August, 2021
The Fredericksburg Fair is a great place for MGACRA volunteers to offer gardening advice, and communicate information about current or new pests, and diseases that citizens are not likely to be aware of. A compost display and handout with the best compost recipes was available. Urgent news about the advance of the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) was effectively portrayed by a large poster, picture, and map display, and Master Gardeners spoke to all visitors about the plants, both host and targeted, by SLF, and the grape crop devastation by SLF happening in Pennsylvania.
Guy Mussey’s insect collection drew people of all ages, and a ‘name that bird’ poster drew lots of attention. A large ‘Plant Central Rappahannock Natives’ display also offered the guidebook published recently of native plants for this region. It’s an excellent and well done publication that serious gardeners can’t resist, and it’s also available online: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/plant-central-rappahannock-natives. Soil sample boxes were available, lawn and seasonal gardening information was available by handouts, and people were also encouraged to visit https://resources.ext.vt.edu/ for more research based articles.
Guy Mussey’s insect collection drew people of all ages, and a ‘name that bird’ poster drew lots of attention. A large ‘Plant Central Rappahannock Natives’ display also offered the guidebook published recently of native plants for this region. It’s an excellent and well done publication that serious gardeners can’t resist, and it’s also available online: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/plant-central-rappahannock-natives. Soil sample boxes were available, lawn and seasonal gardening information was available by handouts, and people were also encouraged to visit https://resources.ext.vt.edu/ for more research based articles.
