Master Gardener..........

Tony M · Joined: 31 Mar 2003 Posts: 1084 Location: McKinney,TEXAS

Dr Rector spoke at one of our Master Naturalist classes about native grass identification. I've had several conversations with him since the class, most concerning water rights in Texas.
Tony M

LovetoLearn · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 123 Location: Clute,TEXAS

Dr. John Panzarella spoke at our class today. He is a whiz on citrus and has many, many breeds to his name. Check out his website. (I want to take his grafting classes sooooooooooo bad but, unfortunetly I have previous engagements on those days)

http://johnpanza.googlepages.com/home

He lives in same town I do, or really we live in different towns but they are both attached together so it makes no difference. :wink:

Nadine · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 1162 Location: Carrollton,TEXAS

LovetoLearn wrote: Oh, one more thing that I forgot to mention is that I mentioned to them that I would follow their rules to be a Master Gardener here but that when I can, I stay totally organic. Many people thought that was very interesting and approached me afterwards to know what I really meant.

One of the first things that people asked me was where to start and the first thing that I tried to tell them is the basic idea of not tending the plants but the soil instead. Of course, the MG's will want me to recommend some plant feeding things but I tried to show those, who were interested, that basically tending the soil applies towards everything from feeding the plants to basic health such as being strong towards insects and such.

There were so many things that I was leary about but will have to get used to for the program such as tonning in chemicals when transferring a plant from a pot to the ground. (yuck)
We will have to see how that goes. :D

This is fantastic! Way to go! Spread the good news! Organic shows are great to go to and see what all is going on and for meeting people who are like-minded. On the other hand, there are other opportunities for us to go and tell people who may not be aware of organics or that never had anyone they could conveniently speak with about the concepts. I (and other members of the Denton Organic Society) was a part of a Master Gardener Information Festival last year. We believe our presence there really made an impression on some folks and shed a new light on things for those who came by our booth for a chat. We had a really cool model that demonstrates how fertilizers and other bad things get into the water table and how it can be prevented. Nancy Tam of the Upper Trinity Water District Headquarters invited us to be a part and I am very glad that she did! It is good to have a presence in places where most people are of the conventional mind set. If you are gracious and approach it in the right way, you can really make a difference!

LovetoLearn · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 123 Location: Clute,TEXAS

Well, I attended another MG class yesterday (I had missed a few in recent weeks for various reasons).
The lady that taught was a Dr. of Landscape Design. She was very interesting but she said one thing that I could not help myself responding to.

About half of the way through her lecture she said "if you don't like some weeds somewhere that you don't want them, just spray Roundup on them and move on for a while"! I did not realize it until after I had said it but I had said "Nope" to myself and most people heard it (although I did not mean for them to). Most of the class heard me ( ALL knew that I would never use that stuff as a part of my regimen). She was a little confused but moved on.

I did not really want to interupt the class or anything but that really got to me.

Other than that, it was a fun and interesting class. I am definitely not a design oriented person but I am sure I can learn.

LovetoLearn · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 123 Location: Clute,TEXAS

Well, the class has been over for about 2 weeks now. I am currently working off my hours to be able to aquire my official certificate/diploma. 60 hours of "service" are needed with the term "service" being pretty broad.

We can attend meetings, get travel time, work at our educational station, teach seminars, man the phones on Sunday mornings, etc., etc. So far, I have elected to learn from the more experienced, elder, long time members. It is very interesting and many have little techniques that they invented by themselves and some even have some types of plants to their name. People such as John Panzarello (or something like that) does a tremeeendous amount of work and time with citrus, from grafting, splicing and all sorts of techniques.

Most things are organic and have only heard a very select few mention things such as Roundup and Malathion.

I, in 2 weeks, already have 1/3 of my hours in and will probably have 500 hours by the end of the year. :wink: I am supposed to receive my "graduation" diploma next February or March or so. I am looking forward to it.

LovetoLearn · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 123 Location: Clute,TEXAS

I have been at the horticulture station, for our county, just about every Friday and Saturday since the class ended.

We had a pretty big sale last week and it surprised me how many people came out to buy things from us. It is a good sign.

I have been informed and invited, by several members, to join the Brazoria County Master Naturalist program also. They say that they have noticed my energy with the Master Gardeners and suggest that I would be good at the Naturalist program also. The only problem is that it is the pesky problem of transportation, as I am epileptic. But, if I can find a ride then I hope to be a Master Naturalist by the end of the year. The class starts in September.

Lots of learning!

Nadine · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 1162 Location: Carrollton,TEXAS

For an informative, enlightening and entertaining read, pick up a copy of "Weeds - Control Without Poisons" by Charles Walters.