Campbell's activities and impacts 10-4-08 to 10-10-08 - Including alerting mediation engineers about SANDSPURS on Ehringhaus St.

Campbell assisted sellers at the Saturday Downtown Farmers' Market as he has done nearly every Saturday this summer, answering production questions and providing marketing recommendations to small acreage farmers selling there. Campbell promoted a coming Energy Fair to be hosted by the City of Elizabeth City at the Knobbs Creek Recreation Center on Friday, Oct 17 from 9 AM - 4 PM and Saturday, Oct 18 from 9 AM - 2 PM. Admission for families and individuals is free. Vendors of solar, wind, lighting, insulation, and other green building technologies will operate booths. Pasquotank County Center of NC Cooperative Extension will have a booth. The Downtown Waterfront Market will finish operation for 2008 on Saturday, October 25.

The Pasquotank County Farmers' Market will continue operation until Christmas Eve Day 2008. The annual holiday pie sale by Newbegun United Methodist Church will occur from 8 AM to 1 PM the two days prior to Thanksgiving at the Pasquotank County Farmers' Market. Hundreds of pies are sold through the market at this annual event with proceeds going to various charitable purposes. It was first begun to support a farm family who had suffered a truck accident while delivering produce to Raleigh-Durham area markets around 1990. All victims of the accident eventually recovered and still farm today.

Campbell conducted a pesticide application equipment calibration workshop for 26 licensed pesticide applicators outside the Extension Center Auditorium. Participants experienced methods of calibration of spinner spreaders for granule application and backpack sprayers for liquid applications.

Campbell consulted with one cabbage farmer about spray applications of pesticides and foliar fertilizers being made to his crop. The county fall cabbage crop is progressing well and will begin being harvested around the usual time near Nov. 1.

Four new Extension Master Gardener Volunteers were inducted into the Pasquotank County Chapter Wednesday, Oct 8 at a pinning ceremony attended by 24 people. Mason Lawrence, Pasquotank County 4-H Agent, addressed the group about county youth education activities in horticulture where Extension Master Gardener Volunteers may earn service hours.

Nine new trainees attended their second and third classes this week for Extension Master Gardener Volunteer induction in 2009. They've attended classes in lawns, shrubs, and fruit production so far.

Numerous calls were answered about homeowner concerns such as fire ants, snakes, moles, lawn and pasture renewal, fall vegetable gardens, soil sample report interpretation, azalea lace bugs, Lantana selection, houseplants, specialty fertilizers, symptoms on trees and shrubs, and control of potentially poisonous mushrooms in livestock pastures.

Through the Albemarle Commission Agency Office on Aging, three seminars on Fire Ant Insect Management were arranged across the Northeast in the coming month, all for personnel of Nursing Homes. Because patients in such facilities have died or suffered injuries in other states long infested by fire ants, nursing home staff will be alerted to the dangers of this new pest which is more densely invading North Carolina. These seminars will be from 10:30 AM to 1 PM, October 29 at the Currituck Center in Barco, November 5 at the Chowan Center in Edenton, and November 12 at the Vernon James Center near Plymouth, NC. Each seminar will be by invitation and will be followed by a luncheon courtesy of Albemarle Commission.

An article appeared featuring Campbell Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 in the Virginian Pilot newspaper about Dune Sandspur lawn weeds Campbell discovered growing in abundance along the most busy thoroughfare in Elizabeth City. The NC DOT and the Elizabeth City Streets Department, as well as many property owners and business managers along the infested area were alerted by Campbell in order to attempt to contain the spread of tens of thousands of spiny seeds now present on this route. The article may be read at the following link below. The article has already resulted in one phone call requesting Sandspur mediation recommendations from one area homeowner.

Please, click here to read the article about Sandspur infestation discovered on Ehringhaus Street in Elizabeth City. The infestation lines much of both sides of the street from Jordan Plaza to the former site of the S & R Supermarket.