Celebrate Lee County Ag Week 2026! This year’s theme, “Together We Grow,” is a call to action for every resident—whether you have a hundred-acre farm or a small apartment balcony.
In Lee County, we are blessed with a rich agricultural history, but as many home gardeners know, our soil can be a bit of a “blessing” in disguise. From stubborn red clay to sandy patches that won’t hold water, traditional in-ground gardening can be a challenge. That is why this year’s Ag Week focuses on non-soil gardening methods that allow anyone, anywhere, to grow successfully.
OVERCOMING THE”DIRT” DILEMMA
In North Carolina, we have every soil type, and here in Lee County you can either have clay best suited for pottery or sandy soil that is better for growing longleaf pines. “Together We Grow” means ensuring that everyone has the tools to bypass these obstacles. If your backyard feels more like a brickyard or a sandpit, it’s time to look up and out with these three strategies:
• Raised Bed Gardens: Total Control of What Your Plants are Growing In
Raised beds can be the best answer for Lee County gardeners struggling with soil challenges. By building a frame more than 10 inches tall and filling it with a custom soil/compost/media mix, you bypass the native soil entirely.
The benefits are that you have better drainage, fewer weeds (as long as you continue to pull them and don’t let the grass come up into the best), and an earlier warming of the soil in the spring. It can also be a way to make gardening more accessible, when you can’t necessarily bend down to till and manage at the soil level.
• Container Gardening: Gardening on the Go
Don’t have a yard? No problem. Containers are the ultimate “Together We Grow” tool because they can fit on a porch, a patio, or a front step. This can be a great strategy if you are renting or on the move, as well. You can move your “garden” to follow the sun. It’s also the easiest way to manage soil-borne diseases, if this is a challenge for you. Just make sure that the containers you choose to grow in have adequate drainage holes and use a high-quality potting mix, not heavy garden soil. Containers can also limit the type of veggies you can grow, depending on their size.
• Vertical Gardening: The Sky is the Limit
If you are limited by square footage, grow up. Vertical gardening uses trellises, pre-fab towers, and wall-mounted planters to maximize production in a tiny footprint. Growing vertically can help increase airflow, which reduces fungal issues (a major plus in our humid NC summers). Different units have different pros and cons. Make sure you select the right system for what you want to grow, or select the right plants for the system you have.
LEE COUNTY AG WEEK 2026: Schedule of events
There are activities all week long for hands-on demonstrations and workshops from Thursday, April 17, to Saturday, April 25.
• Monday, April 20: Decorative Container Gardening Class at JJ’s Place
• Wednesday, April 22: Container and Raised Bed Gardening Mini Workshops at the NEW Pilgrims Sanford Agricultural Marketplace
• Thursday, April 23: Vertical Gardening Class with Greenstalk System
• Friday, April 24: Native Perennial Pollinator Planter Design Class
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Agriculture is the heartbeat of Lee County, and gardening is the way we bring that heartbeat into our own homes. When we share seeds, tips, and space, we prove that Together We Grow. I challenge you this week to try just one new method. Whether it’s a single pot of herbs or a new vertical trellis, let’s make 2026 our most productive year yet!
RESOURCES
Contact NC Cooperative Extension—Lee County Center Amanda Bratcher is the horticulture agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension—Lee County Center. For more information on Ag Week programs or for help starting your alternative garden, reach out at 919-775-5624 or visit our events page at lee.ces.ncsu.edu/events/.
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