Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, in partnership with the Chattanooga Public Library, are offering gardening classes for urban settings and other small spaces. The Saturday gardening classes, open to the public, are divided into three programs for container gardening projects.

May 12 – Herbs May 19 – Vegetables May 26 – Spillers, [...]]]> Master Gardeners Present Gardening For Urban Settings

Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, in partnership with the Chattanooga Public Library, are offering gardening classes for urban settings and other small spaces. The Saturday gardening classes, open to the public, are divided into three programs for container gardening projects.

May 12 – Herbs
May 19 – Vegetables
May 26 – Spillers, Fillers and Thrillers (flowers)

All classes will be held on the Downtown Library’s 11th Street plaza at 2:30 p.m.
For more inforamtion, go to Chattanooga Public Library.

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This year on June 2-3 marks the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s 25th Annual Spring Garden Tour. Five gardens will be presented offering ideas on different landscape designs and garden decor.

Four private gardens along with the Montessori World of Children [...]]]> Saturday, June 2 – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 3 – 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

This year on June 2-3 marks the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s 25th Annual Spring Garden Tour. Five gardens will be presented offering ideas on different landscape designs and garden decor.

Four private gardens along with the Montessori World of Children School Garden are on the tour. Also, the CAFB’s Evelyn Davenport Navarre Teaching & Enabling Garden will host educational workshops on vegetable gardening, best gardening practices, conservation, and cooking & preserving classes.

The gardens on the tour are:

• Suzanne & Kin Smith – 549 Bluebird Circle, Chattanooga
• Jim Keown – 8633 Pershing Road, Chattanooga
• Jane Elmore – 901 Oak Street, Chattanooga
• Dona Smith – Laurel Cove Lane, Signal Mountain
• Montessori School Sensory Garden – 301 Montessori Way, Chattanooga
• CAFB Evelyn Davenport Navarre Teaching & Enabling Garden – 2009 Curtain Pole Road, Chattanooga

Tickets are $15 (children under 12 are free) and can be purchased in advance at the Food Bank or at any ot the gardens during the tour. The tour raises funds for the CAFB’s Bill Johnson Community Garden which provides elderly residents of the downtown Gateway community the opportunity to grow their own fresh produce, herbs, and flowers.

For more information, go to Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

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In May we [...]]]> Sunday, May 6 marks the first day for the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County table at this year’s Chattanooga Market. The hours will be from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This year there will be guest experts from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. for a question and answer session on their area of expertise.

In May we welcome the following guests:

• May 6 – Landscape Design – Stephanie Payne, Connie Giles
• May 13 – Soils – Jeff Jarrett, Samantha Pfeiffer
• May 20 – Edible Landscapes – Carol Mathews, Suzanne Ford
• May 27 – Composting – Bud Hines, Marv Thomasson

So mark your calendars, write down your list of questions, and come join us Sundays at the Chattanooga Market!

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Through the Home Landscape Workshop, Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods (TYN) helps homeowners create attractive and healthy yards by working with Tennessee’s environment rather than against it.

TYN will host a Home Landscape Workshop in Chattanooga on April 24th and May 1. The six-hour workshop will meet [...]]]> A “Tennessee Yard Done Right” is beautiful, earth-friendly and saves money.

Through the Home Landscape Workshop, Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods (TYN) helps homeowners create attractive and healthy yards by working with Tennessee’s environment rather than against it.

TYN will host a Home Landscape Workshop in Chattanooga on April 24^th and May 1. The six-hour workshop will meet each night from 6-9pm and will be held at the Ag Center on Bonny Oaks.

What’s the payoff for you, the homeowner? A yard that meets your needs, enhances your neighborhood and helps protect Tennessee’s beauty and natural resources. And by conserving resources, you’ll save money on utility bills and long-term yard maintenance. The workshop will provide guidebooks and diagnostic tools like soil tests and rain gauges plus a “yard” stick to help you measure your progress toward a “Tennessee Yard Done Right.”

“The goal of this program is to help communities across the state meet their landscaping needs while also protecting their wealth of natural resources,” said Tom Stebbins. Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods is a University of Tennessee program in partnership with UT Extension, Tennessee Water Resources Research Center.

At the workshop, Stebbins will join Hamilton County Water Qaulity expert Adam Reynolds and master Gardeners in presenting homeowners with knowledge and skills to create eco-friendly landscapes that can save money as well as resources.

The program, based on principles that consider yard care needs of homeowners and their families while also helping to protect the community’s natural surroundings, will offer tips and advice on the following topics:

• The Land-Water Connection: The importance of water in our community landscape.
• Nine Steps to a Tennessee Yard Done Right: Principles for an earth-friendly landscape.
• Turfgrass Management: Proper care and feeding of Tennessee grass varieties.
• Soils and Mulch: How to give your plants the best chance of survival.
• Home Stormwater Strategies: Managing the quantity and quality of storm water flowing into and from your yard.
• Landscape Design Considerations: Plan before you plant; analyzing your site for sun and water.

“Taking time to consider what to plant where can save you money and help the environment,” said Stebbins. “The appropriate tree in the right place can shade your home from hot afternoon sun, saving on energy bills. Or a strategically placed rain garden can be an attractive way to use stormwater runoff to your benefit.”

The seminar offers planting and soil strategies as well as ways to properly irrigate a lawn to reduce your water bill.

The workshop is limited to 25 participants and costs $25 per person or $40 per couple. To register or for more information, contact UT Extension at 855-6113.

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Saturday, April 21 8 am-3 pm

Sunday, April 22 11 am-3 pm

Join in the festivities at the 12th Annual Spring Plant Sale & Festival at Crabtree Farms! With workshops, crafts, beautiful garden plants and food, it’s a day of fun for the whole family. [...]]]> Title: Crabtree Farms Spring Plant Sale
Location: 1000 E. 3oth Street, Chattanooga, TN
Description: Spring Plant Sale

Saturday, April 21
8 am-3 pm

Sunday, April 22
11 am-3 pm

Join in the festivities at the 12th Annual Spring Plant Sale & Festival at Crabtree Farms! With workshops, crafts, beautiful garden plants and food, it’s a day of fun for the whole family. Admission and parking are free. Don’t miss your chance to get the healthiest fruit and veggie plants for your spring and summer garden!

Choose from over 180 varieties of plants started at Crabtree Farms, including:

Vegetable starts like heirloom tomatoes and pickling cucumbers
Delectable herbs
Blueberry & Blackberry bushes
Gorgeous annual flowers, some edible!

All plant starts are cultivated in the greenhouse at Crabtree Farms using sustainable methods, which creates healthy and highly-productive plants! Nature Safe Fertilizer, worm castings and gardening books will also be for sale.

Local Vendors will be selling plants, food, arts, and hand-crafted goods.

Once again, Crabtree Farms is offering 2 days of FREE workshops and tours!

Saturday, April 21 Schedule of Events:

10:00-10:30 a.m. Composting Talk with Bud Hines
11:00-11:30 a.m. Yoga for Gardeners with Jennie Mac Merrill from Clearspring Yoga
12:00 p.m. Tour of Crabtree Farms
1:00 p.m. Backyard Fruit Gardening with John Geerling of Home Flavors

Sunday, April 22 Schedule of Events:

10:00-10:30 a.m. Irrigation Demystified with Joel Houser
12:00 p.m. Tour of Crabtree Farms
1:00-2:00 p.m. Backyard Organic Gardening with Joel Houser

For more information, go to the Crabtree Farms website at http://crabtreefarms.org/events/spring-plant-sale

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The 2012 Spring Plant Sale will be held at the Evelyn Davenport Navarre Teaching Garden located behind the Food Bank at 2009 Curtain Pole Road in Chattanooga, TN.

Hours of plant sale: Friday, May 4: 3pm – [...]]]> Title: CAFB Spring Plant Sale
Location: Evelyn Davenport Navarre Garden and Pavilion
Link out: Click here
Description: Spring Plant Sale
May 4 – 5 2012

The 2012 Spring Plant Sale will be held at the Evelyn Davenport Navarre Teaching Garden located behind the Food Bank at 2009 Curtain Pole Road in Chattanooga, TN.

Hours of plant sale:
Friday, May 4: 3pm – 6pm
Saturday, May 5: 9am – 4pm
What You’ll Find at the Plant Sale

The Food Bank Community Garden’s Annual Spring Plant Sale will feature warm weather vegetables, herbs, perennial & annual flowers, succulents, ground covers, cutting garden & cottage garden specimens, container plants, plants for the sun & shade. Plus knowledgeable Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

For additional information contact Jane Mauldin at (423) 622-1800 or jmauldin@chattfoodbank.org.

Start Time: 15:00
Date: 2012-05-04
End Time: 18:00

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Attending the graduation earns you 1 CEU and an additional 1 CEU if you bring food. The [...]]]> Join us April 26th at Chester Frost Park Pavilion to celebrate this year’s Master Gardener program graduates.   As always, this graduation party also serves as the monthly member meeting so there will be no member meeting on April 19.

Attending the graduation earns you 1 CEU and an additional 1 CEU if you bring food. The MGHC organization supplies the meat and beverages; the members supply the appetizers, side dishes, breads and desserts. After the meal, the awards presentations begin, and our interns are recognized for their dedication and perseverance.

Now…just a few tips to make this an enjoyable event for all, and
keep us in line with Chester Frost Park rules:

• ***No alcoholic beverages are permitted inside the park***
• Do not park on the grass anywhere (they aren’t kidding – the park rangers patrol for this and will write tickets).
• RSVP by leaving a message Lori Ashton with your name, number of people attending, and food time.
• Leave the kids happily at home.
• Carpool with others if at all possible, and if you have trouble walking, arrive early so you won’t have to park down the hill.
• Please allow yourself extra time to get to the venue. This
• is already a busy hour for traffic, and once inside the park, the speed limit is painfully slow.

Please contact Lori Ashton if you have any questions.

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By C Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

Wow! The number of locations with record highs over the past two weeks from the mid-west to the Atlantic coast has been amazing. Who would have thought Minnesota would be boasting 80 degree days in March?

Tennessee gardeners should enjoy this [...]]]> Take Advantage of Warm Weather But Watch the Forecast

By C Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

Wow! The number of locations with record highs over the past two weeks from the mid-west to the Atlantic coast has been amazing. Who would have thought Minnesota would be boasting 80 degree days in March?

Tennessee gardeners should enjoy this extended warm spell. Just be aware more freezes may be in our futurecast. Try to focus on all the yard and garden tasks that need to be done and will be so much more enjoyable while air temps remain balmy.

If you can’t resist a shopping trip to your local garden center or nursery select annuals, biennials and perennials known to tolerate frost or supplies for lawn maintenance or buy a hummingbird feeder. Hummers return to our state around April 1. Avoid purchasing cold-sensitive plants that may die if that jet stream does drop back to latitudes where it typically hovers in March. (Tomato plants are one example.) Transplants for warm season herbaceous plants that are not winter hardy are an unwise purchase right now. Fourteen days is about as long as young, vigorously growing plants can be held in a sheltered, unheated location such as a garage or crawl space or indoors in heated surroundings to wait out a cold snap. Be prepared to cover existing outdoor plants that break dormancy really early. Have frost protection at the ready should temperatures take a plunge below 36 degrees. Use cloth covers and/or large paper bags rather than plastic bags or plastic sheeting to protect frost-sensitive plants. Anywhere
plastic remains in contact with leaves, stems or flowers the cold can be transmitted through the covering to soft tissues. The plant may be damaged. If you only have plastic, be sure it does not lie directly on the plant. Don’t leave plastic covers on plants during daytime or they may cook in the hot sun!
Get your springtime pruning done before new leaves come out. Wearing short sleeves and short pants makes yard work (garden cleanup, weeding, mowing, pruning, digging, planting, etc.) so much more pleasurable. However, the long sleeved jacket I normally wear outdoors at this time of year would have been a wiser choice when pruning two clumps of tall ornamental grass. I got so many leaf-edge cuts my scratched arms looked like I was on the losing end of a cat fight. In summer these tall perennial grass clumps (one porcupine grass, Miscanthus sinensis `Strictus’ and a zebra grass specimen, Miscanthus sinensis `Zebrinus’) have green foliage with yellow horizontal bands on the leaves. In autumn the leaves change to a golden color. They are left to overwinter in the garden until late February or March.

Houseplants should be given a spring overhaul which includes pruning if needed, spraying with soapy water to rid them of insect pests and either replacing tired potting mix or adding time-release fertilizer to replenish available nutrients prior to their springtime flush of growth. I moved my houseplants (most of which are natives of the tropics) out to a shaded area on my north-facing deck after the weatherman said the thermometer would be in the seventies or warmer during the day and no lower than fifty at night. (That fifty degree temperature is important. Tropicals suffer if the mercury dips much below that mark.) Indoor plants benefit from the broader spectrum of light at a greater intensity available in open air. Take care, though. Direct exposure to sun can burn leaves accustomed to dim light. With too much damage, leaf drop occurs. Of course, if you bring houseplants out in warm weather, be prepared to carry them back inside when a predicted low is 54 or less.

Plateau Gardeningis written by Master Gardeners for gardeners in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland Region. UT Extension Cumberland County at P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557 (931-484-6743) answers horticulture questions, has free publications and details on how to become a Master Gardener. Send email comments or yard & garden inquiries to Master Gardener Rae, mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net.

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