2005 Master Gardener Basic Class Reading Assignments
(Be aware that this page is continually updated. Refer back to it frequently. Still correcting the page number changes from the last edition of the MG books to the new 2005 books.)
Before Soils Class: Landscape tab (section) of your books, Volume 2, the section on Mulches (p 381), Converting Yard Wastes into Landscape Assets (p 323), and pp 329-365 in the Environmental Landscaping Guide of the Landscape tab. Also in the Soils & Fertilizers tab, read the short chapter on Soils & Plant Nutrition, Vol 3 (p 236).
Before Fruit Class: Fruit Crops tab. Scan the entire section so you know what's there. Read in detail "Deciduous Fruit for North Florida", pp 59-75. Click here for other assignment. Answer the questions at the beginning. You may be called on in class to do so. FRUIT FOR NORTH FLORIDA POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
Before Vegetable Class: MG Handbook, Vegetable tab, read the following sections:
Producing Garden Vegetables with Organic Soil Amendments,
Tomatoes In The Florida Garden,
Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide. This is one of the most popular UF-IFAS Extension publications ever produced.
Planting Guide: An easy-to-read and helpful chart.
Then study these two color insect sheets (you have copies in your set): Vegetable Garden Insect sheet 1, and 2.
Then... so that you don't confuse the bad guys with the good guys, go to the insect sheets on beneficial insects:
You may wish to print out the previous publications (except for the Soil Prep & Liming and the Tomatoes publications) and put them in the notebook you're making up along with your color insect sheets. This will be much easier to carry around than all of your MG books.
Then, for vegetable disease references, go to the UF-IFAS Extension Plant Disease Control Guide section on vegetable crops, and the Cornell vegetable diseases website, and familiarize yourself with how they work and how you can find descriptions and photos of diseases there. (Print the home page of these and put them in your notebook so that you will remember the addresses when away from your home computer.) Don't concern yourself with any pesticide recommendations given there; they are for commercial vegetable crops and not home vegetable gardens. As a MG, you will stick to control recommendations given in the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide.
Come to class prepared to answer these questions.
Before Lawn Class: Click here to access your main reading assignment. Answer the questions with it. Then go to the Lawn Handbook. Read the section on Preparation and Establishment. Read the section on Take-all Root Rot under Diseases. Read the Chapter on Nematode Management. Go to this information on Other Lawn Pests and read it; you may want to print yourself a copy of the info on fire ant control and mole control. Look through the pictures in the center of the book. Go to this site and study about Over 'N Out Fire Ant Control. We will answer these questions in class. This Lawn Problem Diagnostic Chart will be distributed in class. Study this form for the Florida Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic in Quincy. Print yourself a copy of this publication on take-all root rot. Read and print yourself a copy of this page on late summer lawn problems. This site from University of Georgia is a good one on lawn weeds. Here is some information on lawn fungicides. This is an extremely helpful publication prepared for professional turfgrass managers... the weed control recommendations are particularly helpful. This Georgia site has some good photos of lawn diseases.
Before
Tree Class: Before Tree Class: Go
to the web site Florida Division of Forestry’s web site http://www.fl-dof.com/
and click on Forest Management in the left column. Than go to Forest Health and
click on Introduction.
After that read broadly especially sections such as
Before Shrub Class: Study Diagnosing Shrub and Tree Problems. Print it off and put it in the notebook you're making. I DO hope you are all making a notebook of these extra materials! Study Ornamental Insects Sheet 1 and Sheet 2. Read this article on pesticides available to the homeowner, paying particular attention to the insecticides listed. Then, Read this publication on Insect Pest Management on Landscape Plants. As you look at specific controls, note that most of the chemicals will not be available to home gardeners. However, you will see some listed here that are... and that were mentioned in the previous article you read. Read "Selected Shrubs for North Florida" (either here or in your books), and "Selecting and Planting Trees and Shrubs". Read and print out this writeup about Selecting the Right Fertilizer. This Floridata site is a very handy site, complete with color photos. Watch for homework questions to appear here before your class. Then, look at these photos, and take a shot at answering the questions.
Before Groundcovers, Vines, Ornamental Grasses, etc. Class: Print and answer these questions before you come to class. Read Vol 3, in Shrubs & Trees section, Enviroscaping to Conserve Energy: Ground Covers for North Florida; Vines for Florida. Then, read Vines in Georgia. Particularly note what it says about the types of vines as classified by type of attachment. Print a copy of these for your notebook. Then go back to Vol 3, Miscellaneous, and read the section on Wildlife, pp 380-409: Butterfly Gardening in Florida; Dealing with Unwanted Wildlife in an Urban Environment; Water for Wildlife; What to Do about Orphaned, Injured, and Sick Wildlife. (Our local wildlife rehabilitator is St. Francis Wildlife 386-6296.) Look at this webpage on snake identification. It's on our main gardening page so that you can refer back to it when needed. Read about Carpenter Bees on our local website. We will discuss this site on Groundcovers, Vines, and Ornamental Grasses in class.
Before Flowers Class: Visit this website and make a copy for your notebook. Also, study the photos and the links. Spend a couple of hours looking through the various materials. You may wish to make printouts of some of the linked materials for your notebook. (Added note in regard to the question raised in class about whether the phosphorus shown in the soil test results is all available to the plants. From doing some research through my old text book and through various Web references, I found that the soil test interpretations do take that issue into account through the type of extractant used in the tests and through the calibrations to crop response. So, yes, the levels of phosphorus reported ARE of phosphorus available to the plants. If you would like to read more about the Extension Soil Testing Lab, go to this web site, http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/ ). Go to this link which is a list of plants in our demonstration garden. Each of you should find your name by 5 plants on the list (go through the entire list to find your assigned plants). At the end of the plant list you will see two examples of informational sheets that you are to prepare on your assigned plants. Use a separate sheet for each of your assigned plants and follow the format of the examples. Click here to make a copy of the format by doing a "copy and paste" into Microsoft Word. Make the information relevant to gardeners in our locale. Also, remember that the list of plants was prepared by Master Gardeners. You may encounter some errors in names as you do your Google searches and research. If so, correct the name on your sheet. Print and bring the prepared sheets to class.
Before Class on Answering Gardening Questions: Using your computer printer (or typewriter) so that I can read them, write 3-5 gardening questions you would like answered. These will serve as examples of the types of questions clientele call the extension office about all the time. They can range from the type "What's wrong with my plant?" to "Does Plant of Paradise grow here?" We will pick some of these to answer in class. Please put your names on your sheet of questions and bring it to class. This will be your chance at getting some of your personal questions answered also. If you prepare your questions more than several days before class, you may e-mail them to me at davidm@leoncountyfl.gov Don't forget to put your name on them.
Quit Worrying about the Exam: The exam is not meant to exclude anyone from participating as a MG volunteer. Rather, it is meant to be a measure of how well you learned and how well we taught over the series of classes...what we accomplished. It is not something to be feared or worried about. If you came to the classes, paid attention, and did your assignments, you will be as prepared as I want you to be for whatever test we develop. If you haven't caught up on your assignments, take time to do so. Otherwise, don't give the exam a second thought. No cramming allowed! And no skipping the exam... as I indicated above, it is an evaluation tool for us. If you miss the exam class date, you still won't get out of taking the exam. And, if you miss the last class date, you'll miss the discussion and review of the exam.