To all of my HortCalendar Highlights readers, I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I wish you tender pie crusts, no lumps in your gravy and turkeys that are thawed in time to get them in the oven. 

But back to why you're here—to find out what's coming up in the world of horticulture. I've got some great stuff for you, including free hydroponics webinars, continuing education courses and two January tradeshows.

From December 2 through December 5, the University of Connecticut will be hosting four free webinars on hydroponic growing. They'll start at noon Eastern and run 30 minutes, and cover several issues, including nutrients, root rots and disease management in closed-loop irrigation systems. (Note: There is no Thursday webinar.)

Here’s the rundown on the series:

Monday, December 2—"Develop a Nutrient Program for Hydroponically Grown Leafy Crops" (Beginner Level); presented by Chris Curry, Ph.D. Iowa State University

Tuesday, December 3—"Get to the Root of the Problem: Diagnosis and Biocontrol of Root Rot in Leafy Greens" (Beginner Level); presented by Cora McGehee, M.Sc. University of Connecticut

Wednesday, December 4—"Case Studies in Closed Irrigation Loops: Disease Spread" (All Levels); presented by Rosa E. Raudales, Ph.D. University of Connecticut

Friday, December 6—"Adjusting Nutrients in a Closed Irrigation System" (Advanced Level); presented by Neil Mattson, Ph.D. Cornell University

Find out more and register HERE. The series is co-sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Interested in continuing your education while working? Then check out these self-paced educational courses offered by Michigan State University Extension’s Online College of Knowledge (love that name!). Their next greenhouse series starts in December and includes the following courses: Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting, Biological Control for Greenhouse Growers, and Floriculture Root Zone Management.

They're a great resource for those of you new to the industry as well as those of you who want to brush up on your skills or explore an area you aren’t as familiar with. The courses are available in English and Spanish. Each course is $129, and there are three scholarships per course available to those with financial needs.

Registration ends December 15, 2019, so sign up today at https://www.canr.msu.edu/online-college-of-knowledge.

MANTS will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and I’ll be there for my first time to take it all in. It’s known as the “Masterpiece of Trade Shows,” and with almost 1,000 exhibitors and more than 11,500 attendees representing 3,650 buying companies, it’s a place to get business done. You can find everything horticultural—plants and nursery stock, landscape and garden items, heavy- and light-duty equipment, tools, furniture and hundreds of other allied industry products. Be sure to check back here in mid-January because I’ll be giving you a full post-show rundown. And if you’re at the show, and see Jen Zurko and me, be sure to say hi!

For more info and to register, visit www.mants.com.

The Utah Nursery and Landscape Association will be holding their trade show in January, and they’ve got some informative talks and panel discussions on the schedule. With topics ranging from irrigation, to turf pests, to engineering retaining walls and small equipment maintenance, there's something for every member of your team.

Here are four topics that caught my eye:

Annual Color: An Approach to Chaos—Esther Henrichsen, Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, Utah

Plants at Their Worst—Dane Horrocks & Ken Cox, Perennial Favorites, Layton, Utah

You Did the Job—Now, Get Paid! Lien and Other Laws—Josh Sundloff, Babcock, Scott & Babcock, Salt Lake City, Utah

In Defense of Cactus—Ryan White of Red Hills Desert Garden, St. George, Utah

Those all sound great ... especially the one on getting paid!

To find out more and to sign up, go to www.utahgreen.org.