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happy st patrick's day!!

2/26/2022

The Extension Garden is all decorated to celebrate St. Patrick's on March 17th.

Don’t forget to wear green on that day!

Drive by the garden and take a look.
We are located on Highway 62N and 9th Street in Mountain Home.

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Missouri MG 2022 Garden Tour

2/26/2022

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Registration Form

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Advanced mg class: companionable plants

2/26/2022

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Advanced MG Class by ZOOM

Companionable Plants:
Propagating & Mixing Natives & Perennials

Hosted by Benton County Master Gardener Program
The Advanced MG Program is a product of County 76

To participate in this class, you must have a stable internet connection
and you must be able to join the Zoom class using a computer or a tablet,
not by cell phone. Participation will be monitored.

Advanced Master Gardener classes are open to Master Gardeners who
have been in good standing in their county program for at least three (3)
years. (since July 1, 2019)

         HOST COUNTY: Benton County
         WHEN: April 6, 2022 Noon to 5 pm &
                       April 7, 2022 8:00 am to Noon
                              Must attend both days
         WHERE:  by Zoom, you will receive a link to attend the class
CLASS LIMIT: 100
         COST: $35.00
         REGISTRATION DEADLINE: March 11, 2022

Log in to BUDDY MESSAGES for more information.

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BCMG gardening day

2/26/2022

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urban forestry grant brings rain gardens

2/26/2022

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The Cooperative Extension Service will put an urban and community forestry grant to work showing the benefits of rain gardens and trees along with the City of Mountain Home, the Mountain Home Tree Board, Baxter County Conservation District and Baxter County Master Gardeners in 2022.

The project is made possible by the United States Department of Agriculture and Arkansas Forestry Division, along with the extension water quality education program and local community interest expressed by Brad Runsick.

Rain gardens are interesting landscape features that perform a variety of services to communities. Capturing runoff water, filtering pollutants from water, infiltrating water into the ground, providing habitat for pollinators, and adding beauty to a landscape makes the rain garden an all-star of gardens by many accounts.

While this project will be installing the all-star of gardens and planting some nice trees around town, the real all-star to this project is the local volunteers in the Master Gardener and Tree City USA programs along with the City of Mountain Home. Without proven, dedicated and interested parties in the beautification and conservation of our communities and environment this opportunity would not be possible.

John Pennington,
Extension Water Quality Educator
University of Arkansas System
Division of Agriculture
Research and Extension

For additional information,
https://www.uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/news/2021/october2021/10-01-2021-Ark-green-parkinglot-grant.aspx

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2022 Arkansas MG plant sales

2/26/2022

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2022 Arkansas Master Gardener Plant Sales

April 2022
•      9 – Nevada Co MG Plant Sale and Seminar
•      9 - White Co MG Plant Sale *
•      16 – Pulaski Co MG Plant Sale
•      16 - Saline Co MG Plant Sale
•      23 - Miller Co Red Dirt MG Plant Sale
•      23 - Stone Co MG Plant Sale
•      23 - Monroe Co MG Plant Sale
•      23 & 24 – Garland Co MG Plant Sale
•      29 - Marion Co MG Plant
•      29 – St. Francis Co MG Plant Sale
•      30 - Baxter Co MG Plant Sale
•      30 – Cleburne Co MG Plant Sale
•      30 – St. Francis Co MG Plant Sale

May 2022
•      7 – Logan Co MG Plant Sale
•      7 - Montgomery Co MG Plant and Craft Sale
•      7 – Pope Co MG Plant Sale
•      7 - Union Co MG Plant Sale
•      7 – Van Buren Co MG Plant Sale
•      14 – Faulkner Co MG Plant Sale *

*Please note that a few plant sale dates in the printed MG calendar have changed.

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march garden checklist

2/26/2022

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Spray broadleaf weeds in lawns with a broadleaf weed killer such as Weed-B-Gon or Trimec. Spray weeds when we have a forecast of 50°F or higher temperature for at least three days.
Now is as late as you want to wait if you want to use glyphosate (i.e., Roundup) to control winter weeds in your bermudagrass yard. If you wait too much longer your bermudagrass will begin to green-up. Check bermuda first for signs of green-up. Look up against sidewalks and buildings where bermuda would start growing the earliest. Do not use glyphosate if your bermuda has started to green-up. Also, adding a broadleaf weed killer such as Weed-B-Gon or Trimec will control a broader range of weeds.
Pre-emerge herbicides can be applied from early to mid-March on lawns to control early weeds and crabgrass. Don’t apply pre-emerge on newly seeded lawns, however.
Wait to fertilize fescue lawns until they have started growing good. You could even wait until April to fertilize them. If you have some bare spots or a thin lawn, now is the time to seed tall fescue.
March is a good time to plant trees and shrubs. Be sure to remove ties and strings around balled-in-burlap plants. Cut the burlap in several places. Don’t leave any burlap above the ground as it can wick moisture away from the plant.
Bareroot plants, those in plastic sleeves, must be planted while dormant.
Check ornamental cherries, plums, and peaches for egg masses of the spring webworm. These egg masses are wrapped around small twigs and are shiny black in color. Prune and destroy these otherwise they will hatch out later with a vicious appetite.
Avoid moving houseplants outside until late April.
Fertilize pansies. This is a prime blooming and growing month for them.
A general rule of thumb is divide fall bloomers in the spring and spring bloomers in the fall. Dig and divide hostas, chrysanthemums and sedums.
Give ornamental grasses such as liriope a haircut to remove old leaves. This should be done before new growth begins. You can also divide them now if needed.
Overwintering tropicals should be sheared back.
Prune hybrid tea roses if not done already. Roses should be pruned in late February or early March. Remember to cut 1/4 inch above an outward facing bud at a 45 degree angle. Seal cut wounds with sealer to prevent dieback from diseases and insects.
Prune fruit trees, grape vines, and blueberry plants. These should all be pruned while dormant. Peaches can be pruned even while blooming, just be careful not to knock off the blooms.
Prune crepe myrtles, buddleias, and summer blooming spireas.
Prune spring blooming plants after bloom. As soon as quince, forsythia, and other cane producing spring flowering shrubs have finished blooming, prune out a third of the old canes. This rejuvenation cut will encourage vigorous new growth which will bloom next spring.
Start seeds indoors for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Plant cool season vegetables – potatoes, turnips, lettuce, spinach, kale. Set out transplants of cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Start planting sweet corn later in the month.
Set out onion plants or onion sets.
Avoid planting tender vegetables and bedding plants until mid to late April when frost danger is past.
Allow bulbs six weeks of growth after bloom.
If you want a specific color azalea, buy it in bloom to assure a color match.

For more information on any of the above points, contact the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension office at 870-425-2335.

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Photo used under Creative Commons from NatalieMaynor