FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robyn Truslow
410-535-0291
More and more people are growing their own food and managing their own landscape. Some are doing it for the exercise, some for the freshness factor, some to save money, some for the knowledge of what chemicals they can avoid, some to reduce their carbon footprint and others are doing it just because it is fun! Whatever your reason, Calvert Library and the Master Gardeners of Calvert County want to help. The Garden Smarter Series presented in partnership with Calvert Library won first place in the Workshop and Presentation category for the 2011 International Master Gardener Search for Excellence.
In addition to the Garden Smarter Series, Calvert Library also hosts Calvert Eats Local each month. This group invites you to join them at Calvert Library on Saturday, January 21 beginning at 10am to participate in a viewing party of the online conference “TEDx Manhattan: Changing the Way We Eat.” We will have a potluck lunch and cooperative seed ordering so come with your food, your seed catalogs and your garden ideas. The event is free but you need to register with Calvert Library. For more information about the conference, go online to http://tedxmanhattan.org/.
The new year’s Garden Smarter series will begin at 10am on Saturday, January 28, at Calvert Library Prince Frederick with “Starting from Seed.” This free workshop will teach you how to get the full potential from a piece of ground and a handful of seeds. The following Saturday be a workshop to teach the basic requirements for successful gardening like when to start planting, what tools you need, how to manage common weeds and pests and more.
While most of the workshops are on Saturday mornings, there are a couple evening events as well. On Wednesday, February 8, at 7pm, Herb Reed of the Maryland Cooperative Extension will give you strategies for managing those pesky hungry insects and even deer who make gardening a challenge.
Other topics throughout the year will include Ponds and Water Features, Square Foot and Vertical Gardening, Water Conservation and Erosion Control, Composting, Homegrown Herbs, Beekeeping, Food Preservation and more! This award-winning series has been offered for over six years with new and refreshed information each year. New topics this year include “Cultivating Healthy Eating,” “Decorating with Natural Materials for the Holiday” and “Making Wreaths and Other Designs.”
The Garden Smarter Series is one of several educational activities conducted by the Calvert County Master Gardeners for our county. They also sponsor the Bay Wise Yard Certification Program, information booths at Children's Day at J. Patterson Park, Patuxent River Appreciation Days (PRAD), Green Expo, Youth Day at the County Fair, developing community gardens, and much more. CCMGs are residents trained and certified by the University of Maryland Extension to provide public education activities in our county. Their local website is http://extension.umd.edu/gardening/mastergardeners/local/calvert.
For more information, call the Calvert Library Prince Frederick at 410-535-0291 or 301-855-1862.
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Robyn Truslow
Public Relations Coordinator
Calvert Library
850 Costley Way
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
phone: 410-535-0291 or 301-855-1862
fax: 410-535-3022
