A2B-Lancastcr Fanning, Saturday, May 6, 1995 Warm Weather Arrives, So Master Gardeners ‘Turn Up y A New Idea Garden ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) As Poet Wendell Berry wrote, “The grower of trees, the gardener, the man bom to fanning, whose hands reach into the ground and sprout, to him the soil is a divine drug. He enters into death yearly, and comes back rejoicing. ...” Twelve Master Gardeners know what it is like to come back rejoic ing —that is, the day the Idea Gar den gets planted at the Farm and Home Center. On Wednesday, donning coveralls, garden gloves and sun hats, gardeners were busy turning up topsoil and lowering in flower seedlings, covering them over with moist earth and bark mulch. “We were a little concerned after yesterday’s rains,’ ’ said Hans Lienhard, chairperson of the Idea Garden Committee. But the clouds cleared and the sun spilled out just in time as gardeners arrived at the Farm andHomeCenterearly Wed Hans Llenhaid, chairperson of Idea Garden Committee, readies a fiat of petunias for the Idea Garden. ing of the idea Garden on Wednesday at the Farm and Home nesday morning Leinhard said as early as 6:30 a.m. The good news was that the ground was already tilled and mulched beforehand. The mulch provides a good soil cover, retains moisture, improves soil condition, and keeps the weeds down. Lien hard said about two inches of the pine bark mulch covers the beds, planted with about 1,800 seedlings obtained from a local nursery. The Idea Garden is funded by the Farm and Home Foundation. Only annuals are used in the planting, a total of 39 flats with 48 plants per flat. Planted were bego nias, dalias, ageratum, alyssum, dianthus, lobelia, marigolds (yel low, luca, and bicolor}, petunias (white, lilac, orchid, and plum). Dusty Millers, salvia (red, white, and blue), snap dragons (red and yellow), and verbena (white and blue). Also planted were bright red geraniums. At the planting of the idea gar den, Tim Elkner, Lancaster Coun- At the planting of the Idea Garden on Wednesday, new Lancaster horticulture agent Dr. Tim Elkner, third from left, with wife Kristi, greeted the Master Gardeners. In from, from left, Pat Snyder, Althea Mailing, Nancy Dlshors, and Deb Ressler. In back, Hans Llenhard, Kristi Elkner, Tim Elkner, Fred Walter, Vickie Schweitzer, and Harry Collins. Photo 9 by Andy Andnwo ly’s new horticulture agent, spoke with the Master Gardeners. Elkner said he was looking forward to several days of orientation to the Lancaster program and his new job with Extension Harry Collins removes the seedlings prior to planting on Wednesday. Master Gardener Program Accepts Applications LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Penn State Cooperative Exten sion is accepting applications for the 1995 Master Gardener Program. This is a training program for volunteers designed to provide experience in the knowledge and skills of gardening for those who sign up. In exchange for 30 hours of indoor and outdoor instruction, candidates agree to complete SO hours of volunteer service to Penn State Cooperative Extension dur ing 1996. Weekly classes will be held from Aug. 30 to early December. The program is being offered in Lancaster and ' Berks counties. There is a program fee of $3O to cover costs of training manual and materials. Applications are being accepted through June 2. For more informa tion and an application form, con tact the Lancater County Exten sion Office at (717) 394-6851. Fred Walter, In cap, tuma up the mulch and topsoil to plant petunias at the Idea Garden. flower beds at the Idea Garden. Region m Meeting HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) —A group is forming in the region comprised of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, York, Lan caster, and Lebanon counties to exchange ideas on sustainable food production techniques as an outgrowth of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agri culture (RASA). Farmers or people interested in sustainable agriculture from these areas are invited to attend the Reg ion 111 meeting on May 8, from 7-9 p.m. at the York County 4-H Center at Bare. This will be the second meeting PASA Set of the group, with the topic focus ing on marketing your farm pro duct. Larry Yeager, Penn State Extension agent, will lead the discussion. Future meetings will include on-farm meetings and cover topics ranging from management inten sive grazing to organic vegetable production. The York County 4-H Center is located on Stover’s Town Road off of Route 116 near Spring Grove. For further information please contact Lee Bentz at (717) 772-5204.
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