gardening

The Greenhouse Project hosts the annual Carson City Mother’s Day Plant Sale, May 12, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring a wide variety of plants for your summer planting and gardening.

Having an impact on a community like Carson City does not require anything monumental.

Think smaller, not larger. As in dwarf goat size.

It's spring in Carson City and that means graduations, gardening and carnival time. The community is invited to the 33rd annual Spring Celebration and Carnival hosted by the Nevada Rural Counties RSVP Program and sponsored by Carson City Toyota, Campagni Auto Group.

About a decade ago, a group of community members organized a sustainable horticulture program targeting food insecurity in Carson City. They called it the Greenhouse Project, a not-for-profit effort to improve the quality of food available to the area’s most hungry.

The Carson City Historical Society, along with the Mark Twain Garden Club, the Desert Gardeners and the Sierra Desert Garden Club, is holding a Garden Festival on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Last year I wrote, “We are told to bring nature inside. Houseplant gardening is back, just like in my hippie days,” citing www.gardendesign.com 2017 trends.

I admit I haven’t been a fan of houseplants, other than cacti and succulents, for many years. I got tired of watering, trimming, fertilizing, repotting and dusting.

The weekend has arrived, and it will be an exceptionally long one for the schoolkids of Carson City: spring break begins Monday. There’s a rumor of snowfall for this weekend, but it’s not expected to be too heavy in the valley. Don’t quote me on that, though, I’ve been wrong before. Break a leg to the Douglas students performing in ‘Game of Tiaras’ this weekend; the show sounds hilarious, but be warned, it’s not for kids. For a family friendly outing, check out Story Time with Suzie at the Nevada Railroad Museum, or photos with the Easter Bunny at PetSmart.

SATURDAY:

Few restaurants in Carson City, or Northern Nevada for that matter, have been as successful for as long as Cafe at Adele's has.

DAYTON, Nev. — Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties' free cooking class and dinner is on February 26th at 5:30pm at the Dayton Community Center at 170 Pike Street. This month, the focus is on ‘Boosting Moods With Foods.’

Often, gardeners focus on the plants in their landscape. However, successful plants rely on healthy soils to support them.

In Northern Nevada, soils are extremely variable and can provide challenges for the gardener. Before any planting comes soil preparation.

CARSON CITY — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and their Certified Master Gardeners offer free gardening classes in February and March. “Gardening in Nevada: The Bartley Ranch Series” is for anyone who wants to garden – those with big yards, small yards, or just patio or balcony space.

Come hear from the Great Basin Beekeepers of Nevada and The Greenhouse Garden Center to learn about gardening, pollinators, and beekeeping. Join us at 2:00PM in the Bonanza Room at the Carson City Community Center on the first Saturday of spring!

Last week Cory, from The Greenhouse Project, and I were discussing if foliar fertilization of plants was effective. He regularly sprays compost tea and other organic fertilizers on the vegetables in the greenhouse.

DAYTON — The public is warmly invited to join dietitian Kim Mason and chef Cynthia Kroon for a healthy cooking demonstration, followed by dinner, on Monday, Jan. 22, 5:30pm at the Dayton Valley Community Center at 170 Pike Street. Bring a friend or meet news ones at the free class. There’s no need to register, and everyone is welcome.

I was recently reading a magazine called “Garden Design” that featured award-winning eco-friendly gardens. In it was a story by Louisa Jones about ecologist and landscape architect, Gilles Clément. He is renowned for his concept of the “Moving Garden.” It is a concept of biological gardening, the idea of working with, not against nature.

While I don’t work with test tubes or petri dishes, nor do I paint or sculpt, as a horticulturist, I am a scientist and an artist. I am not only a horticulturist, but also a practicing active gardener. If you are also a gardener, you too are a scientist and artist because horticulture is a science and an art.

Much of my gardening life for most of the year is about doing: fertilizing, mowing, watering, raking, digging, transplanting and pruning. Now, with winter upon us, I have more of a chance to reflect on how the landscape actually looks as I sit in a sunny window watching the birds, the sun rise or set, the deer wandering through, or the weather blowing clouds around.

DAYTON — The public is warmly invited to join dietitian Kim Mason and chef Cynthia Kroon for a healthy cooking demonstration, followed by dinner, on Monday Dec. 11, 2017 at 5:30pm at the Dayton Valley Community Center at 170 Pike Street. The class is completely free, no need to register, and everyone is welcome.

We have leaves, lots of leaves. I used to pile all the leaves on my shrub and flower beds. I wanted them to decompose and feed the soil, but with the extreme winds here in Washoe Valley, they continually blew back against the door. We ended up raking and moving the same leaves over and over again. Well, that’s not happening anymore!

Five Lyon County schools were among 48 schools in five Nevada counties awarded grants in support of classroom gardening efforts.

Dayton, Nevada– The public is warmly invited to join dietitian Kim Mason and chef Cynthia Kroon for a healthy cooking demonstration, followed by dinner, on Monday November 20, 2017 at 5:30pm at the Dayton Valley Community Center at 170 Pike Street. The class is completely free, no need to register, and everyone is welcome.

I'm a fan of the Oregon State Extension Service. They have wonderful horticulturists there. I just came across an article by Kym Pokorny titled “What Does That Mean? Experts Take on Gardening Jargon.” Since everyone likes to test their knowledge, see how many of the following gardening words you know:

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Carson City office announces a new 4-H club beginning October 18. This project club will be focused on youth gardening with workshops on best garden tools for kids, what materials make the best beds, raised beds or not, seeds and how to start them, what grows in the Great Basin, how to plant a garden, the 3 sisters – a Native American way to plant, selecting a site, container gardens, micro climates in the garden, designing a garden and so much more.

Carson Tahoe Health celebrated the Phase 1 launch Tuesday of its new Foothill Garden, which includes a 960 square-foot hoop house, a compliment to Carson Tahoe’s existing Wellness Walk trails around campus.

Silver State Charter School in Carson City became known over summer break as Argent Preparatory Academy, Principal Krystal Hoefling said, a move that represents more than just a name change.

Lately I have found a renewed interest in succulents. There are practical reasons for using succulents as part of a Northern Nevada plant palette.

On September 13, Carson High School will open its doors a little wider and longer for a back to school night like no other. Open House, Open Hearts is a community event focused on building bridges to local services for teens and their families, increasing parent and guardian engagement at CHS, and celebrating the community, creativity and diverse talents of Carson City.

With harvest time upon us, you may find you are blessed with a bounty of late summer treats such as zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and more. Or, as fruit ripens on your fruit trees, are you finding you have more apples than you need or know what to do with? Perhaps you have too many grapes? If nature has rewarded you with plenty, would you like to share it with your community?

CARSON CITY — Next week, Sept. 11-15, Carson High School will encourage students and staff to disconnect from technology to better reconnect with each other. The CHS Social Emotional Learning Committee and school administrators decided to dedicate a week to the cause.

Carson City/Storey County, NV – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s fall Grow Your Own, Nevada! Program presents eight classes statewide to help Nevadans get on the path to more sustainable, local, healthy living by growing and preserving more of their own food.