Classes for the masses: The 14th annual Organic Growers School will be held at Blue Ridge Community College on Saturday, March 10, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The school offers a full day of workshops in all aspects of private and commercial growing. This year there are 69 different sessions, with topics as diverse as: Beginning Gardening; Livestock in the City; Stonescaping Your Yard; Medicinal Herb Production; and Biodiesel, Solar and Wind Energy Systems. Participants can select up to four classes, or sign up for half-day hands-on workshops. At this writing, the event hasn’t sold out. For more information or to register, visit organicgrowersschool.org. To request a registration form, e-mail info@organicgrowersschool.org or call 342-5333.
Mulch ado about something: Buncombe County residents can get free mulch from the county landfill. The mulch is composed of chipped wood and ground-up leaves. The landfill is located at 85 Panther Branch Road in Alexander. Hours are Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call first, at 645-5311, to make sure that a loader is available.
Just can’t get enough of that sweet stuff: As spring flowering bulbs begin to send up shoots, it’s a good time to dose them with compost tea, rotted manure or other organic fertilizer. Flowering plants love the extra shot of phosphorus available in bone meal (0-10-0), or, for vegan gardeners, rock phosphate (0-3-0).
[Send your gardening news, warnings, tips and comments to cbothwell@mountainx.com.]
