Georgia Master Gardener Snippets September 30, 2010

COVINGTON AREA: Field of Greens Festival Sunday, October 3, 11am-5pm Sustainable Farming Fair Whippoorwill Hollow Farm in Walnut Grove. Farmer’s market and educational expo, chef cooking demo’s, live music, food tastings and kids activities. $20 at gate or $15 Advance Tickets available at selected Whole Foods Markets. http://www.fieldofgreensfestival.com/pressrelease2_2010.pdf Proceeds benefit Georgia’s organic and sustainable farmers, in partnership with nonprofit Slow Food Atlanta. http://www.fieldofgreensfestival.com/

LAGRANGE: Hills and Dales Estates presents Historic Gardens and Landscapes of the American South: Tuesday, October 5, 6:30 pm Noted author and garden historian James (Jim) R. Cothran will highlight the most historically important gardens from Louisiana to Virginia, including gardens from Charleston, South Carolina. Jim will sign copies of Gardens and Historic Plants of the Antebellum South, Gardens of Historic Charleston and his latest book Charleston Gardens and the Legacy of Loutrel Briggs.

A 6:30 reception will be followed by a lecture and book signing at 7:00 pm. World renowned, award-winning harpist Merry Miller will also be performing during the reception. Admission is FREE but reservations are required. Call 706-882-3242 or e-mail info@hillsanddales.org to register.

Athens: State Botanical Garden of Georgia Perennial Symposium Wednesday, October 13, from 8:45 am – 3:00 pm in the Callaway Building Auditorium. Members $55; non-members $60 (includes lunch buffet). In this information-packed program, perennial experts will discuss a variety of topics from specific plants to maintaining a sustainable landscape to designs that make our gardens our own. Dr. A’s Perennials for Everyone – Allan M. Armitage, Professor of Horticulture, UGA ; Easy Fruits and Berries in the Garden – Steve Brady, Cobb County Extension Agent; “Hot" Plants & New Trends for the Georgia Gardener – Matthew Chappell, Extension Specialist & Assistant Professor Horticulture Department; An Almanac for Garden Management – Mary Attaway, Attaway Gardening, Athens, Georgia; Strategies for Sustainable Gardening – Kevin Kirsche, Director of Sustainability, UGA.. http://www.uga.edu/botgarden/eduregister.html

P.S. SBG will have a plant sale that day and you don’t have to be registered for the Symposium to come shop the sale.

DECATUR: Lasagna Gardening- Layer Your Garden Bed Like you would Layer Lasagna. October 17, 2010, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Oakhurst Community Garden 435 Oakview Rd Decatur. Prepare your fall and 2011 Garden now with a special technique resembling the layers of lasagna. This is not a cooking class. You will learn an innovative gardening practice that requires no digging, no tilling, or removing your grass. It’s true! Join Amy Handler in this hands-on class to learn about a nontraditional method of layering organic matter to create a rich bed ready to plant with greens for the fall and summer veggies next spring. $15 Oakhurst Garden members, $20 non-members Register online at www.oakhurstgarden.org under adult classes, Gardening, Nature, and Urban Farming.

ATLANTA: Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium November 4, 2010 at Zoo Atlanta. Keynote speaker is Dr. Damon Waitt, senior Botanist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin Texas, a Center having an international reputation in plant conservation and environmental sustainability. Other presenters at the day-long symposium will discuss the effects of invasive plants on real estate values, sustainable landscapes practices, environmental impacts of non-herbicidal plant control, and the risk associated with using invasive plants for bio-fuel production. The symposium is open to anyone interested in non-native invasive species management. Individuals involved in the management of forest resources, private and public lands, as well as Green Industry professionals and arborists are encouraged to attend. Continuing education units and pesticide credits will be available at the end of the program to qualified individuals. For a complete agenda, directions, and to register, see http://www.gaeppc.org/2010Meeting/index.html

Early Registration by Oct 29 $30 for GAEPPC members $50 nonmember. Regular registration after 10/29 $40 member/$60 nonmember For additional information or to request a registration form, phone 770-535-1976 or 404-624-5620.

STATEWIDE: Georgia Botanical Society organizes field trips exploring Georgia’s native plants growing in their natural areas. Individual/ Family membership $25 per calendar year. There is also a monthly newsletter and workshops. http://www.gabotsoc.org

Your Southern Garden with Walter Reeves is on the Georgia Public Broadcast TV schedule for Saturday at 12:30 & 6:30 pm. Not sure whether this week’s show will be #20 Propagating Pitcher Plants & Wick Watering, #22 Cane Cuttings & Drying Figs, or neither of these. Guess it will be a surprise!

Virtual State Fair This world is so different- Our kids and grandkids have grown up with the Internet, video games and cell phones and new media rolls out faster than ever. Here’s an interesting concept from eXtension using Virtual worlds to educate through the Virtual State fair. Second Life is a virtual world. To visit Second Life, you must first sign up for a free account at www.secondlife.com, and create your personal avatar. After you have become a resident of Second Life, you will find the main gate of the Virtual State Fair on eXtension's Morrill Island at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Morrill/168/123/28 (Ask somebody under 25… I have a hard time with video games so, no help available here.)