Elementary educators are encouraged to facilitate students in engineering design to meet the expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). BSCS Science Learning, in collaboration with Life Lab, developed the Engineering in the Garden program to help 3rd-5th grade teachers and garden educators engage students in designing solutions to address real-world problems that arise in schoolyards and school gardens.

Poster shows Uncle Sam playing a fife, leading a group of children carrying gardening tools and a seed bag. Promotional goal: U.S. A1.J7. 1919(?). Exhibited: American Treasures of the Library of Congress, 2003.

and a Guide to the Butterflies They Support

Short Description:
Gardening with Native Grasses in Cold Climates, is written for inexperienced as well as seasoned gardeners, landscape designers, garden center employees, and anyone interested in native grasses that grow well in cold climates. New information on the benefits of native grasses including their importance as host plants for native Lepidoptera is included. Combinations of specific grasses used by larvae and perennials that the adult butterflies feed on is new and timely information.

Word Count: 10242

ISBN: 978-1-946135-65-0

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Poster showing a young woman tending a garden, with a drawing of a soldier in the background. Copyright by New York State Land Army Membership Committee.

Word Count: 5326

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

World War I public service poster showing two bare-foot children with a wheelbarrow full of vegetables. "Issued by the U.S. School Garden Army, Bureau of Education, Department of Interior, Washington, D.C." Promotional goal: U.S. A1.J7. 1919.

Students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. They construct their own miniature greenhouses and explore how their designs take advantage of heat transfer processes to create controlled environments. They record and graph measurements, comparing the greenhouse indoor and outdoor temperatures over time. Students are also introduced to global issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and their relationship to global warming.

Short Description:
This particular work is one part of the author’s undergraduate senior capstone project and is one of 11 in the series titled “Controlling the Narrative for Peace of Mind.” Seniors enrolled in Professor Erica Kleinknecht’s capstone seminar in the Spring of 2021 all used a core set of literature as a starting point and then they personalized the content to an area of their choosing. The work here reflects an integration and application of literatures in cognitive, applied cognitive, psycholinguistic fields of study, plus additional topic-specific content.

Word Count: 7400

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Last year the Siuslaw 97J School District changed our food service operation from a national supplier (Chartwell’s) to in-house food service. Our Food Service Manager instituted an organic philosophy and wanted to source local produce. Utilizing our school garden program we now help supply fresh produce for our Siuslaw Elementary School cafeteria. Crop production is stronger in the 4/5 wing because of wind protection from the building. Florence experiences high winds and we are located close to the beach so we have constant sand blowing into our crops. The K-3 garden beds do not have the same protection as the 4/5 beds, and as a result have a lower yield. Our goal is to have students design and engineer wind barriers for these beds and then present the best solutions to our school board so that we can get funding to implement our ideas. This project can be used in any school with a garden by using preexisting barriers on a the school property. The unique environment of the school would dictate the lessons required to be adapted to fit the environmental needs of the community. If the school is lacking a garden, the students can focus on an at home garden project.

Poster showing a boy with a hoe leading a parade of vegetables, with American flags. Copyright National War Garden Commission. For free book write to National War Garden Commission, Washington, D.C., Charles Lathrop Pack Pres., Percival S. Ridsdale Sec'y.

Published by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the 600-page manual covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. Units contain lecture outlines for instructors and detailed lecture outlines for students, field and laboratory demonstrations, assessment questions, and annotated resource lists. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting.The training manual is designed for a wide audience of those involved in teaching farming and gardening, including colleges and universities with programs in sustainable agriculture, student farms or gardens, and on-farm education programs; urban agriculture, community garden, and farm training programs; farms with internships or apprenticeships; agriculture extension stations; school gardening programs; organizations such as the Peace Corps, US AID, and other groups that provide international training in food growing and ecological growing methods; and master gardener programs.

This manual was developed by Virginia Cooperative Extension for Master Gardeners who are training to be certified advanced Master Gardener tree stewards. Written by a dedicated team of volunteers who themselves completed advanced Master Gardener tree steward training, the manual covers a wide range of topics, specific to each region of Virginia, including identifying trees, selecting and planting appropriate trees for local landscapes, caring for trees, and troubleshooting tree problems.

Poster showing a man and woman tending a vegetable garden, with Uncle Sam and an arrangement of vegetables in the foreground. United States Department of Agriculture.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardener Handbook is a guide for all gardeners in Virginia. It covers a variety of topics important for beginning and experienced gardeners, including soil health, native plants, and integrated pest management. This manual provides an understanding of the basics of gardening in Virginia and helps to build a strong foundation of gardening knowledge. Resources for additional reading can be found at the end of each chapter. We encourage readers to take a deeper dive into the topics that interest them and continue their learning journey.

How to Access the Book
This text is available in multiple formats including PDF, a low-resolution PDF which is faster to download, and ePub. These are linked on the left side of your screen. The book is also available in HTML/Pressbooks at https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/emgtraining. Softcover print versions with color interior will be available for purchase in Spring/Summer 2023. The main landing page for this book is https://doi.org/10.21061/vcegardener

HTML/Pressbooks: ISBN 978-1-957213-47-7 https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/emgtraining
PDF: ISBN 978-1-957213-48-4
Print (paperback): ISBN 978-1-957213-42-2 [Forthcoming]
ePub: ISBN 978-1-957213-49-1

Table of Contents
1. Botany
2. Soils and Nutrient Management
3. Entomology
4. Plant Pathology
5. Abiotic Stress Effects on Plant Growth and Development
6. Diagnosing Plant Damage
7. Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Safety
8. Plant Propagation
9. The Vegetable Garden
10. Fruits in the Home Garden
11. Lawns
12. Indoor Plants
13. Woody Landscape Plants
14. Pruning
15. Herbaceous Landscape Plants
16. Landscape Design
17. Water Quality and Conservation
18. Habitat Gardening for Wildlife
19. Virginia Native Plants

About Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) is the outreach and engagement branch of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, Virginia’s land-grant universities. Through VCE, Extension agents, specialists, and volunteers work to share knowledge and advance the wellbeing of all Virginians. This handbook serves as the main training text for new Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

If you are passionate about horticulture, environmental conservation, or gardening education, we invite you to join us by becoming an Extension Master Gardener at https://ext.vt.edu/lawn-garden/master-gardener/Become-a-Master-Gardener.html.

Are you a professor reviewing or adopting this book for a course?
https://bit.ly/interest-vcegardener Instructors adopting or reviewing this text are encouraged to record their use on this form. This helps the book's sponsors to understand this open textbook's impact.

Suggested Citation
Virginia Cooperative Extension (2023). Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardener Handbook. Blacksburg: Virginia Cooperative Extension. https://doi.org/10.21061/vcegardener. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Accessibility Statement
Virginia Tech Publishing is committed to making its publications accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Pressbooks (HTML) and ePub versions of this text are tagged structurally and include alternative text, which allows for machine readability.

Report an Error: https://bit.ly/report-error-vcegardener
View Errata: https://bit.ly/errata-vcegardener
Tell us how you found the book: https://bit.ly/interest-vcegardener

Acknowledgments
This version of the Virginia Extension Gardener Handbook was made possible in part by financial and technical support from the Open Education Initiative at the University Libraries. Additional financial support was provided by the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Thank you to contributors and editors of this handbook:
• Kathleen Reed (2022 project advisor, editor, and contributor)
• Devon Johnson (2022 project manager and image author)
• Kindred Grey (2022 image author and Pressbooks formatting)
• Stacey Morgan Smith (2022 handbook editor)
• Emma Freeborn (2022 alt text and editorial assistance)
• Anita Walz and the Virginia Tech Publishing team (2022)
• The 2021/22 Handbook Review Team: Barb Wilson, Beth Kirby, Carol King, Courtney Soria, Doug Levin, Elaine Mills, Elizabeth Brown, Fern Campbell, JC Gardner , Jim Revell, Khosro Aminpour, Maraea Harris, Margaret Brown, Meagan Shelley, Melanie Thompson, Michael Cole, Mimi Rosenthal, Nancy Brooks, Nancy Butler, Patricia Lust, Ralph Morini, Sabrina Morelli, Shawn Jadrnicek, Sherry Kern, Stacey Morgan Smith, Susan Dudley, Susan Perry, Wendy Silverman and all other volunteers who contributed.

Previous versions:
• Dave Close, State Coordinator, VCE Master Gardener Program & Consumer Horticulture Specialist (2015 project advisor)
• John Freeborn, Assistant State Coordinator, VCE-MG Program (2015 editor)
• Sue Edwards (2015 editorial assistant)
• Diane Relf, Retired Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Judith Schwab (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Elissa Steeves (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• R. Peter Madsen (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Virginia Nathan (original compilation, revision, and editing)
Thank you to the many Extension Master Gardener volunteers and agents who have contributed feedback or made suggestions for this handbook over the years. Thanks also to the original contributors, including the Northern Virginia Master Gardeners, the Utah Cooperative Extension Service, and the Georgia Cooperative Service for use of their handbook material and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and N.C. State for the use of their revised and expanded versions of this handbook (circa 2009). According to the 2009 version of this handbook, “material was taken from many Extension publications written in Virginia and other states.” We have worked to identify, rewrite, and attribute this content.

The original edition of the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook was printed January 1985. The handbook was revised January 1986, January 1987, July 1990, November 1994, December 1999, July 2009, and December 2015.

Disclaimer: This work may contain components (e.g., illustrations or quotations) not covered by the license. Every effort has been made to clearly identify these components but ultimately it is your responsibility to independently evaluate the copyright status of any work or component part of a work you use, in light of your intended use. Please check the references at the end of each chapter before redistributing.

This activity is a lab investigation where students design an experiment to create rich soil using organic matter, dirt, newspaper and red worms.

Integrated ELA and Social Studies Unit incorporating Washington State's Since Time Immemorial content. Students learn native values in plant care, the oral tradition of storytelling and share and celebrate their learning.