Iowa State Scott County Extension Master Gardeners announce their spring educational series designed for gardeners of all experience levels.
March 2 – Great Gardening Resources: Where to Get Information and How to Share It by Scott County Master Gardeners Tom Monroe and Ray Wolf. Discover where you can find reliable, science-based information to help you improve your lawn and garden, and also learn ways to share that information with friends, family and neighbors.
March 9 – Smartphone Apps for the Gardener by Scott County Master Gardener Bill Brunkan. Learn about some of the gardening apps available for your smartphone or iPad! Which ones have genuine value and are worth adding to your mobile device? The apps, which range from those seeking to diagnose plant problems, to identifying flowers or trees, or to helping one name the bird sitting in your feeder, will be demonstrated in class.
March 16 – Sustainable Gardening – What Options are Available in our Area by Scott County Master Gardener Ray Wolf. Learn what sort of actions we can take in our gardens to help make the environment a better place and even save a little money. Science-based options will be presented that are beneficial for both lawns and gardens.
March 30 – Fruitful Pollination in Vegetables by Iowa State University Extension Horticulturalist Patrick O’Malley. This class will look at how fruiting vegetables get pollinated and what conditions favor this pollination. This will include perfect flowered vegetables like pepper and monecious (separate male and female flowers on same plant) vegetables like pumpkin and squash.
April 6 – Native Plant Success in the Home Landscape by Scott County Master Gardener Dan Mays. We have all heard about (and probably seen) native plantings that are less than satisfying. The visual splendor promised by many books, magazines, and Internet experts just never seems to develop, in spite of our best efforts. This presentation is going to explore causes of those landscaping failures and provide solutions. Beautiful landscaping consisting principally of native plants is possible. Dan Mays has been doing just that in his home landscape for well over a decade. He will share his secrets, caveats, and techniques for using native plants in your own landscape.
Classes are held in the Cyclone Room at the Scott County Extension Office at 875 Tanglefoot Lane in Bettendorf. A nominal $5 fee is charged and refreshments will be available. Please register for classes by calling the Extension Office at 563-359-7577 weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Classes start at 7 pm and are 1-2 hours in length. For directions to the office and information on other Scott County Extension programs, visit http://www.extension.iastate.edu/scott/
