Master Gardener College
The 24th Annual Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener College will take place at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA from
June 22 - 26, 2011.
Look for a special Spring 2011 edition of the InSeason newsletter for all pre-conference offerings, pre-conference tours and all concurrent class listings to be posted this week.
Registration for the 24th Annual Master Gardener College is now open!
For conference registration Click Here
For on-campus housing registration Click Here
If you are enrolling for Landcare Steward Training, please read this carefully!
- You must get permission from your local Extension agent and/or Coordinator to take this training. Have them email me please: dclose@vt.edu.
- There is a set program of classes required in order for you to complete the training portion toward becoming an MG Landcare Steward. They are marked in the registration material as LANDCARE STEWARD.
- If you have completed one of the other Steward trainings and thereby previously taken the Extension Programming training, there are Landcare Steward electives for you to choose from during that concurrent session block. You may retake Extension Programming if you wish.
- Make sure all the classes you sign up for are designated as "LANDCARE STEWARD."
Non-discounted registration for College will be $165. Master Gardeners who will receive Milestone Awards from calendar year 2010 are eligible to receive a registration discount. Please remember that Milestone Awards are only good for the year they are received or the following year. For instance, if you received a 2000 hour award in 2009, you would not still be eligible for that discount at the 2011 MG College. Also, awards and their subsequent discounts are not additive and they can only be used one time and one time only. If you are to receive more than one award this year, you must choose which one you want to apply. You may reserve the remaining award for next year, but it will only be good for thh 2012 MG College. The discounts are as follows:
Hours |
Discount |
Fee |
250 |
0% |
$ 165.00 |
500 |
15% |
$ 140.25 |
1000 |
30% |
$ 115.50 |
2000 |
45% |
$ 90.75 |
3000 |
60% |
$ 66.00 |
4000 |
75% |
$ 41.25 |
5000+ |
100% |
$ 0 |
Registration for Master Gardener College is not the same as housing registration. Please follow the "Room and Board" link under "MG College" on the menu to find out more information or to register for on-campus housing.
| Day | Time | Title | Speaker |
| Friday | 8:30-9:00 | Welcome by College of Ag/VCE/Hort Dept Admin | |
| 9:00-9:30 | Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Update | Eric Day | |
| 9:30-10:30 | Firewise for All Seasons | Fred Turck | |
| 11:00-12:00 | Exotic Invasive Plant Species Invading our Forests | James Miller | |
| Saturday | 9:00-9:30 | Update & Invitation to 2011 IMGC in Charleston, WV | |
| 9:30-10:30 | The Fate of Fertilizer & the Chesapeake Bay | Panel | |
| 11:00-12:00 | Eliminating Murder: How Not to Kill Plants | Bryce Lane | |
| Sunday | 9:30-10:30 | Topic to be determined | Holly Scoggins |
| 11:00-12:00 | Landscape Rehab: A Twelve Step Program to a Sustainable Landscape | Linda Chalker-Scott |
| Session Title | Presenter |
| 1. Food Preservation | Renee Boyer |
| 2. Beating the Heat with Warm-season Lawns | Mike Goatley |
| 3. Budding & Grafting; $15; limit of 20 | Barry Robinson & Alan McDaniel |
| 4. Berry, Ethnic and Unique Crops for Virginia Gardeners | Reza Rafie |
| 5. Micropropagation; $15; limit of 12 | Suzanne Piovano |
| 6. Beyond the Disease Pyramid * | Adria Bordas |
| 7. Creating a "Buzz" and Making News | Lori Greiner |
| 8. Greenhouse Management for the Hobby Greenhouse | Joyce Latimer |
| 9. Sustainable Gardening Practices * | Laurie Fox |
| 10. Weed Ecology & Biology * | Amber Vallatton |
| 11. What Every Master Gardener Needs to Know About Using Pesticides | Karen Carter |
| 12. Before the Storm * | Adam Braaten |
| Session Title | Presenter |
| 1. Persistent Herbicides in Compost * | Greg Evanylo |
| 2. Budding & Grafting (cont.); $15; limit 20 | Barry Robinson & Alan McDaniel |
| 3. Recycling Plastic Containers in VA | Lisa Sanderson |
| 4. Micropropagation; $15; limit of 12 | Suzanne Piovanno |
| 5. Got Conifers? | Alex Niemiera |
| 6. Water-wise Plant Selection * | Sandra Reichert |
| 7. Troubleshooting for the Hobby Greenhouse | Joyce Latimer |
| 8. Site Evaluation * | Laurie Fox |
| 9. Home Hydroponics | Chris Mullins |
| 10. Organic Sustainable Vegetable Gardening | Paul Gibson |
| 11. Marie Butler On Grass - Ornamentally Speaking | Marie Butler |
| 12. Wildlife Damage – Who ya gonna call? * | Frank Reilly |
| Session Title | Presenter |
| 1. Interpreting Soil Test Reports | Steve Heckendorn |
| 2. Insect ID | Dan Nortman |
| 3. Abiotic Stressor & Nutrient Deficiencies (Part 1) * | Dave Orcutt |
| 4. Plant Diagnostics * | Mike Likins |
| 5. The Lazy Gardener | Mary Stickley |
| 6. Hardscaping | Paul Chumbley |
| 7. Horticultural Therapy | Helen Lake |
| 8. Selecting Plants for Your Landscape, Should I Go Native? * | David Yost |
| 9. Medicinal Herbs | |
| 10. lumenhaus – From Design to International Accolades | Chip Clark |
| 11. Whispers of Whimsy or Yells of Yard Art? | Marie Butler |
| 12. Extension Programming -- Putting Your Steward Training to Work ** | Pat Reilly |
| Session Title | Presenter |
| 1. Insect ID (cont.) | Dan Nortman |
| 2. Abiotic Stressors & Nutrient Deficiencies (Part 2) * | Dave Orcutt |
| 3. Plant Diagnostics (cont.) * | Mike Likins |
| 4. Food Safety for the Home Gardener | Christy Brennan |
| 5. Teaching Children Composting the Old Fashioned Way. . . .with red wigglers! *; $20*** | Dawn Lerch |
| 6. Update on Water Stewards | Frank Reilly |
| 7. Beekeeping | Jim Revell |
| 8. Signs, Symptoms and Clues to Diagnosing Plant Problems * | David Yost |
| 9. Gardening in Limited Spaces: Big Ideas for Small Trees * | Bryce Lane |
| 10. Considerations for Putting in a School Garden | Barbara Thomas |
| 11. Virginia Farm-to-School | Matt Benson |
| 12. Extension Programming -- Putting Your Steward Training to Work ** | Pat Reilly |