Agriculture & Natural Resources

Welcome

Berkeley County is home to many small farms producing diverse commodities from fruit to honey, grain to meat, and dairy to poultry. Diverse farming operations offer diverse habitats of fields and hedgerows, orchards and woodlands for area wildlife to live, forage and rear young. Whether you are a back yard gardener, an orchardist, or a farmer, our focus is to be your local connection to up-to-date agricultural information. Scroll to bottom of page for links to external agriculture organizations and agencies in the local area.

Lawn, Gardening & Pests

This Month in the Garden Calendar

Soil Health: the Foundation of a Healthy Garden

The foundation to a healthy garden starts underground – in the soil. Soil is a living natural resource, one that requires care to keep plants healthy and thriving. Soil health is measured by a few indicators, all of which work together to create a flourishing garden. 

The first measure of soil health is pH, which indicates the acidity of a soil. A soil’s pH is naturally occurring, yet it can be increased by adding lime or decreased with sulfur. Most gardens thrive at a pH between 6.0 to 6.8, because at this level other key elements are made available for plants to uptake in the right doses.  

More from the Garden Calendar

Eastern Panhandle News

Martinsburg Gardening Workshop March 22

Join the Berkeley-Jefferson WVU Extension Master Gardener Association for a morning of gardening workshops to kick off the 2024 growing season. This year, the program will include nine sessions to choose from, with topics geared towards beginner gardeners, intermediate gardeners, and advanced gardeners. 

Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025

Time: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., doors open at 8:30 a.m.

Read about Martinsburg Gardening Workshop March 22

Beef Quality Assurance

The Eastern Panhandle will host a Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) training on Wednesday, February 14 from from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Location for the program will be:

WVU Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research, Education, and Outreach Center
67 Apple Harvest Lane
Kearneysville, WV 25430

Read about Beef Quality Assurance

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