Wed. Apr. 27thSoil pH, Liming andPlant Nutrition

The April meeting will be your last chance to place your perennial orders; please bring your forms and your cheques.

Phil Warman is going to talk to us about testing and amending our soil to achieve the best growth results for our plants. As part of his talk, Phil will bring his pH meter so that any club member can have a free soil pH test and lime requirement analysis.  See the details below on how to collect a soil sample from your yard for testing during his presentation.

Phil has a BSc degree in Agronomy and MSc and PhD degrees in Soil Biochemistry from the University of Guelph. His interests include soil biochemistry, soil-plant relations, heavy metal bioavailability, composting of agricultural and industrial wastes (with emphasis on compost quality parameters) and the analysis and application of alternative fertilizers to soils and crops.

Photo by elvisripley on Flickr

If you have soil questions, Phil can also offer insight in the following areas:

• Soil Fertility, Plant Nutrition and Human Health
• Composts and Composting
• Organic Amendments for Soils and Plants

How to collect your soil sample for testing:

• Take a trowel or shovel and dig down at least 6 inches (15 cm) in a few places in your garden and add the samples to a clean pail.
• Mix the entire sample, remove stones and plant debris
• Take a representative sample of about half a cup. 
• Bring the sample inside and spread it out to air dry for at least 2 days on a piece of paper. 
• Make note of what you would like to grow in the area where the sample was taken.
• Bring your dry sample to the Garden Club in a small plastic bag.

As always, we will have a box for donations to our local community food bank at St. Timothy's.

Hope to see you there!

Saturday, April 16 - 8am-5pm

Village Nursery
RR#1 Pleasantville
NS B0R 1G0
Ph: 902-543-5649
Fax:902-543-6554
Visit www.villagenursery.net

Saturday, April 9, 2011District Meeting Information

Hello All,

Thank you for your enthusiasm and participation in making tonight's winter sowing workshop a big success!  Look for links to the handouts our blog's sidebar menus.

Thank you to Tara Moore for sharing the information about the upcoming District Meeting this spring!  Sounds interesting!

Nova Scotia Association of Garden Clubs
District Meeting

Host: Halifax Westmoor Garden Club

Date:  April 9, 2011

Location: 
Bethany United Church Hall
2669 Joseph Howe Drive
Halifax

Times:

8:30 - 9:00am Registration
                     
9:00  Reports from the club presidents

9:30- 10:15- First presenter: Carol Matthews - Creating a Bird Habitat in Your Garden
         
10:15 - 10:45 - Coffee break
         
10:45 - 11:30 - Roslyn Duffus - Rock Gardens

11:30 - 12:00 - Jennifer Modigliani - Garden Tour of England Agenda

12:00 - 1:00 - LUNCH

1:00 - 1:45 - Wayne & Wayne - Daylilies  (also: if the daylily roots are developed enough a presentation on how to trim roots so your daylily produces more blooms, how to divide plant into fans to create more plants)

2:00  Draws for door prizes

2:15 Last chance to shop at vendors & closing                       

Entrance Fees:  Members - $8, Guests - $10

Presidents are asked to keep their presentations to less than 5 minutes.
Each club is asked to bring two door prizes for the draw.

Contact Person:  Joy McCallum, 443-8646
E-mail: joymccallum1@hotmailcom

"Lug A Mug" for coffee or tea to protect the environment

Carolyn Downie will chair the March meeting for Halifax-Westmoor Club March 15/11.  She will be asking the members to volunteer to help support hosting the District Meeting.  Most things are already in place.  A group will make sandwiches but we will need members to provide muffins, cookies or squares.  We will need volunteers for registration, kitchen help and other activities. To make this event a success, we all need to participate.  Think about how you would like to help and please be ready to volunteer at the next meeting.