Night Gardening Course Offered at CACC

This coming Tuesday night, I will be doing something I have never done before.  I will be teaching a home gardening short course in Alexander City on the campus of Central Alabama Community College.  Before everyone goes out into the yard screaming, let me first explain. No, I haven’t received my Ph. D. nor have I been hired away by CACC.    Sorry to disappoint you but I don’t have those kind of credentials.  However, I do know enough about home gardening to be dangerous or scary.   Many of you have always wanted to take a night gardening course so I wanted to give you such an opportunity.  The Alabama Cooperative Extension System has partnered with Central Alabama Community College to offer a community course on home gardening this summer and it all gets started this Tuesday.  Now all that is need is your participation.

This class is for beginner gardeners looking for their green thumb, hobby gardeners wishing to refine their knowledge and skills, and experienced gardeners wanting to broaden their horticulture wisdom.  Everyone is welcome. Topics that will be covered are soils and plant nutrition, lawn care, fruit culture, vegetable gardening, bedding plants, garden bugs and pests, plant diseases and disorders, and care and maintenance of ornamental plants. The class will meet on Tuesdays for 8 weeks; class will not be held on Tuesday, July 4^th. The course fee is $75; no refunds will be given after attending the first class.

The course will be held each Tuesday night beginning June 6, 2006, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at CACC - on the Alexander City campus.    That’s this week!  I will be there to answer all your gardening questions, well, at least most of them.  It will be a lot of fun too.  I look forward to seeing you this Tuesday night.  Come early.  

Dry Lawns

Whoo it is hot and dry!  The lack of rain for many weeks now and the hot temperatures are really hurting lawns.  Everywhere I look, I see grass that is shriveling and drying up.  Some are even turning brown. Centipedegrass lawns, which are not very drought tolerant, are really suffering.  If we don’t get some rain soon (none at the time of writing this), many lawns won’t make it and will be dead soon.

Lawns are a major investment.  There are even a bigger investment if you have to replace them - $$$. This means that the time has come to drag out the hoses and irrigation sprinklers. In my opinion, a higher water bill each month is much better in the long run.  The last thing you want to go through is the headache and expense of having to replace the lawn.

When dry periods occur, as is common with Alabama summers, one will likely have to supplement water to save the lawn.   Lawns need about 1 inch of water per week.  This may come in the form of rainfall or irrigation.  During droughts, the lawn will benefit by receiving about 1½ inches.  It is best to divide the irrigation time into two ½ inch applications per week. When watering, avoid applying water to the point of runoff. Allow the water to soak deeply into the lawn and soil. If needed, apply less water and allow it to soak in before continuing with the watering process.

Once you have watered the lawn, do not water again until you observe more drought stress symptoms. Never water a lawn every day except during the establishment phase or renovation. Frequent watering only encourages shallow rooting of the turfgrass plants, making the lawn less drought-tolerant. The best time of the day to irrigate or water is early in the morning because it minimizes the potential for water loss through evaporation. In addition, watering in the morning will not create the environmental conditions that promote the occurrence of diseases.   

Master Gardener Helpline

I am happy to announce that this area is now being served by a Master Gardener Helpline.  The Central Alabama Master Gardener Helpline is currently being operated by certified and intern master gardeners from Montgomery, Elmore, and Autauga counties.  They are available three days a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday - to answer your questions about gardening, help you solve your yard and gardening related problems, and provide you with research based information.  How do you get in tough with them?  Call the helpline at 1-888-319-8130. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and just during those three days. 

Feel free to give our Master Gardeners a call if you need assistance.  They are doing a great job and are quite capable to helping you. But if you would rather talk to me, I will still take your calls.

For more information, contact the Tallapoosa County Extension Office at 256-825-1050 or visit us online at www.aces.edu.