News
ENLARGE
Would you like to learn more about vegetable gardening? Do you have vegetable gardening questions you need answered? Do you know what should be planted now and the best way to maximize the production of your vegetable garden?
Why not join me at the Grand Junction Community Garden at the Library Saturday, April 24, between 9 and noon. The Garden is located at the corner of Fifth and Chipeta in Grand Junction. Parking is available on Chipeta Avenue and at the library.
The cost for attending the session, unless you have reserved a plot at the garden, is $5 per person payable at the garden. I'll focus on what vegetables should be planted now, square-foot and conventional gardening (rows and hills of vegetables) and watering methods that conserve water. Techniques for frost protection will be demonstrated and discussed. Join me on Saturday and you will have opportunity to learn more about this new community garden project and how you can become a member.
If you can't make Saturday's session but want to stay up-to-date on vegetable gardening in the Grand Valley, check out my vegetable gardening blog. A blog is a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. That is what I'm going to do on this site blog. You can access my blog by going to westernSlopeGardening.org and clicking on the link to “Swift's Vegetable Gardening Blog.”
On Tuesday, April 27, Colorado Master Gardener Laurie Reiser will conduct a workshop on container gardening at the CSU Extension Office at the Mesa County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to noon. You will learn how to use recycled containers for growing plants, get ideas for building tabletop gardens, find out what will grow in a container, and more.
We have collected a number of tools designed for easier gardening that you can try out to see how they fit your gardening needs. Laurie will demonstrate square foot gardening and the various raised beds we have designed and built for those who use wheel chairs and walkers. If you would like to try your hand at planting some seeds or plants you are welcome to do so. Our container gardening area is ADA compliant and thus fully accessible to those in wheelchairs and walkers. If you would like to attend this session, contact the Mesa County Extension office at 244-1834 to register. A $5 per person registration fee is being charged.
On Thursday, April 29, we will follow Laurie's program with a session titled “Designing a Healing and Contemplative Garden.” This session is designed for nursing home, hospice, hospital and residence home personnel and anyone else who wants to learn how to design a garden that promotes good health. This session will be presented by Rick Spalenka, from RgsDesigns. Rick has over 30 years experience in designing gardens and currently focuses on promoting gardens for good health. Rick is a registered landscape architect and a registered Colorado nurse. As a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects Therapeutic Garden Designer's Professional Practice Network and the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, Rick is very well qualified to teach this session. Rick is also certified as a Therapeutic Garden Designer through the Chicago Botanic Garden. This session will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at C Bldg., at the Mesa County Fairgrounds. A $5 per person registration fee is being charged. Contact the Mesa County Extension office at 244-1834 to register.
If you live where you use domestic water for watering your lawn and garden, it would behoove you to walk your property once you have your sprinklers turned on so you can locate all the problems you most likely have with your system. While we will be conducting a workshop at the First Congregational Church, at Fifth and Kennedy in Grand Junction on Tuesday, May 18, to teach you how to identify and correct these problems. We put together a fact sheet last year titled “Inspecting and Correcting Turf Irrigation System Problems.” This should be a great help to you in figuring out how best to correct these problems. You can find this publication on the Internet at http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/04722.pdf or obtain a copy by calling the Master Gardener desk at our Mesa County office at 244-1836.
Dr. Curtis E. Swift is the area horticulture agent with the CSU Extension. Reach him at Curt.Swift@mesacounty.us. or visit WesternSlopeGardening.org.
Why not join me at the Grand Junction Community Garden at the Library Saturday, April 24, between 9 and noon. The Garden is located at the corner of Fifth and Chipeta in Grand Junction. Parking is available on Chipeta Avenue and at the library.
The cost for attending the session, unless you have reserved a plot at the garden, is $5 per person payable at the garden. I'll focus on what vegetables should be planted now, square-foot and conventional gardening (rows and hills of vegetables) and watering methods that conserve water. Techniques for frost protection will be demonstrated and discussed. Join me on Saturday and you will have opportunity to learn more about this new community garden project and how you can become a member.
If you can't make Saturday's session but want to stay up-to-date on vegetable gardening in the Grand Valley, check out my vegetable gardening blog. A blog is a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. That is what I'm going to do on this site blog. You can access my blog by going to westernSlopeGardening.org and clicking on the link to “Swift's Vegetable Gardening Blog.”
On Tuesday, April 27, Colorado Master Gardener Laurie Reiser will conduct a workshop on container gardening at the CSU Extension Office at the Mesa County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to noon. You will learn how to use recycled containers for growing plants, get ideas for building tabletop gardens, find out what will grow in a container, and more.
We have collected a number of tools designed for easier gardening that you can try out to see how they fit your gardening needs. Laurie will demonstrate square foot gardening and the various raised beds we have designed and built for those who use wheel chairs and walkers. If you would like to try your hand at planting some seeds or plants you are welcome to do so. Our container gardening area is ADA compliant and thus fully accessible to those in wheelchairs and walkers. If you would like to attend this session, contact the Mesa County Extension office at 244-1834 to register. A $5 per person registration fee is being charged.
On Thursday, April 29, we will follow Laurie's program with a session titled “Designing a Healing and Contemplative Garden.” This session is designed for nursing home, hospice, hospital and residence home personnel and anyone else who wants to learn how to design a garden that promotes good health. This session will be presented by Rick Spalenka, from RgsDesigns. Rick has over 30 years experience in designing gardens and currently focuses on promoting gardens for good health. Rick is a registered landscape architect and a registered Colorado nurse. As a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects Therapeutic Garden Designer's Professional Practice Network and the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, Rick is very well qualified to teach this session. Rick is also certified as a Therapeutic Garden Designer through the Chicago Botanic Garden. This session will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at C Bldg., at the Mesa County Fairgrounds. A $5 per person registration fee is being charged. Contact the Mesa County Extension office at 244-1834 to register.
If you live where you use domestic water for watering your lawn and garden, it would behoove you to walk your property once you have your sprinklers turned on so you can locate all the problems you most likely have with your system. While we will be conducting a workshop at the First Congregational Church, at Fifth and Kennedy in Grand Junction on Tuesday, May 18, to teach you how to identify and correct these problems. We put together a fact sheet last year titled “Inspecting and Correcting Turf Irrigation System Problems.” This should be a great help to you in figuring out how best to correct these problems. You can find this publication on the Internet at http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/04722.pdf or obtain a copy by calling the Master Gardener desk at our Mesa County office at 244-1836.
Dr. Curtis E. Swift is the area horticulture agent with the CSU Extension. Reach him at Curt.Swift@mesacounty.us. or visit WesternSlopeGardening.org.
