In-Person Continuing Education Opportunity offered by Virginia Master Gardeners Association.
When: Saturday September 20, 2025 9:30am-3pm
Where: Virginia State University Douglas Wilder Bldg. 20901 Carter G Woodson Ave. 238006
Directions: https://www.vsu.edu/agriculture/directions.php
Registration Fee (Lunch included): VMGA Members $20.; Non-VMGA Member $25.
(Please note: Virginia Extension Master Gardeners are not automatically members of VMGA and is separate from your local association. Click here for information on the advantages of becoming members of VMGA and consider joining VMGA)
Field Trip Options:
Randolph Farm (just 1.7miles from Wilder Bldg.) Learn about overhead watering and drip irrigation techniques with hands on demonstration. This will occur after lunch.
Tour of Garden at Wilder Building hopefully to be coordinated during lunch break.
Morning coffee, tea and refreshments are being furnished thanks to the local Master Gardeners of Chesterfield. Bring your refillable coffee mug and water bottle.
We will have the VMGA Merchandise to buy as well as Membership Chair there to take money for those who wish to join our group.
Speakers:
Dr. Leonard Githinji Topic: Soil and Water Management in Vegetable Gardens. He leads the Sustainable and Urban Agriculture program at VSU, and was appointed as a state program leader for agriculture with Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Dr. John Hoben Topic: Soil Fertility and Water Quality. John is a Research Scientist with the Stewart Lab of the Environmental Soil Science Research Groups. He trains the groups in soil fertility, water quality, and protein biochemistry. John's research interests include bioremediation of soil and water and focusing on how microbial communities transform nutrients.
Speakers Bio:
Leonard Githinji, Ph.D.
Associate Professor / Extension Specialist for Sustainable & Urban Agriculture
Program Leader – Food, Ag Systems, & Agroforestry
Cooperative Extension
Virginia State University
lgithinji@vsu.edu
804-524-5962
Dr. Leonard Githinji, got his B.S. in Agriculture in 1974 at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, his M.S.in Management of Physical Land Resources in 2003, at the Ghent University, Belgium and completed his Ph.D. in 2007 in Agronomy & Soils, at Auburn University. He has received numerous grants and published multiple research and Extension publications.
Virginia State University’s Extension Program has numerous communal garden projects across the state. Dr. Githinji who leads the Sustainable and Urban Agriculture program at VSU and was recently appointed as a state program leader for agriculture with Virginia Cooperative Extension, says the top goals of community agriculture are to “address food insecurity, encourage healthy eating, and provide exercise opportunities.”
John Patrick Hoben Ph.D.
Research Scientist at Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
422 Smyth Hall, 185 Ag Quad Lane Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-4490
John completed his MS in Soil Science at Michigan State University and completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Kentucky where his research focused on nutrient cycling. He has published on nitrogen fertilizer management. He also worked at soil testing laboratories at Kansas State University and Clemson University. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, he was a Research Assistant Professor at East Carolina University.
If you do not want to pay online and wish to pay by check, you can mail a check to our treasurer, Betsy Brown. Please, do not wait until last minute to register this way.
Elizabeth Brown
1732 Wycliffe Street
Bedford, VA 24523-1223
treasurer@vmga.net