4-H At Home – Fruit and Vegetable Hopscotch

Camaryn Byrum, Chowan County 4-H Agent

Supplies Needed:

• Chalk
• Timer (optional)

Directions:

1. Find different colored chalk. Find chalk colors that are similar to fruits and vegetables (yellow, orange, green, purple, red).
2. Draw out the hopscotch board. Color each block a different color.
3. Start the game! For each level, name a fruit or vegetable that is the color of the block you land on.
4. Once a fruit or vegetable is named, move to the next colored block and repeat.
5. To make this activity more challenging, use the same color for multiple blocks (and don’t repeat the same fruit or vegetable). Use a timer to track your speed.

Reflection (discuss these questions with a parent, guardian, or sibling): How many fruits and vegetables were you able to name? Did you have a hard time naming fruits and vegetables that corresponded with the chalk colors?

Family and Consumer Sciences At Home – Basic Online Sewing Class (Make Your Own Mask)

Mary Morris, Chowan County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent

One hundred and two years ago, in 1918, the Spanish Flu epidemic raged through North Carolina and our nation. Members of our North Carolina Home Demonstration Clubs and County Home Demonstration Agents gathered together to form nursing squads. The members and agents were not trained nurses, but many of them had received training in-home nursing. Members made and distributed large quantities of food to the sick. They tended to the critically ill in local emergency hospitals. They joined forces with the Red Cross and together made thousands of masks to be worn to help stop the spread of influenza.

Extension and Community Association (ECA, previously known as Extension Homemakers) Members are asked to make Homemade Face Masks. The cloth masks that are being made are not N-95 grade medical masks. They are for the general public not medical workers.

I have been making Face Masks with ECA across the State. The Extension Homemakers have taken on this project to help out local community needs and Statewide they are sending homemade masks to Community Members, Farmers, and Farmworkers that need them.

I will be hosting an online Zoom class for sewing these face masks on Friday, May 8, 2020, at noon. This class is a basic sewing class that will help you learn how to sew. Kits will be provided that can be picked up from the box outside of our office at 730 N. Granville St. Edenton NC. The box is located outside on the paved side of the building next to our door. The kits will include 2 pieces of fabric and 2 pieces of elastic. Call or text Mary Morris at 252-741-0026 for your kit. You will need a sewing machine, thread, and straight pins. If you don’t have a sewing machine you can also hand sew.

Go to the Chowan County website to get the Zoom link for the Basic Online Sewing Class on May 8, 2020, at noon. You can also email me directly mary_morris@ncsu.edu and I will send you the link.

If you still need a mask and don’t want to make your own reach out to me and we will make sure you get one. You can call the office at 252-482-6585 or email me mary_morris@ncsu.edu to request a mask.

Horticulture At Home – Weeding the Summer Garden

Katy Shook, Area Horticulture Agent

Whether it’s your first time or fiftieth time growing a summer garden, weeds are guaranteed to be part of the experience. Weed management is essential to a successful crop. Keep these tips in mind:

• A steel hoe is one of the most effective weapons in fighting the war against weeds. When used regularly, it is effective and inexpensive.
• Weeds at the base of the plant should be pulled by hand rather than running the risk of damaging the roots.
• Do not allow weeds to become well-established before they are removed because pulling large weeds can damage the root system of vegetable plants.
• Mulch can significantly decrease the amount of hoeing needed.
  • Organic mulches (that decompose) are by far the most common. Typical examples are bark chips, compost, ground corncobs, chopped cornstalks, grass clippings, leaves, newspapers, peanut shells, pine needles, sawdust, and grain straw. After the soil warms in the spring, organic mulch should be applied to a depth of 2 to 4 inches around well-established plants. Be sure that there is adequate moisture in the soil before applying the mulch as dry mulch can pull moisture out of the soil.
  • Inorganic mulches (that do not decompose), such as plastic sheeting, should be installed after fertilization, but before planting, when the soil is neither too wet nor too dry. Bury the edges to prevent the wind from blowing it away. Make short slits in the material with a pocketknife when planting seeds or transplants. Plants mulched with plastic need supplemental water as roots do not receive water from rainfall, and irrigation needs to be monitored carefully.
• Herbicides are chemicals that kill existing weeds or interrupt the germination. No single herbicide controls all weeds or can be safely used for all vegetable crops. Users must follow all label directions.