September 27, 2007
URI's annual GreenShare Field Day will be held Saturday, Sept. 29 (rain date is the next day) offering gardening workshops, plant sales and demonstrations.
The free 10 a.m.-to-2 p.m. event will also feature a theme on renewable energy and energy conservation.
Among the highlights are a showcase of alternative-fueled vehicles, a showing of the Outreach Center's photovoltaic roof, workshops on URI's energy conservation programs and Smart Tips for Home Energy Conservation.
For those with green thumbs there will be workshops on hydrangeas and composting. Vendors will offer gardening materials.
The Plant Protection Clinic will diagnose plant diseases and pests and URI Master Gardeners will offer free pH soil testing (Bring a cup of soil from various parts of your yard or garden).
GreenShare is sort of like a small country fair with music and activities for children.
The GreenShare Field Day will be held at the URI Botanical Garden and the adjacent Outreach Center. The site is on the corner of Upper College Road and East Alumni Avenue on the main URI campus in Kingston. Plenty of free parking.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe 
at 11:55 PM | Permalink
August 7, 2007
The URI Master Gardener Demonstration Vegetable Barder is located next to the field house at East Farm.
Kingston -- After a hiatus of five years, URI Master Gardeners are resuming their Demonstration Vegetable Garden Open House on Saturday, August 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at East Farm.
The free event will offer visitors special educational presentations, a chance to have their soil tested and some cooking ideas by three professional chefs.
The open house at the demonstration garden on the main URI campus was a regular event up to five years ago but was suspended because many of the volunteers involved were busy with other Master Gardener projects.
This year’s event is the first open house at the new, much larger garden at East Farm.
The garden provides produce for the RI Community Food Bank and other charitable organizations and also serves as an educational facility for exploring different vegetable growing techniques. The garden is not certified organic but the Master Gardeners follow organic practices.
The 5,000-square foot garden is equipped with a drip irrigation system, a composting facility and offers demonstrations on container and no-till gardening.
An Ask a Master Gardener booth will be staffed by volunteers to answer gardening questions and hand out literature.
Master Gardeners will also demonstrate composting, no-till gardening, trellising, high and low-tech irrigation and water conservation using rain barrels. The adjacent field house has a demonstration rain barrel installation. A few rain barrels will be offered for sale.
Three professional chefs will be on hand and will concentrate on vegetable recipes. The chefs are Normand Leclair, cookbook author and founder of the now-closed Red Rooster Tavern in North Kingstown; Bruce MacDonald of Town Meats in Wakefield and Elizabeth Mersereau of the Brown University Dinning Services.
Master Gardeners will perform free pH soil testing for visitors. To take a good soil sample, dig up small amounts of soil from about 10 different spots in the garden or lawn and combine them in a plastic bag. A cup of soil is sufficient for each sample. Keep lawn and garden samples separate.
There is ample free parking in the vicinity of the vegetable garden. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Pets are not allowed in the garden.
East Farm is on Route 108 (Kingstown Road) about one-half-mile south of the main traffic light in Kingston.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 1:27 PM | Permalink
June 22, 2007
Click photo to enlarge it
The Chet Clayton Rose Garden at the University of Rhode Island's Kingston Campus is in full bloom.
Named after Chester Clayton, a URI Master Gardener who donated the money for the rose garden, the site is open to the public daily free of charge. The garden is in the center of the URI Botanical garden located off Upper College Road. Visitors should stop in the Visitors Center just inside the gates on Upper College Road for a parking pass. This rose garden features sustainable roses that need little or no pesticides.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 1:24 PM | Permalink
June 8, 2007
The Demonstration Vegetable Garden at URI's East Farm campus will host an open house on August 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine
This 5,000-sq.-ft. garden is operated by URI Master Gardeners who are always trying out new techniques. The free open house will feature workshops on growing, composting, drip irrigation, and other subjects pertaining to successful vegetable growing.
In addition there will be free pH soil testing (to determine if your soil is acid or alkaline), a demonstration on water conservation and cooking demonstration by two professional chefs.
East Farm is on Route 108, 1/2 mile south of the main traffic light in Kingston. More details about the program will be posted closer to the date.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 1:37 PM | Permalink
The "Gardening with the Masters" garden tour, sponsored every two years by URI Master Gardeners, will be held July 14 and 15.
More than 30 gardens are included in the tour which will go on rain or shine.
Tickets are $15 and can be used either day or both. The tickets are actually guidebooks that describe each garden and give detailed driving directions.
For more information on obtaining tickets see the URI Master Gardener website http://urimga.org/.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 1:33 AM | Permalink
