Public Service Announcement--For the Locals

The current Plain Talk contains the following announcement:

Classes on Growing and Using Cut Flowers

Contact Miriam Iwashige (567-2123) before Jan. 1 if interested, with the first class to meet in January.

As part of Master Gardener certification, I have an obligation to volunteer time in the community in the area of horticulture.  Please let me know if you would be interested in classes in another specific area of horticulture.

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I should have mentioned that I intend for this class to emphasize cut flower growing for home use--not for market gardening or sale to the public.  Much of the information will apply to both, but the scale will be small.  I intend to divide out seeds purchased at wholesale prices, giving each class participant a small collection of seeds for cut flower varieties.  Much of the actual planting will happen in class, with the seedlings grown at home under florescent shop lights.  Each individual can plant additional varieties at home, based on their own preference.

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Because many churches were canceled last Sunday, and we did not have a Wednesday evening service in lieu of a joint Christmas Day service at Cedar Crest, I'm sure I'll have to be flexible on the Jan. 1 deadline mentioned here.  Most people haven't yet retrieved the Plain Talk from the Church mailboxes.

When the first person "enrolled" I prepared some information on the class.  If you send me an email, I'll be glad to send out that information.  My email address is miriam@iwashige.com.  "Cut Flower Class Information" would be a good subject line entry for such an email.

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The class will be geared toward adults and young people of high school age, but I'm open to having a grade school age child accompany a parent to the classes if the parent wishes to see that happen.  In that case, only one set of supplies will be needed.

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There will be some expenses involved--only as much as is needed for covering actual costs.  An initial $10.00 fee will be collected at the first class, possibly with future collections of smaller amounts if it's needed.  I will be looking for a volunteer to help with keeping track of the money matters for the class.

Anyone who already has an indoor seed starting setup or a greenhouse will find the class relatively inexpensive.  Setting up something to start seeds is a requirement for taking the class. Some of the needed supplies are non-consumable or at least reusable, so the investment can pay off for some time into the future.

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One of the reasons for choosing to focus on flowers rather than vegetables is that if you can start flowers from seed, you can certainly start vegetables.  The reverse is not necessarily true.

Most cut flower varieties are not available in the retail trade.  The trend is to grow stocky, low-growing bedding plants, and what is needed in cut flowers is long stems from a relatively tall plant.  I will order seeds for the group that I know from my own experience to be suitable for growing in a Kansas garden, with an ability to last for a reasonable length of time when placed in a vase indoors.