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Home Vegetable Gardening

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Rockwall County Library

The summer of 2011 certainly proved to be difficult for gardeners due to the heat and drought. Don’t let those challenges keep you from planting a home vegetable garden. A team of Rockwall County Master Gardeners will be presenting an 8 hour class series that will emphasize growing in drought conditions and how to plan ahead for high summer temperatures and low water supplies.

2 days of class sessions will take place on Saturdays, January 14 and January 21 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. There will be a “Lunch on Your Own” break between the morning and afternoon sessions. The classes will be held in the meeting room at the Rockwall County Library, 1215 E. Yellowjacket Lane.

The cost for the series will be $50.00 and will cover speakers’ expenses, class materials and handouts. Each participant will also receive a greenhouse kit, packets of vegetable seeds with detailed instructions and potting mix.

The series will provide basic gardening information for beginners wanting to start a home vegetable garden. Updated illustrated lectures and demonstrations with a notebook for handouts will be presented at each session.

Heading the Successful Vegetable Gardening team will be Kim Martin, a commercial vegetable grower and a Master Gardener. Janie Squier, Master Gardener; Billie New, Master Gardener Certified Entomology Specialist; and the Rockwall County Extension Agent, Todd Williams will also serve as speakers during the 2 days of classes.

Topics to be presented during the class series will include Introduction to Home Vegetable Gardening with details on site selection; soil; planting dates and water conservation. Seed Starting 101 provides step by step timely tips on how to germinate and transplant seeds. Plant Pests and Diseases will teach participants what you need to do when things go wrong.

Container Vegetable Gardening explains why pot sizes, proper irrigation, fertilizer and plant selection are all important considerations for success in our hot Texas summers. Drip Irrigation emphasizes water conservation with efficient methods and resources. Fall Vegetable Gardening promotes why this growing season is often the most successful and satisfying for gardeners in Texas. A fall planting schedule and season extension techniques will be discussed.

The final class, Advanced Seed Starting, points out what to grow and when to grow it in Rockwall County. Recommended varieties, a planting calendar and a detailed crop guide with seeds will be provided during this class.

Pre-registration is required for the 2012 Home Vegetable Gardening series. A minimum number of participants must be pre-registered by Wednesday, January 11, 2012. The class will be cancelled and money refunded if not enough participants pre-registered. A copy of the registration form is available at the Rockwall County Extension Office.

The Master Gardener Association of Rockwall County are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens. More importantly they volunteer to share that information with you. They do that in conjunction with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. What really sets Master Gardeners apart from other home gardeners is their special training in horticulture. In exchange for their training, persons who become Master Gardeners contribute time as volunteers, working through their AgriLife Extension office to provide horticultural-related information to their communities.