Zanesville Times Recorder, OH
03-05-07
Farm: Master Gardener training coming up
By MARK MECHLING
OSU Extension Agent
Do you have a strong interest in gardening, a desire to sharpen your gardening
skills and a willingness to share your knowledge with others? If so, consider
becoming an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener volunteer in
Muskingum County.
Beginning in mid-March, Master Gardener training will be offered for residents of
Muskingum County. The Master Gardener Program is a volunteer program which
provides an extensive course in horticulture in exchange for a donation of
volunteer hours to share your gardening knowledge with others through Master
Gardener/OSU Extension sponsored activities.
The training sessions will be offered in the evenings to accommodate those with
regular working hours.Training will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on consecutive
Tuesdays, at the Extension Office beginning on March 20 through June 5. There
will also be one Saturday morning training session. Class topics include botany,
soils, plant diseases and insect pests, as well as the culture of landscape, lawns,
fruits and vegetable crops. There is an application process as well as an
enrollment fee of $75 to cover the cost of training materials, speakers and
facilities. Class size is limited.
To become a certified Master Gardener, you must attend the training sessions
and then volunteer 50 hours to such projects as the booth at the Zanesville
Farmers Market, working at Farm City Day and community beautification
projects. For more information or to request an application packet, call the
Extension Office.
Pork Producer Meetings
OSU Extension and the Ohio Swine Educators Team invite pork producers and
industry affiliates to a series of swine meetings on March 7, 14, and 21. The
March 7 meeting will offer the opportunity for pork producers to update their Pork
Quality Assurance Certification beginning at 10 a.m. Dr. John Lawrence from
Iowa State will present via teleconference on Corn, Ethanol and Feed Prices and
Mark Engle, DVM, will give an update on porcine circo virus and associated
diseases. The March 14 meeting will feature Dr. Todd See from North Carolina
State University and Dr. Butch Baker from Iowa State University presenting
topics on the breeding herd. The meeting series concludes March 21, with
environmental topics presented by Ohio Department of Agriculture Livestock
inspectors and Kari Keller Steele, JBS United Environmental Director, Rushville,
Ind. The meetings will be held at the OSU Extension, Muskingum County Office
meeting room, 225 Underwood St. in Zanesville. The programs will conclude
around 3 p.m. Registration is free thanks to the financial support of industry
affiliated sponsors. To insure an accurate count for lunch, please call the
Muskingum County Extension Office at 454-0144.
Quicken Workshop
Interested in keeping your small business financial records on the computer?
OSU Extension is offering a workshop on utilizing Quicken software to keep farm
records on a computer. The workshop includes two sessions, March 12 and 19
from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day at the extension office. Cost is $35 per
person or $50 per couple. For more information, contact the Extension Office.
Calendar of Activities
# Ag Breakfast, 8 a.m. March 6, at Friendly Hills Grange Camp. Speakers-Gail
and Jim Swingle on recent trip to India
# Annual Meeting of Coshocton Farmers Market, 6:30 p.m. March 15, at Senior
Center, Browns Lane
# Annual Meeting of Zanesville Farmers Market, 9 a.m. March 17, at Fairgrounds
# Muskingum County Lamb Banquet, 6:30 p.m. March 26, at Coburn UMC.
Contact Sheep Committee directors for tickets.
Mark Mechling is an extension agent with The Ohio State University Exte