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Turfgrass Mathematics Around the World

August 23, 2010

Some of the best parts of my internship experiences are actually learning how to use what I have learned in school. Being able to fully begin to realize the application of my years of schooling and hours of studying for tests makes me truly appreciate my education.

Learning turfgrass identification, and how to read soil tests all seemed like I was just studying while in school. Now that I have begun to work with various types of grasses, my ability to identify different species has become very handy. I have also worked with the superintendents here on interpreting soil tests and learning how they make fertility adjustments. But what I believe to be one of the greatest skills I learned in school is all the calculations used in managing turfgrass.

Calibrating a sprayer or fertilizer spreader was a skill I really got to practice a lot while on my internships and it was a great way for me to apply what I had learned in school, and finally get some hands on experience with performing the calibrations. Ever since I took Dr. Christians Hort 351 Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management I, and was introduced

It may be a great teaching tool to challenge interns to perform calibrations in both United States Customary Units and in International System of Units. If you are interested in more conversions, here are some great sites I have found:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/ (this is by far my favorite math/conversion related site)

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

http://www.onlineconversion.com/

For those of you with Windows Vista or Windows 7, there are also many Gadgets available for download that make conversions on your desktop incredibly easy.

Damian Richardson

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TWO TURF COURSES AVAILABLE ON THE WEB THIS SPRING

December 20, 2012

The advanced turf course, Hort 451 will be offered on line in the spring of 2013.  This is the first time that this course has been offered for off campus students.  It is available for undergraduate or minor graduate credit.  This is a two credit course, with two hours of lecture per week.  


The Basic Turf Course, Hort 351 will also be available this spring.  This is a 3 credit course with 3 hours of lecture per week.


The cost for off campus students for either course, including those out of state or in other countries,  is:
  
Undergraduate credit - $277/credit

Graduate credit - $431/credit

Delivery fee - $162

If you have any questions, contact me:

Nick Christians, Ph.D.
University Professor
Iowa State University
Department of Horticulture
133 Horticulture Bldg.
Ames, IA 50011
515-294-0036
e-mail: nchris@iastate.edu
books: http://www.amazon.com/Nick-Edward-Christians/e/B001H6SB7A/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
home page: http://www.hort.iastate.edu/directory/detail.php?id=2

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HORT 451 ADVANCED TURF CLASS ON LINE SPRING 2013

October 26, 2012

The advanced turf course, Hort 451 will be offered on line in the spring of 2013.  This is the first time that this course has been offered for off campus students.  It is available for undergraduate or minor graduate credit.  This is a two credit course, with two hours of lecture per week.

Hort 351, the basic turf course, will also be available on-line this spring.  This is a 3 credit course with 3 hours of lecture per week.  

 

The cost for off campus students for either course, including those out of state or in other countries, is: 

Undergraduate credit - $277/credit

Graduate credit - $431/credit

Delivery fee - $162

 

 

If you have any questions, contact me:

Nick Christians, Ph.D.
University Professor
Iowa State University
Department of Horticulture
133 Horticulture Bldg.
Ames, IA 50011
515-294-0036
e-mail: nchris@iastate.edu
books: http://www.amazon.com/Nick-Edward-Christians/e/B001H6SB7A/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
home page: http://www.hort.iastate.edu/directory/detail.php?id=2

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STILL TIME TO SIGN UP FOR WEB-BASED TURF COURSE

August 13, 2012

Horticulture 351, the basic turfgrass management course at Iowa State, will be offered off campus on the web this fall, beginning on August 20.  You can take it from any location around the world.  The lectures are placed on the web each night after the lecture on campus and you can watch them any time 24 hours/day.  Testing is handled through monitors at your location.  If you're interested, contact me at nchris@iastate.edu  515-294-0036.

The following video concerns the course content.  You can sign up at http://www.agde.iastate.edu/course/?sem=f&year=2012.  The cost of the course is $277/credit hour.  It is a three credit course, so that is $831 total.  There is then a $162 delivery fee for a total of $993.

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HORT 351-TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT OFFERED ON THE WEB IN THE FALL OF 2012

July 24, 2012

Horticulture 351, the basic turfgrass management course at Iowa State, will be offered off campus on the web this fall.  You can take it from any location around the world.  The lectures are placed on the web each night after the lecture on campus and you can watch them any time 24 hours/day.  Testing is handled through monitors at your location.  If you're interested, contact me at nchris@iastate.edu  515-294-0036.

The following video concerns the course content.  You can sign up at http://www.agde.iastate.edu/course/?sem=f&year=2012.
 

 

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HORT. 351 TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT WILL BE OFFERED THIS SPRING ON THE WEB

November 30, 2011

For the first time ever, I will be offering Hort/Agronomy 351-Turfgrass Establishment and Management- in the spring. It will be entirely web based and you can take it any place in the world without coming to campus. For more information, see

http://www.agde.iastate.edu/course/viewCourse.php?courseID=S2012HORT%20351%20XW

This course carries minor graduate credit and could be used towards an MS degree.

I have recently become part of the Master of Agronomy Distance program. Through this web based program, you can get an MS in agronomy with a specialization in Turf Science while you are employed full time. Most of it is offered off-campus through the web. You would need to do a creative component in some aspect of turf science and come to campus for a couple of short summer workshops and for your final defense.

This program is ideal for those who want to achieve a Master's degree without leaving their full time job. It is well suited for those teaching in two-year programs who want to finish a master's degree. The creative component can be the development of a course for teaching at the community college level.

For more information on the Master of Agronomy program, see:

http://masters.agron.iastate.edu/

Pass this on to anyone who might be interested.

I can be reached at 515-294-0036 for more information, or e-mail me at nchris@iastate.edu.

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UPDATE ON FLOOD RECOVERY

October 7, 2010

Here is the latest picture of the recovery from the August 10 flood damage. It was taken on Sept. 29, 2010, 7 weeks after the flood damage. The students are the Hort 351 lab that was visiting the site. They are standing on the warm season grasses that survived the flood. The surrounding area is the bluegrass/rye area that had the severe damage. The area was seeded shortly after the flood. About 40% of the recovery is from bluegrass rhizomes, the rest is germinating perennial ryegrass seed. The area still cannot be used for intramural sports, but the extent of recovery in just 7 weeks is amazing.

Veenker golf course and Cold Water Golf Links were both heavily damaged by the flood as well. Both courses are now open play.

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