Series of classes offered on North Texas vegetable gardening

(Rockwall) Rockwall County Master Gardeners will present an 8 hour series of  Home Vegetable Gardening classes in January, offering tips for growing in drought conditions and planning ahead for the North Texas heat.

Classes will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan 14 and 21, in the meeting room of the Rockwall County Library, 1215 E. Yellowjacket Lane. Students will be excused for a lunch break in between the morning and afternoon sessions on each day.

The cost for the series is $50 and will cover speakers’ expenses, class materials and handouts. Each participant will also receive a greenhouse kit, packets of vegetable seeds with detailed instructions and potting mix.

The series will provide basic gardening information for beginners wanting to start a home vegetable garden.  Updated illustrated lectures and demonstrations with a notebook for handouts will be presented at each session.

Heading the Successful Vegetable Gardening team will be Kim Martin, a commercial vegetable grower and a Master Gardener.

Janie Squier, Master Gardener; Billie New, Master Gardener Certified Entomology Specialist; and the Rockwall County Extension Agent, Todd Williams, will also be presenting.

Topics covered during the class series will include Introduction to Home Vegetable Gardening, with details on site selection, soil, planting dates and water conservation.

Seed Starting 101 will provide step-by-step, timely tips on how to germinate and transplant seeds.

Plant Pests and Diseases will teach participants what to do when things go wrong.

Container Vegetable Gardening will explain why pot sizes, proper irrigation, fertilizer and plant selection are important considerations for success in hot Texas summers.

Drip Irrigation will emphasize water conservation with efficient methods and resources.

Fall Vegetable Gardening promotes why this growing season is often the most successful and satisfying for gardeners in Texas.  A fall planting schedule and season extension techniques will be discussed.

The final class, Advanced Seed Starting, points out what to grow and when to grow it in Rockwall County. Recommended varieties, a planting calendar and a detailed crop guide with seeds will be provided.

Pre-registration is required for the 2012 Home Vegetable Gardening series. 

A minimum number of participants must be pre-registered by Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012.  Classes will be cancelled and money refunded if not enough participants pre-registered. 

A copy of the registration form is available at the Rockwall County Extension Office.   You can also download it here. 

Source: Rockwall County Master Gardeners

The Master Gardener Association of Rockwall County are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens. More importantly they volunteer to share that information with you. They do that in conjunction with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. What really sets Master Gardeners apart from other home gardeners is their special training in horticulture. In exchange for their training, persons who become Master Gardeners contribute time as volunteers, working through their AgriLife Extension office to provide horticultural-related information to their communities.  

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