There’s the book we will tackle in the Master Gardeners program. A four-inch thick binder. A baker’s dozen shy of 600 pages. Weighs about — well, I’ll need a backpack with heavy shoulder straps.
I borrowed it from a member of last year’s class, just to see what I was getting into.
Grad school. It reminds me a lot of grad school, which makes me wonder what the heck I’m doing here.
The last time I ventured into grad school was … well, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I was adding Mandarin Chinese to the list of languages I cannot speak. (It’s quite a long list.)
So, here’s the TOC (table of contents) and how I think I’ll do with each section:
- Basic Botany — Worrisome. Very worrisome.
- Soils & Fertilizer — Good. I like dirt.
- Basic Entomology — Not good. Not even sure I know what it is, and that bugs me.
- Plant Pathology — Could be deadly for me.
- Diagnosing Plant Damage — Good. It’s broke. (It doesn’t saying anything about fixing.)
- Pesticide Use & Safety — Good. Aim sprayer away from face.
- Plant Propagation — Good. I like propagation … and dirt.
- Pruning — Good. Watch out for fingers.
- Indoor Plants — Not so good. Not so interested.
- The Vegetable Garden — Should be okay. I like most vegetables.
- Fruits in the Home Garden — Ditto.
- Lawns — Judging from my lawn, this could be a challenge.
- Selection, Use, and Care of Woody Plants — The spirit is willing …
- Herbaceous Plants — Probably not so good. I don’t do well with herbs.
- Landscape Design — Yeah, fail. More of a word guy.
- Water Quality & Conservation — Definitely interested but erosion is a problem.
- Welcome to VCE Master Gardening! — If I get this far …
Stay tuned.
