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- Spring
- LSU AgCenter helps Louisiana ‘Get It Growing’
No matter where you are in Louisiana, you can receive educational information to help you with your lawn and garden. One way we assure this is by offering a program called "Get It Growing," featuring one of our horticulturists, Dan Gill.
The "Get It Growing" campaign features a weekly 60-second television spot, daily (Monday through Friday) 60-second radio spots, weekly newspaper columns and a yearly pictorial calendar.
If you haven’t seen one of the television spots yet, you need to. They feature a single concept and after 60 seconds, you’ll know exactly how to plant a flower, prune a shrub and prepare your lawn for summer. So far, five television stations use the spots regularly, according to Bobby Soileau, who produces them.
Alexandria – KALB-TV – Wednesday during the noon to 12:30 p.m. news program
Baton Rouge – WAFB-TV – Saturday or Sunday between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Lake Charles – KPLC-TV – Tuesday or Thursday between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
Monroe – KNOE-TV – once a week (day varies) during "Good Morning, Ark- La-Miss," which runs from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Opelousas – KDCG –TV – Friday, 6:30 p.m. "Acadiana Today" (re-airs Saturday at 10 a.m.)
We also video-stream these spots on our Web site. So, if you miss them on televison, you can go to the "Get It Growing" page on the LSU AgCenter’s Web site (www.lsuagcenter.com) and watch the spots on your computer.
You can listen to the radio spots on our Web site as well. Some Louisiana radio stations download them directly from the Internet. But Tobie Blanchard, the producer, also sends CDs to 70 stations, including the Louisiana Network, which regularly airs the spots.
The newspaper columns, edited by Tom Merrill, provide more in-depth information on topics such as planning for colorful summer gardens, using ground covers and adding irises to your landscape. Thirty-four Louisiana newspapers use them weekly. If you’d like your local paper to carry them, give the editor a call. The columns are sent free as an e-mail service to anyone who wants them. If you collect all of the columns, you’ll have a comprehensive guide to gardening in Louisiana.
A new addition to the lineup is the 2005 Get It Growing calendar. Not only is it an eye-catching decoration for your wall but it’s chock full of gardening tips for each month. The introduction features "Amazing Azaleas." The back section has an illustrated guide to building a landscape bed. You can still receive a copy or order your 2006 calendar by contacting Elma Sue McCallum at (225) 578-2462 or emccallum@agcenter.lsu.edu.
Linda Foster Benedict