The USU Extension Office is excited to host another session of Castle Country Gardens & Landscapes for Beginners course on Wednesday, Apr. 12 at 6:00 pm in the Reeves Building, Room 187 on the campus of USU Eastern. Castle Country Radio was able to sit down with Extension Assistant Professor, Rowe Zwahlen to get all the details.

The workshop has been offered over the last few months and has had various topics discussed to help individuals prepare for garden season. This month’s topic will be Food-Scaping as Zwahlen explains, “Well it’s a really, really, simple concept, its just the idea of putting food crops or edible plants into your landscape. So you can put them, really, really, just put them anywhere. They don’t have to be segregated to their own vegetable patch but just mixing them in with your landscape,” said Zwahlen. The types of things to consider to plant are herbs, berries, ornamental cabbages, and dwarf cherry tomato plants, honestly, the ideas are endless.

“The idea is you just try to mix things that have similar water requirements. So if you’re doing it in a container make sure the whole container needs, somewhat, the same amount of water. So if its going to be dry plants, try to mix in things that will all need the same kind of thing,” said Zwahlen. These gardening tips are some of the information that will be shared at the Castle Country Gardens & Landscapes for Beginners workshop.

The Food-Scaping technique is becoming a popular way to garden anymore. “I think people are interested in having things that are useful. So I’ve seen a big trend of people not wanting to do something strictly because it’s ornamental whether that’s flowers or shrubs. But if its dual purpose and they can eat it, they seem more willing to invest some time and energy into it,” said Zwahlen. The cost to participate is only $5.00 and can be paid the day of the event. The last session of the Castle Country Gardens & Landscapes for Beginners course will be on Wednesday, May 10 and the topic will be Water–Wise Landscapes.

Any questions or to register for the Castle Country Gardens & Landscapes for Beginners course call the USU Extension office in Carbon County at (435) 636-3233 or in Emery County at (435) 381-3535.