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UMd. Extension Offers Community Gardening Classes
The Riverdale office provides community members the opportunity to learn gardening and can rent plots of land in their community garden.
Gardeners at the Sheridan Street Community Garden in Riverdale learned about garden plant and pest problems at a dynamic workshop.
Jon Traunfeld, director of the Home and Garden Information Center from the University of Maryland Extension, led the free training on Aug. 16. Jon also serves as the State Master Gardener Coordinator.
The training included information on common garden pests such as squash bugs, cucumber beetles, stink bugs, and squash vine borers. Participants brought samples of insects and diseased plants to identify during the workshop, and then walked through the community garden to see some of the pests firsthand. They squished squash bugs, examined brown marmorated stink bug damage on corn, tasted edible weeds, and learned about some of University of Maryland Extension’s resources.
Participants came from area community gardens, such as the Sheridan Street Community Garden, and the Hyatt Park Community Garden. Gardeners from the University of Maryland as well as Master Gardeners from around county attended. More trainings will be held at the Sheridan Street Community Garden in the future; if you are interested please contact Christie Balch at cbalch@umd.edu.
For gardeners looking for more information, the University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center is a wonderful resource. Gardeners can call the center or email photos and get answers from experts. There is also a diagnostic feature on the website to help identify specific plant problems.
For information on the Master Gardening Training in Prince George’s County, visit this website.
For more information on the Sheridan Street Community Garden, run by University of Maryland Extension, and information on how to get a garden plot, contact Christie Balch at cbalch@umd.edu.
University of Maryland Extension (UME) is a statewide, non-formal education system within the college of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. UME educational programs and problem-solving assistance are available to citizens and are based on the research and experience of land grant universities such as the University of Maryland, College Park.