26th Season Premieres Saturday, April 4, at Noon, Only on UNC-TV!
ALMANAC GARDENER RETURNS WITH BUSHELS OF MONEY-SAVING TIPS
AND TIMELY ADVICE FOR GROWING YOUR GARDEN GREEN

Get up and ready to grow as Almanac Gardener—North Carolina’s only statewide home horticultural series—returns for a historic 26th  season, beginning Saturday, April 4, at noon, only on UNC-TV. Encore presentations of each episode air Sundays at 11:30 AM.

Over the course of 20 weeks, each half-hour episode of this Almanac Gardener season plants fertile ideas for keeping even the smallest gardens green with segments featuring the latest local gardening tips, techniques and insights.  Specifically this season, amid the stressful economy, the long-running series focuses on saving your money with informative segments highlighting home vegetable planting and preparing fresh vegetables right from the garden.

As the face of North Carolina’s popular perennial gardening program, long-time series host Mike Gray returns to share the best-kept secrets of master gardeners and horticultural experts from around the state. Whether he’s cultivating a window box of flowers, a backyard patch of vegetables, or an acre full of healthy grasses, Gray is a gardening guru who takes the toughest viewer questions and always provides insightful ideas and instruction—from seed to fruition.

In every episode, experts from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service at North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences join Gray’s green thumb to assist viewers in exploring the dynamics of garden planning, maintenance and blooming innovation. Regular Almanac Gardener Extension panelists include:

• Karen Neill, Horticultural Agent, Guilford County;
• Linda Blue, Horticultural Agent, Buncombe County;
• Bill Lord, Environmental Agent, Franklin County;
• Lucy Bradley, Urban Horticultural Specialist, NCSU;
• Stephen Greer, Horticultural Agent, Forsyth County;
• Charlotte Glenn, Horticultural Agent, Pender County; and
• Amy Lynn Albertson, Horticultural Agent, Davidson County.              

Almanac Gardener Extension experts appear in a multitude of locales across the state, cultivating specific techniques that are indigenous to North Carolina’s ever-changing climate. Whether you’re concerned with protecting fruits and vegetables from late frosts in the North Carolina mountains, learning lawn care tips in the Triangle, or uncovering the latest in coastal composting, from April to August 2009, Almanac Gardener travels from the state’s western hills to its eastern shores to help you reap the rewards of a well-sown spot in your own backyard.

Episodes in April 2009 include the following topics:

• Saturday, April 4, at noon:
  Using Plastic Tunnels to Prevent Frost Damage/Hiring a Tree Care Professional
• Saturday, April 11, at noon:
  Growing Spring Lettuce/Cooking Greens
• Saturday, April 18, at noon:
  Xeriscaping, Drought Tolerant Landscaping/Growing Asparagus
• Saturday, April 25, at noon:
  Growing Hostas/Capturing Water for Your Landscape Using Cisterns/Rain Barrels

Throughout the season, Almanac Gardener also focuses on other timely topics facing both urban and rural gardeners.  Features this season include Starting a Spring Garden, Growing Spring Lettuce, Growing Broccoli, Growing Cabbage, Asheville Farmers Tailgate Market, Preparing Greens, Preparing Cabbage, Preparing Turnips, Preparing Collards, Preparing Sweet Potatoes, Water Independence/Going Off the Grid, Building Planting Beds to Conserve Water, Drought Tolerant Plants, Xeriscaping, Gardening for Exercise,  Reducing Stress by Using the Right Gardening Tools, Taming a Swarm of Bees, and much more!

For more information about Almanac Gardener, please visit our website www.unctv.org/gardener.

UNC-TV is North Carolina’s member supported, 11-station statewide television network committed to using telecommunications wisely and imaginatively to inform, educate, and enrich all North Carolinians.