plants and the pollinators don't seem to mind!

Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos regularly posts the photos she takes on social media and she put some of her favorites from early summer on her website.

Summer Snapshots of Extension's Pollinator Paradise Garden

Critter Spotlight: Passionflower Bee

The passionflower bee is a very uncommon solitary native bee that Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos discovered in the pollinator garden for the first time in late July. This tiny bee relies solely on the native yellow passionflower to provide pollen to raise its young. Learn all about it and see photos on Cooperative Extension's Growing Small Farms website.

Late Summer Bounty at Our Local Farmers' Markets!

Late summer/early fall is a great time to hit our local farmers' markets. Chatham has four independent farmers' markets, each with its own unique mix of vendors.

Visit Cooperative Extension's Growing Small Farms website for details on each market.

Fall 2023 (August-December)

Pesticide Safety Schools

The fall 2023 Pesticide Safety Schools are available to those seeking initial licensing in one or more pesticide subcategories. To register for a school, please click here for more details. You can either print out a form to be mailed with a school payment or go online to register for a school.

Plans are set for the 2023 NC State University Introductory Horse Judging Short Course and Open Horse Show Judges’ Certification Clinic.

Please click here for more details

REGISTRATION OPEN: 2023 Feed Education Week

We’re excited to announce we will be hosting the CFIA | NC State Feed Education Week this October with even more opportunities to learn and connect! The schedule of events has been designed to accommodate both new and well-seasoned feed industry professionals, with the ability to mix and match sessions based on experience and employment area.

Learn more about the

NC State Feed Manufacturing Short Course | October 23-24

Forestry

Longleaf Alliance & NC Forest Service Present

Longleaf Academy 101

The Longleaf Alliance, in partnership with the North Carolina Forest Service and the North Carolina Tree Farm Program, is hosting a three-day introductory level longleaf pine course, Longleaf 101 Academy, for forest landowners and forestry-related professionals from September 6 -8, 2023, in Aberdeen, NC. The course will cover the cultural and natural history of longleaf pine, fire and longleaf, site preparation, proper planting techniques, deriving income from longleaf products, converting to longleaf, restoring groundcover, managing for wildlife objectives, and other topics of local significance. It will also include both classroom and field learning. This training will enhance participants’ knowledge and ability to establish and maintain longleaf pines, regardless of their experience level.

To learn more about the course or register, click here

One Year of Spotted Lanternfly in NC

The first active NC infestation of spotted lanternfly was confirmed on June 29, 2022, in Forsyth County. In the past year, sightings have been reported through the NCDA&CS See It – Snap It – Report It system, but thankfully, none have led to the discovery of another established population in the state.

To read more, click here to access Kelly Oten and Abigail Ratcliff's article, "One Year of Spotted Lanternfly in NC:"

Before becoming adults, spotted lanternflies are bright red and black with white spots. Image: Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org.

Spotted lanternfly adults. Image: Emelie Swackhamer, Penn State University, Bugwood.org.

Nutrition for Blood Pressure: Fall 2023 Series

Don't wait, now is the time to take care of your blood pressure! Register by September 5th at noon to join the small group for five nutrition education classes with cooking demonstrations. You'll also receive vouchers to spend at the Pittsboro Farmers' Market each week!

Wednesdays, September 6th - October 4th

12:00-1:15pm

Community resources can make a big difference in your ability to make it through hard times. Your community is not just the place where you live. People in a community have common interests and interact with one another. They share social, political and economic interests, and interact in ways that shape the community.

You may be a member of several communities. You live in a neighborhood that is perhaps part of a larger subdivision within a particular town in a certain county. Perhaps you belong to a faith-based community. You may also be part of a community of friends and family members that could be scattered across the country. Each of the communities where you live, work, play, or worship is a potential source of support.

Click here to read more from this series

Discovering the Chatham County 4-H Cookbook: A Journey of Curiosity

While rummaging through his grandmother's possessions, my son found the Chatham County 4-H Cookbook and brought it to me. Intrigued by its origins, I searched for more information – when was it created and what were the proceeds used for? After discovering the publication date, I searched through the 4-H cookbook so that I could identify the agent at the time the cookbook was published. A little digging led me to Fletcher Barber, but I did not know how to contact him. With the help of Google, I found Dr. Fletcher Barber, Small Farmer Recruitment Specialist with Cooperative Extension at North Carolina A&T State University. After comparing his image in a current Extension article to an old photo that I had here at the office, I reached out to him via email. Thanks to his response, the mystery was solved! I'm grateful for his assistance and the power of Google in uncovering the cookbook's history.

Below is a portion of the email correspondence between Dr. Barber and myself.

Good afternoon Dr. Barber,

I'm reaching out to ask if you remember the year when the 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association and the Chatham County 4-H Council created the Chatham County 4-H Cookbook. Recently, my former mother-in-law passed away, and while going through her collection, my son found this cookbook. We weren't aware that it ever existed and were wondering if it was created as a 4-H fundraiser. After checking the copyright information, it seems that the cookbook was published between the years 1968-1985, so we're guessing it was around the 1985-1986 time frame. We would love to know more about why it was created. I have attached a photo of the cookbook, as well as a photo of you and Connie McAdams from the late 1970s-early 1980s. Do you remember anything about the cookbook that could be useful?

Thanks so much!

Tiffany Hancock

Marketing and Media Support Specialist

Visit NC Farms App Administrator

NC Cooperative Extension

Chatham County

Good morning Tiffany,

Thank you for reaching out and for the picture that brings back many memories. At the time the late Bernice Hinshaw from Siler City spear headed this project. I am not sure but if memory serves me right it was to off set the cost for volunteer leaders to attend Rock Eagle in Georgia .

Hope this helps and Thanks again.

Dr. Fletcher Barber, Jr.