WINNEMUCCA - Did you know the average carrot travels over 1,800 miles to get to your dinner plate? Or that 93 percent of your food dollar pays for the processing and shipment of said carrot? Did you know you can grow your own carrots by the bunch right here in Nevada and burn calories and eat better while doing it?
You can, and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) has eight new "Grow Your Own!" classes to help you get on the path to sustainable, local, healthy living.
Beginning in February and ending in late March, UNCE offices in Carson City, Duck Valley, Elko, Ely, Eureka, Fallon, Hawthorne, Logandale, Reno, Winnemucca and Yerington will return with the ever-popular "Grow Your Own!" series, providing gardeners and health buffs in the Silver State with a "back-to-the-basics guide to great harvests in Nevada."
• Feb. 8: What to do with all those seed catalogs
• Feb. 15: Greenhouse growing
• Feb. 22: Raised-bed gardening
• Feb. 29: Edible Landscaping
• March 7: Training and pruning fruit trees
• March 14: From anise to yarrow: growing herbs
• March 21: Saving seeds from your garden
• March 28: Preserving your harvest
"Anyone can become a better gardener by attending these classes," said Horticulture Specialist Heidi Kratsch. "From the beginner to the advanced gardener, everyone can benefit from a Grow Your Own class."
Extension experts will touch on seed storing, raised-flower-bed construction, best practices for growing delicious herbs and vegetables and the benefits of low-cost, high-yield greenhouses and hoop houses.
"Hoop houses are really taking off here," Kratsch said. "Some Nevadans who built hoop houses last season are reaping the benefits of this warm, dry winter by growing some of their foods year-round."
To register for any and all of the upcoming "Grow Your Own!" classes in Winnemucca, contact Connie Beck at the Humboldt County Cooperative Extension Office at (775) 623-6304. Registrations are due no later than Feb. 3, and class size is limited to 12. The class fee for Winnemucca residents is $10, or $40 to register for all eight classes. Class fees in other locations may vary. Carson City, Duck Valley, Elko, Ely, Eureka, Fallon, Hawthorne, Logandale, Reno and Yerington residents should contact their local Cooperative Extension office for information on attending the series in those locations.
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