The Troup County Master Gardeners are having their annual plant sale Saturday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ag Center in LaGrange. The Ag Center is located just off of Hamilton Road on Vulcan Materials Road across from Sam Walker Drive.  

All the plants are grown and cultivated by master gardeners from a seven county area. They will have a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, annual and perennial florals, greenery, flowering and non-flowering shrubs, ground covers, fruit plants and trees such as maples, oaks and flowering crabs. There will be a large selection to choose from at bargain prices.

There will also be wonderful items donated from local nurseries and businesses to raffle. Vendors will have many delicious goodies, garden decorations and specialty yard items. A swap table is a popular site where you can bring a plant and swap out another for free.

All proceed go right back to our community via plantings at public parks and buildings as well as scholarships for local 4-H and FFA members. There is no charge to come and enjoy the fun, rain or shine.

Springing Into Action

Spring is upon us. I saw my first humming bird gathering nectar on my buckeyes. You should start to get all those beds cleaned out and ready for summer annuals. 

Soil temperatures are warming up. Checking soil temperature today at the UGA Weather monitoring, the two inch temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

Transplanting tomatoes, peppers and eggplant when nighttime temperatures stay above 50 degrees. If your beds are going to be empty, plant a cover crop to help build the organic matter in the soil.

It is warm enough to plant direct seeded vegetables such a melons, bush beans and squash. It needs to be a little warmer for okra. This is also a good time to add trees or shrubs to the landscape.

May is still the best month for fertilizing warm season grasses. Keep an eye out for any disease patches in the lawn. Treat with an appropriate fungicide. 

Don’t prune any spring flowering shrubs until after they bloom. Oak leaf hydrangea can be pruned immediately after bloom but don’t wait. They set buds for fall blooming soon after.

What’s going on in Extension? 

• Monday, April 16, 7 p.m. Troup County Association of Beekeepers, Ag Center
• Tuesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. Troup County Cattleman’s Association, Jason Duggan, guest speaker: Georgia Beef Challenge. Ag Center
• 4-H Camp sign up: Junior Camp, Cloverleaf Camp, Wilderness Camp and Marine Resources camp. Call the office at (706) 883-1675
• MGEV Plant Sale: April 28th, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ag Center.

The Troup County Extension office is located at 144 Sam Walker Drive, LaGrange, Georgia 30240 (706) 883-1675. Monday  through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.