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Reading Assignment
Prior to class, please read Chapter 3 "Soils and Fertilizer Management" in your California Master Gardener Handbook. Brent Banta has asked that you especially study the following:
- Figure 3.1
- Page 32 to the bottom of page 34
- Pages 46 - 64 ending with "Common Chemical Problems in Landscape Soil" and don't agonize over the calculations on page 58.
Additional Assignment
Please complete the two exercises which can be found in the Training Support Website under the "Handouts" tab.
They are: "Soil Composition" & "Drainage Test". They take a few days, so if you have not started, now is the time!
Please bring the following to class:
- Your handbook or digitally download Chapter 3 and leave the handbook behind. See Questions & Answers below for download information.
- Two cups of dry soil, in any container, from the same area of your yard where you did the drainage test.
- Your jar of soil and water from the "Drainage Test". (Try not to disturb the layers of soil that settled out during the test.)
Please see the Session 4 Quiz. Click here. We will be giving you access to the quiz before class, so you can jot the answers down as you learn.
Note: Once you exit the quiz, you will not be able to sign back in with the same name and pick-up where you left off. To sign in, you will need to use a different name, for example Joan the first time, Joan2 the second time, etc.
"Ask a Master Gardener" Assignment
Please be prepared to discuss the following two questions in our "Ask a Master Gardener" segment.
Q. I want to have my soil tested before I plant my garden. Do you test soil or can you tell me where I can take some soil to have it tested?
Q. I want to plant a new garden. My soil is hard and when I water, it runs off quickly. When I dig up the soil should I mix in some gypsum?
Topics/Activities
Session 4 will start with announcements followed by "The Good, Bad and the Bugly" segment, where you will meet another garden dweller.
 Our speaker next week is Claire
Ehrlinger, Lead Instructor in the Horticulture Department at
MiraCosta College in Oceanside, since 2004. Claire, a Horticulture graduate of Michigan State University is a transplant from the Midwest, arriving in California in 2002. She currently teaches courses in Plant Identification, Irrigation, Plant Science and Landscape Management, and has taught Soils, Turf Management, Pests, and Floral Design. She is a volunteer member of the board of directors of the Irrigation Foundation and also volunteers from time to time at the San Diego Botanic Garden.
In the afternoon lab we'll use simple tests to identify soil problems. You will use what you learned from the morning lecture and text to plan corrective actions.
During the lab we will: - Discuss results of the "Soil Composition" and "Drainage Test"
- Practice pH testing of soil
- Practice ribbon test as illustrated in Figure 3.4 in your MG Handbook
Claire Ehrlinger will be the technical advisor for the lab; MG's Devonna Hall, Julia Szabo and Brent Banta will assist. Lab Set-up/Clean-up Team We will need help setting up for the lab during lunch. Trainees responsible for set-up/clean-up are Kathleen Closson, Anne Murphy, Jane Hopper and Dayle Cheever. To see the entire schedule, click on "Lab Set-up/Clean-up Schedule" to the left under "DOCUMENTS". Questions & Answers Q. Can we access the California Master Gardener Handbook electronically? A. YES you can, thanks to Trainee Kira Olsson. She was able to scan and send us the entire book which we uploaded to the Training Support Website. (Click on "Resources", then "California MG Handbook".) You can download each chapter individually. Please join us in giving Kira a big THANK YOU! Enjoy your weekend & your homework, we'll see you Tuesday! | 
