The 2017 edition of the annual Master Gardener course is shaping up to be one of the best ones yet. The class is an intensive, home horticulture course presented in 10 two-hour sessions.
Topics include: soils and fertility, botany, vegetables, fruit, trees, shrubs, flowers, insects, disease, pesticide, lawn maintenance and care, composting, irrigation, and landscaping. The class is designed to improve understanding and knowledge of how plants grow and to meet others with similar interests.
Program graduates are encouraged to become certified by participating in giving back to community with activities of the Warren County Master Gardener Association including landscaping, continuing education, and assisting with future Master Gardener activities.
Cost for the course is $100 for individuals and $125 for couples. The cost includes all materials, activities, refreshments, and the 859-page Master Gardener Manual, which is widely known to be the “go-to” book on everything gardening.
All classes held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. in the Magnolia Room of the Warren County Administrative Offices, unless noted. Master Gardener Class scholarships also make a wonderful Christmas present to those green thumbs who have everything.
Jan. 17 – Plant Diseases. Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel at TSU Research Center, 472 Cadillac Lane
Jan. 31– Annuals and Perennials, Beth Jacobs, Mary’s Greenhouse
Feb. 7 – Sweet and Easy Fruits Lee, Allen Turner, Turner and Sons Nursery
Feb. 14 – Botany, Heath Nokes, UT-TSU Extension, Warren County, Tina Smock
Feb. 21 – Propagation Landscape Trees, Dr. Anthony Witcher, 472 Cadillac Lane
March 7 – Daylilies - Tim Hitchcock, Daylily Valley Nursery
March 14 - Pesticides and Composting, Sheldon Barker UT Extension, Sequatchie County
March 21 - Soils and Soil Fertility, Creig Kimbro, UT Extension, Grundy County
April 4 - Lawns and Lawn Care, Hank Patton, city of McMinnville
April 11 - Vegetable Gardening/Graduation, Bruce Steelman, UT Extension, Cannon County
Worker Protection Standard Changes
After months of wondering, speculation, and confusion, it appears the Worker Protection Standard picture is becoming clearer.
Beginning in 2017, the following changes take effect:
1) Annual training is required for workers and handlers. The grace period has been eliminated and employers must keep copies for two years;
2) Material Safety Data Sheets must be posted at a central location within 24 hours at end of an application and remain displayed for 30 days after REI has expired;
3) If the REI is greater than 48 hours or 4 hours for inside applications, warning posters must be posted;
4) The minimum age for workers and handlers is 18 (owner’s immediate family exempt);
5) Ag employers must not allow entry into treated area or the application exclusion zone, which is an area up to 100-foot area around the application equipment during outdoor pesticide application on farms, forests, and nurseries.
Contact: Heath Nokes, UT-TSU Extension Warren County, 473-8484, hnokes@utk.edu.
