Hi guys!........got this e-mail this morning from the extension office and thought you might be interested!
Spring is right around the corner and that means it is time to plant our gardens. The Henderson County Master Gardeners will be presenting educational session on various aspect of gardening as part of the annual Keep Athens Beautiful Home and Garden Show.
Both events will be held on February 22, at the Cain Center located at 915 South Palestine Street in Athens and are free. The Multipurpose room will be transformed into a marketplace for those looking to remodel or decorate their homes or landscape there yards.
Henderson County Master Gardeners Bob Erickson and Margaret Rands will present two class sessions on soil preparation and composting. The first class will be at 9am and the second class will be at 1pm. Barbara Gosnell a local Athens gardener will present a class at noon on what can be planted right now and will also offer advice on how to plan the planting season to keep your table full throughout the growing season.
Dave Whitinger, the founder of two popular garden website “All Things Plants” and “Dave’s Gardens” will the Keynote speaker in the morning starting at 10 am with his workshop focusing on ways to add food crops to the landscape. Dave will also host a question and answer session following his workshop.
Dave Whitinger and his family keep a homestead near Jacksonville, Texas, where they raise all kinds of food crops as well as cows, chickens and other domestic animals. In addition to being a member of the Cherokee County Master Gardeners, Whitinger’s passion, as a software programmer, is to bring gardeners together online. He frequently lectures about gardening, permaculture and other gardening innovations to gardening groups throughout Texas.
The master gardeners will have free handouts on vegetable gardening including recommended varieties, planting dates and soil test kits during the event. Additional master gardeners will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.to offer advice and answer individual questions.
The Henderson County Master Gardeners are hosting their Annual Spring Conference on Thursday, March 27, at the Cain Center. The conference includes dinner and featured speaker, Dr. Steve George, from the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas. His topic will be “From Roses to Vegetables to Shade Trees: Creating a truly Earth-Kind Landscape.” You will be able to pick up ticket to that event on the 22nd.
For more information on how to be a part of the Keep Athens Beautiful Home and Garden Show please call 903-675-7961. For more information on the HCMG event call 903-675-6130.
FYI: Home and Garden in Athens/Dave-Keynote Speaker
