Summer is almost too hot to garden. If you want to get out of the heat and need something to satisfy your gardening craving, attend a “Grow Your Own” class through University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE). The summer session is going on now on Mondays through August 27 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 2621 Northgate, #15 or 1329 Waterloo Lane in Gardnerville. The classes are free. Call 887-2252 to register for Carson City or 782-9960 for Douglas County.
On July 23, hear UNCE horticulturist Wendy Hanson Mazet discuss “Eating on the Cheap – How Much to Grow to Feed Your Family.” Wendy has been teaching people how to grow veggies successfully for over ten years. Then, on July 30, Wendy will talk about “Insect and Critter Control – Companion Planting and Other Techniques.” Since she is a UNCE expert on diagnosing plant problems as well as a homeowner managing her own critter issues, she has a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to share.
August 6, Angela O’Callaghan, UNCE Social Horticulture Specialist, will share the secrets of “Composting in Small Places.” She will teach you how to easily create garden gold at home that will make your plants thrive. Learn why feeding the soil rather than the plant will give you the best gardening success.
There is a unique presentation by Randy Emm, UNCE’s hoop house specialist, on August 13. Randy shows how to grow an underground garden in his “Walipini Greenhouse” lecture. The Walipini, “place of warmth,” is a pit greenhouse and uses natures’ resources to provide a warm growing environment all year. The Walipini is six to eight feet underground capturing and storing daytime solar radiation. Find out if the Walipini is the answer to your year-round garden dreams.
August 20, discover “Aquaponics – Gardening with Fish and Plants Together.” State Horticulture Specialist Heidi Kratsch will explain how to develop a sustainable food production system that combines aquaculture (raising fish, snails or prawns) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water). These systems recirculate and reuse only two percent of the water of a typical irrigated farm.
The final class, August 27, is “GMO Seeds and Crops – the Science and Science Fiction.” GMO stands for genetically modified organism. What is it the truth behind adding new genetic material into an organism’s genome? Heidi Kratsch will talk about how GMOs are used in crop production, discussing the pros and cons.
