Master Gardener Course Offered by Virginia Extension Office   The Alleghany/Covington office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College are hosting a Master Gardener course beginning Tuesday, March 31, at 6 pm, in Room 513, McCarthy Hall, on the DSLCC Clifton Forge campus. The course will conclude before July 31. This is an online course with the majority of classes being field trips and hands-on experiences. The $125 fee for the program will include the Master Gardener Handbook, a one-year membership in the local Master Gardener association, and all program materials. The Master Gardener program is a volunteer education partnership with VCE dedicated to working with the community to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management. Topics include pruning, landscape design, woody ornamentals, vegetables, fruits, soils, lawns, fertilizers, annuals, perennials, insect and disease identification, pesticides, and many others. Instructors for the hands-on labs will include VCE educators, specialists from Virginia Tech, local horticulture professionals, and veteran master gardeners. The deadline to register is March 26. Contact the extension office at (540) 862-0369. Applications are also available on the VCE web site at https://offices.ext.vt.edu/alleghany/.

* * * * *