As times have changed and many of us are spending more time at work, many homeowners have turned to professional landscape and lawn care companies to keep our home’s surroundings green and growing. And the commercial green industry has experienced tremendous growth in Northeast Georgia.
In addition to commercial and residential lawn and landscape maintenance, the popularity of golf has grown as more people discover the fun of that pastime.
As you can imagine, golf course managers want their turfgrass picture-perfect. So do many homeowners. The University of Georgia Turfgrass Field Day will have much to offer both and anyone else interested in healthy turf.
The field day is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 20 at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Griffin campus. Registration will start at 8 a.m. The event is outdoors, rain or shine, so dress appropriately (bring sunscreen and a cap).
Turfgrass Field Day offers the latest information on how to care for your lawn or your golf course from UGA researchers and extension specialists. Field day includes such topics as controlling turf insects such as mole crickets and white grubs and turf pests like crabgrass and other turf weeds.
Field days also include information on newly released UGA turfgrasses, including tall fescues that were bred especially for Georgia conditions. There also are updates on the Seashore Paspaulum breeding program at UGA.
This turfgrass is especially popular along the coast as it can be irrigated with salt water.
And for the growing number of Hispanic turfgrass workers, both the morning and afternoon sessions will be offered in Spanish.
For people needing pesticide recertification, the field day has been certified for Georgia Pesticide License Credit hours. Six hours of credit will be given in category 24 (ornamentals and turf) and five hours in category 21 (plant agriculture). Certified Crop Advisor credit also will be available.
The $50 registration fee ($65 after August 1) covers the day’s presentations, a detailed program booklet and a barbecue lunch. Four or more people registering as a group qualify for a 10 percent discount. And, there is always an excellent barbecue and chicken lunch followed by displays and demonstrations of the latest turfgrass industry equipment.
Register by credit card by calling the UGA Griffin Campus Continuing Education Office at 770-229-3477 or faxing your registration and credit card payment to 770-233-6180. You can also mail your fee to the Office of Continuing Education, University of Georgia Griffin Campus, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223.
Also, participants can register through the field day’s Web site at www.georgiaturf.com.
Billy Skaggs is a Hall County extension agent. He can be reached at 770-531-6988. His column appears biweekly and at gainesvilletimes.com.