What a Racket

Bottom Line: I have long thought that Mississippi State Universities' Extension into local affairs was a money grubbing operation. Every time you turn the page in the MS Master Gardener Program handbook they-- that is the folks who put this program together-- do two things: 1) Alert you that you will violate Federal Law (!!) if you don't apply fire ant killer according to package directions which begin with the phrase, "It is a violation of Federal Law to apply fire ant killer in a manner not according to package directions" and B) TEST your soil. We will TEST your soil for a modest fee. You can NOT plant until you TEST your soil. TEST your soil. We will be Happy to TEST your soil for a modest fee.

[Laura, I'm looking at you.]

So I started to wonder if it might cost MSU about 3 cents to test a soil sample for the modest fee of $7. And I wondered, don't you people write grants so folks in New Jersey can pay to test my soil? 

Anyway... . I'd sort of forgotten about this rant until I got my Masters Gardeners Newsletter.

I would have had a perfect score but as you can see, I took issue with Q3-- a poorly worded question if you know anything at all about-- good Lord-- genetics, growth, development.

Still, I am a "soil master." Would that were true.

Note that in the very bottom-- if you've scored poorly-- there's more information about donating to MSU. 

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On a side note-- I've been tilling rotted cow manure and lime &c. into my beds. Thanks to all of you who support Anthropogenic Global Warming, my growing season is now year-'round.