LANDSCAPING ON A SHOESTRING
Monday, March 20th, 2006 -- 11:45 AM
Today (Monday) is the first day of Spring. The Vernal Equinox officially occurs at 12:26 p.m. The sun is directly over the equator, meaning day and night are equally split. Spring also means gardening and landscaping can?t be too far away.
Today on [url=http://cwbradio.com/news/viewpoint.php]Viewpoint[/url], UW-Extension Crops and Soils Agent Nick Schneider filled us in on a couple of ?Landscaping on a Shoestring? seminars that will be held this week.
"Landscaping can be very costly," Schneider says. "The more work you're willing to do, the more you can save."
At the seminars, Schneider will team up with Clark County Master Gardeners to teach techniques to help you save money with your home landscaping projects. For instance, people don?t always need to spend top dollar for landscaping rocks.
"You can buy block for under a dollar-a-piece, but by the time you do a landscaping project, that can add up to a considerable expense," Schneider says. "There's a considerable amount of rock in Clark County. Hopefully, if you have a family member that lives on a farm, they'll let you come out and pick rock - either in the field or the rock pile."
Homemade mulch and compost can be money-savers. Starting annuals and perennials from seed, or splitting your perennials, can be a cost-saving way to supplement your annual trip to the area greenhouses, Schneider says.
But plant placement could be most important. If you know what your working with, you?ll be less apt to pick an ill-advisted location to plant it. Sun conditions and soil-type are important factors, as is our growing ?zone? ? we're considered Zone 4.
"It's really easy to fall in love with a picture of an attractive plant. A lot of those magazines are circulated across the country, not just the upper-midwest," Schneider explains.
"If it doesn't say at least a '4' in the zone-rating, the chance of it making it around Clark County is not very good," Schneider explains.
You can learn more at the free workshops that will be held:
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Courthouse Auditorium, Neillsville
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Community Agency Insurance & Real Estate
511 Division Street, Withee
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Contact the Clark County UW-Extension office at 715-743-5121 for more information.
On the Web:
[url=http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/clark]Clark County UW-Extension[/url]
[url=http://wihort.uwex.edu/]UW-Extension Gardening Site[/url]
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.