Upcoming Gardening Events: February 2026

On By durhammastergardenersIn Uncategorized

Learn with Us

A collage featuring a tomato plant with ripe tomatoes, a historic black-and-white image of a woman engaged in gardening, and vibrant yellow flowers, with the text 'Hattie Meadows Gardening School' prominently displayed.
  • Hattie Meadows Gardening School: In honor of beloved Durham gardener Hattie Meadows, the community is invited to take part in the new Hattie Meadows Gardening School at the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library. This free community learning series is a partnership between Durham Cooperative Extension, Durham County Library, and Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Monthly classes will feature local teachers and gardening experts sharing practical knowledge on a wide range of gardening topics. It is perfect for beginners and experienced gardeners alike. Classes are free but registration is required.

Fresh flowers from the garden. (Image credit: Marcia Kirinus)

  • Durham Garden Forum
    • Cut Flowers: From the first seed to the final bouquet. Feb 17, 7:00-8:30
      • With Marcia Kirinus, Owner of Durham Flower Farm, Learn how to prepare a flower bed, sow seeds at the proper time of year and reap blossoms for your vase all season long. This is a zoom event. For more information contact: durhamgardenforum@gmail.com

Learn with our Community Friends

A variety of plant cuttings and foliage arranged on a surface, showcasing different shapes and textures.
Two individuals working in a greenhouse, tending to plant trays filled with soil and seedlings.
A garden archway covered in pink flowers, with a wooden bench underneath, surrounded by lush greenery.

(Image credit: JC Raulston Arboretum)

  • North Carolina Botanical Garden
    • Darwin Day Lecture 2026; Thursday, February 12, 20267:00 PM-8:00 PM
      • ‘Damned beastly devilment:’ Charles Darwin’s dalliance with vertebrate fossils during the voyage of the Beagle;
        • with Paul Brinkman, Environmental Humanities Research Lab Head and Curator of Special Collections, NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Moderated by Damon Waitt, NCBG Director. Click here for more info and to register.
  • JC Raulston Arboretum
    • Propagation Workshop; Beginner Hardwood Cuttings.
    • Friday, February 6, 2026 – 1:30 pm–4:30 pm
    • Propagation Workshop; Advanced Hardwood Cuttings.
    • Saturday, February 7, 2026 – 8:30 am–12:30 pm
      • With Tim Alderton, Research Technician. This workshop is for more experienced gardeners with propagation experience and participants of past propagation workshops. Click here for more info and to register.
    • Winter Symposium and Rare & Unusual Plant Auction; Gardening with Gusto.
    • Saturday, February 21, 2026 – 9:00 am–12:30 pm
      • With Anne Spafford and Dan Benarcik. This symposium is for anyone who loves plants and gardening—whether you’re just starting out or have spent years nurturing your landscape. Through a series of engaging presentations from passionate horticulturists, you’ll be reminded why gardening captures our hearts and how it continues to connect us to nature, our communities, and each other. Click here for more info and to register.
    • Early Spring Pruning Workshop;
    • Saturday, February 28, 2026 – 10:00 am–2:30 pm
      • Join Bryce Lane for this hands-on workshop where you’ll learn how to make every cut count—transforming pruning from a chore you dread into a confident, creative act that sets your garden up for success. Click here for more info and to register.
  • Sarah P. Duke Gardens
    • The Earthen Door: Recreating Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium.
    • February 6, 202612:00 pm – 1:00 pm
      •  Join artists Leah Sobsey and Amanda Marchand for a virtual presentation on anthotype, an early plant-based photographic process. This collaborative project—at the intersection of art, science, and literature—draws inspiration from Emily Dickinson’s flower sampler. Click here for more info and to register.
    • Salamander Studies in Duke Forest:
    • February 17, 20262:00 pm – 4:00 pm
    • February 21, 20269:30 am – 11:30 am
      • Join Dr. Ron Grunwald, Duke Department of Biology, to look for these “cool” amphibians in Duke Forest, where you might see woodland red-back salamanders in the woods and two-lined and dusky salamanders in the stream. Learn about ongoing salamander studies and the habitats different salamander species rely on for their life cycles. Be prepared for a walk on the forest floor and to dip your toes in a rocky creek. Click here for more info and to register.
    • Japanese Tea Gathering: First Breath of Spring
    • February 27, 202611:45 am – 1:15 pm
    • February 28, 202611:45 am – 1:15 pm
    • February 28, 20261:45 pm – 3:15 pm
      • With tea master Chizuko Sueyoshi and members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a Japanese tea gathering in the Urasenke tradition. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection.  Guests will be escorted on a 15-minute walk to the teahouse, where seating is on the floor unless a chair is requested upon registration. Click here for more info and to register.  
A decorative graphic featuring the text 'Winter Sowing Workshop' overlaid on a floral background with various blooming flowers and green leaves.
  • Durham County Public Library
  • Winter Sowing Workshop
  • Saturday, January 31, 2026, 2:00pm – 3:00pm
    • Sow native seeds in milk jugs this winter and have hardy seedlings to transplant this spring.  The Durham County Master Gardener program and the New Hope Bird Alliance will be offering a hands-on workshop to  learn about winter sowing. All supplies will be provided, including a selection of native seeds. However, you are welcome to bring native seeds you have saved or purchased for sowing. Non-native seeds usually grow best if you wait until after the last frost date to plant them. 
    • Click here for more info and to register.

Edited by Marcia Kirinus, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

Article Short Link: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-6U8

2025 Tomato Project Results:  Survival of the Fittest

On By durhammastergardenersIn Uncategorized

By Eric Wiebe and Kathryn Hamilton, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteers of Durham County

All images credited to Kathryn Hamilton

The Tomato Project

The 2025 Tomato Project is the latest in a series of tomato trials begun by Durham County Extension Master Gardeners in 2020. Over the years, the team has trialed tomatoes for various attributes, including disease resistance, longevity, and taste. Last year, the team participated in a larger statewide trial but returned to a local format this year.

It took a hard frost to bring this year’s tomato project to a close, but on November 8, 2025, we harvested our final tomatoes just before overnight temperatures dropped below freezing on November 10.

After participating in last year’s statewide program, Dr. Dillip Panthee, Associate Professor at NC State, and head of the university’s Fresh Market Breeding Program, invited us to trial three new varieties from the Fresh Market Breeding Program, along with two repeats from 2024: Mountain Regina and Mountain Girl. We compared these disease-resistant hybrids with three widely available “hybrid plus” 1 varieties that have similar resistance

Due to germination challenges, we were able to grow only three NC State varieties: Mountain Defender, Mountain Flush, and Mountain Regina. These were grown alongside our comparison hybrids: Lemon Boy Plus, Better Boy Plus, and Celebrity Plus.
We also included a favorite heirloom, Carbon, as a control. Carbon is an award-winning tomato renowned for its complex flavor. It also lacks the disease resistance of the other tomatoes.

Volunteers planting tomatoes in raised garden beds at Briggs Gardens, surrounded by trees.

Master GardenerSM Volunteers plant the project tomatoes in prepared beds at Briggs Gardens on May 9. 2025

The Process:

  • On May 9 each of four beds was prepared with new soil and planted with seven plants from starts, resulting in four plants per variety.  
  • Plant placement was randomized within the bed; each bed received approximately the same amount of light. 
  • We grew the tomatoes “blind,” without knowing which variety we were charting.
  • At planting, roots were dipped in copper sulfate and planted with a scoop of Tomato-Tone® fertilizer.
  • The next week, to address transplant shock, they received an application of Fox Farm Grow Big liquid fertilizer and water. 
  • They were fertilized every four weeks with Tomato-Tone®. 
  • To curtail both disease and insect depredation, leaves touching the ground were pruned off during the first six weeks.
  • The plants were suckered throughout the season.
  • The plants also benefited from a monitored drip irrigation system.

The early season was cold and wet. Mid-May brought four inches of rain in two days, and on May 24, the temperature dipped to 48 degrees. In contrast to last year, in which there were also several cold days, none of the varieties developed characteristic “cat facing.”  Despite having a few brown spots, the tomatoes were observed to “have new growth and look healthy.”   

By June 10, some plants were so heavy with fruit that we had to tie up their limbs to keep the tomatoes off the ground. Two plants: A1 and A3, didn’t grow as vigorously and “failed to thrive,” but even these stubborn plants – a Lemon Boy Plus and a Better Boy Plus – eventually managed to produce fruit.

By early July we were back to very rainy conditions. As would be expected in these hot and humid conditions, all plants were affected with one or more of the usual disease suspects: Cercospora and septoria leaf spot, and one potential case of early blight. However, we were not able to identify any incidents of diseases the varieties were primarily bred to resist: Tomato Mosaic Virus, Spotted Wilt Virus, Fusarium Wilt or Root Knot Nematode.

A tomato plant with healthy green foliage and some yellowing lower leaves, supported by stakes in a garden setting.
Close-up of a root system from a tomato plant, showing a mix of thick and thin roots against a wooden surface.

Left: A healthy, flowering Mountain Regina with a few yellowing lower leaves. Right: Ultimately, no evidence of root rot nematodes.

Tomatoes were harvested, counted and weighed two to three times a week.  They were picked at the “breaker” stage, when approximately 10% of the tomato shows a pink, red, or yellow blush.   At this point, the tomato is physiologically mature and will ripen off the vine.  Highest production fell between the middle of July and the middle of August.

A tomato plant with green and ripening tomatoes, showing signs of wilting and browning leaves, supported by a green trellis in a garden.
A cardboard box containing several ripe tomatoes, showing various shades of orange and yellow.

Left: Not part of the project but still interesting, the San Marzano tomatoes (planted in nearby beds) quickly succumbed to wilt with all the rain we had early in 2025. Right: To preserve the fruit, tomatoes were picked at the “breaker” stage.

So How Did The Different Tomato Varieties Compare? 

VarietyTotal Number of FruitsTotal Weight (lbs)Average Fruit Weight (oz)First FruitLast FruitDays Between First and Last Fruit
Lemon Boy Plus16640.133.97/110/9100
Mountain Defender8038.877.767/710/25110
Better Boy Plus11344.576.597/711/8124
Mountain Flush8939.077.097/511/8126
Celebrity Plus9736.746.287/111/8130
Mountain Regina10444.346.87/18/1646
Carbon9148.78.577/19/667
A wilting tomato plant with green and yellow tomatoes hanging from dried and curling vines, set in a garden with other plants and structures in the background.
A dying tomato plant with dried leaves and green, unripe tomatoes in a garden bed.
A close-up of green tomatoes on a withered vine, supported by a stake, with visible ties and some dead foliage in a garden setting.

Left to Right: Celebrity Plus, Mountain Flush, and Better Boy Plus in the garden on November 8. Even though Celebrity Plus was one of the last plants standing, there were so few tomatoes by midsummer, we couldn’t include it in our taste test.

Conclusion:

For most gardeners, the benchmarks of success are healthy plants that produce plentiful, tasty products. A bonus is a plant that produces over a long season.  With these goals in mind, here’s a snapshot from this year’s trial

  • In earlier tomato trials, the harvest ended mid- to late August. This year, we harvested our last tomato in early November.
  • The last-standing plants were Lemon Boy Plus, Better Boy Plus, Mountain Flush, and Celebrity Plus
  • Mountain Defender largely produced over a shorter period.
  • Celebrity Plus was an uneven producer, producing so few in July that there were not enough tomatoes for our taste test in early August. Nonetheless it came back in late August and was one of the last tomatoes standing.
  • In addition to being the most prolific, Lemon Boy Plus was the most reliable,  rarely skipping a week.
  • Along with Celebrity Plus, Carbon took a mid-summer break.
  • All Mountain Regina plants were pulled by mid-August.
  • Mountain Regina, Mountain Flush and Carbon all had at least one plant pulled in July.
  • The most resilient varieties were Better Boy Plus and Lemon Boy Plus. Both had a plant that failed to thrive early in the season but still managed to produce at least one tomato in October.

The takeaway: for a long, productive season, plant several different varieties, and if you have the space, plant multiple plants of your favorites.  Of course, this analysis has not taken “taste” into consideration. The results of our taste test are coming in the next installment of the “Tomato Project” blog.

Note:  Although we were gifted seeds from the NCSU Fresh Market Breeding Program, most are not yet available to consumers. Several varieties, all bearing the name “Mountain” can be found from different seed houses.

With gratitude to this year’s tomato team led by Dr. Ashley Troth.  Members included: Caryl Cid; Carol Feldman, Kathryn Hamilton, Vicki Houck, Jeff Kantor, Debe Parks, and Eric Wiebe.

 Notes:

  1. ‘Hybrid plus’ is not a scientific classification. It appears to be a marketing label used by seed companies to describe hybrids with enhanced disease-resistance or other traits.

Additional Resources:

Edited by Marcia Kirinus, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

Article Short Link: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-6Rj