Master Gardener Training - Urban Trees

These workshops are offered in four locations around the state.

Classes will review the basics and explain how trees are different from other plants; explain how city environments differ from wild forests; discuss monitoring trees for a city’ s benefit; introduce you to tree professionals and projects in your area; and lots more. Each workshop session will be two days in order to cover all the materials.

We've designed this program to get you involved with volunteer efforts specific to urban trees. Expect to develop networks with other volunteers, area professionals and organizations working to improve and help our urban forests.
Sessions are planned for:
Anniston - July 19 – 20, County Extension Office, 9:30
Belle Mina – June 22 – 23, Tennessee Valley Research Center, 9:30
Fairhope – Sept 22 – 23, Gulf Coast Research Center, 9:30
Montgomery – July 6 – 7, Alabama Dept of Ag & Industries, 9:30

Registration fee will cover lunches and training materials. See registration forms below. Make as many copies as you need to share. For additional information please contact Kerry Smith at: 334-844-3036 or e-mail: smithkp@auburn.edu.

We hope you can make one of these training workshops.

Registration form

Name: ____________________________ Address: ________________________________

Phone: _________________ County or MG Association: _________________________

For which date & location are you registering?
Date _____________

Location ______________________

If possible, briefly describe a volunteer project you are already involved with, or plan to be involved with which relates to this subject.

Mail completed form and $35 check to: Kerry Smith, 101 Funchess Hall, Auburn University AL 36849. Make check payable to Auburn University, Dept of Horticulture.

Registration form

Name: ____________________________ Address: ________________________________

Phone: _________________ County or MG Association: _________________________

For which date & location are you registering?
Date _____________

Location ______________________

If possible, briefly describe a volunteer project you are already involved with, or plan to be involved with which relates to this subject.

Mail completed form and $35 check to: Kerry Smith, 101 Funchess Hall, Auburn University AL 36849. Make check payable to Auburn University, Dept of Horticulture.

Vegetable Gardening – Tips for Success

Joyce Simendinger, Tuscaloosa County Agent Assistant

What is more satisfying than plucking a red-ripe juicy tomato from home grown vines or snapping and cooking your own green beans to add to a steak supper? Now that Jack Frost has left the area, we can begin to plant these and the other tender vegetables that we love to grow in our home gardens. With a few gardening tips, a successful vegetable garden can be accomplished by following the acronym — GARDENING...like this

G = Ground site selection
Sunlight and Soil — Your first concerns. Determine how many hours of sunlight your garden location receives. Eight hours or more is best. Then determine the nutrient quality of your soil by taking a soil sample. This tells soil pH, the regulator of nutrient availability. If the pH is not correct for your plants, the nutrients can't be taken up through the roots.

A = Amendments
Organic Materials such as compost, humus (leaf decay), ground pine bark, and composted manure offer several advantages for the soil. They improve soil structure, loosen heavy soils or compaction, allow water to flow and drain well, add air space and feed the soil. Till, or dig it in, to an eight inch depth.

R = Raised rows or beds
Raised rows/beds promote deep roots and good drainage and are easier to weed and work in if you construct them to arm’s length. They can even be attractive. The rows should run north to south.

D = Drip line irrigation
Drip lines give you control of irrigation, lessen the dependency on rainfall, direct the water to the roots, help seeds germinate quicker, prevent disease from forming on the leaves, and give you time to do something else besides watering.

E = Environmental control of weeds with weed block / row covers
These prevent weed seed germination and vegetative growth. They keep the soil warm and the plants cool and lean, and help retain moisture. Use weed block also to prevent insects and diseases from moving to your plants.

N= Nutrition as in N-P-K
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are all important elements needed for healthy plant growth. On fertilizer bags N-P-K percentages are listed as three numbers. Most vegetables grow nicely with a complete fertilizer such as a 10-10-10, 13-13-13, or 15-15-15 applied once a month. If you know your soil has high phosphorus content (from soil test results), then use a fertilizer without phosphorus, such as a 15-0-15.

I = Insects
To control aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, and spittle bugs, use a homemade control remedy of soapy (dish soap) water spray or commercial insecticide soap sprays. For caterpillars use a biological control called Dipel. For flying, creeping, crawling, chewing, and hopping insects, the chemical control Sevin is still available.

N = Nuisance disease pest management
Sanitation! Sanitation! Sanitation! Rotation! Rotation! Rotation! These are the two best cultural practices to prevent plant diseases! Keep the garden area clean! Remove dead, diseased, damaged plant parts, and keep the area weed free. If your plants become diseased, there are commercial vegetable fungicide sprays available. Know the disease identity so you can purchase the proper control.
Crop rotation means that for at least three years you don’t plant plants of related family groups into the same spot they were last planted. For instance, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and Irish potatoes are in the same family group. Therefore, for three years, none of these plants should follow in the same spot that any of them were last planted.

G= Gather your vegetables when ripe and enjoy!
Following these few tips, you should have a very successful gardening. Great Gardening to you.

Brown Patch

David Koon & Amy Winstead

Brown patch is the most damaging disease of warm season turf grasses in Alabama. St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass, and centipedegrass are most susceptible to this disease; common and hybrid bermudagrasses are rarely damaged.

Excessive nitrogen fertility levels and thatch often lead to outbreaks of brown patch. The disease usually develops on lawns during periods of wet, overcast weather in late spring or fall. Damage is often heaviest after several days of showers with day temperatures of 60° to 80°F and heavy cloud cover.

Brown patch first appears in lawns as small, circular, brown areas several inches in diameter, which quickly increases to 3 to 6 feet. These areas often grow together, forming irregular patches of brown, blighted turf up to 20 feet in diameter.

Nitrogen fertility has a significant impact on brown patch development. High nitrogen levels promote the growth of soft, succulent leaves that are susceptible to attack by the brown patch fungus. To help prevent disease outbreaks, apply a low rate of a nitrogen fertilizer at 4- to 8-week intervals through the growing season, or use a slow-release nitrogen source to maintain an even growth rate.

Outbreaks of brown patch are usually too sporadic, especially on home lawns, to justify a preventive fungicide spray program. Limit preventive treatments to portions of those lawns that have previously been damaged by this disease.

Make applications only when weather conditions favor the spread of disease. The time interval between applications varies between 10 and 21 days, depending on the fungicide used. On most home lawns, a fungicide spray program should begin as soon as symptoms appear and continue until the turf starts to recover or until weather conditions no longer favor the spread of disease. For best results, apply fungicides at 5- to 7-day intervals to the diseased area and to a 1- to 2 foot border.

For more information on brown patch or a list of fungicides labeled for use on home lawns, contact the local Alabama Cooperative Extension System Office in your county.