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Did y'all get out to the State Fair this year? Did you see the wonderful exhibits, especially those in Expo New Mexico's Bolack Building, wherein all the fruits and vegetables are displayed? As evidenced by the proliferation of large pumpkins, the strange weather we had this summer strongly favored some plants. As noted by the nearly total lack of grapes in the exhibits, other crops didn't fare so well.

This was my first year as the superintendent of that building, and of those exhibits, and it sure made me eager to get back into my garden. Congratulations to all those who entered, and to those who won nifty ribbons to display as mementos of a season passed. I'd like to encourage all of you to enter next year. If those pumpkins get any bigger, we'll have to take them over to the Beef Barn to weigh them!

The Flower Building at the State Fair had a lot of neat exhibits on display as well. Flower gardeners vied for top honors in a multitude of categories, something new every few days. It's fun to see all this exuberant flora, and to know that, with just a bit more effort, my yard and garden could produce such beauty. Downright inspirational — although, given the number of ribbons some individuals won, I do think some people need to get a life — you know who you are, John H.

The weather did have some other unusual impacts throughout our area. I diagnosed a number of trees that died . . . of drowning.

With our sometimes-heavy soils, impenetrable caliche layers and day after day of rain, the poor things' roots were sitting in saturated soil for too long. Some plants can tolerate this, but many can't, and once the root system goes, it's all over. What can be done? Well, not much, short of re-engineering the soil in your yard to a depth of, say, 10 feet.

That's impractical to the point of impossible, at least for most budgets. Where plants need replacing, consider putting in a lot of sweat equity loosening the soil broadly and deeply prior to replanting. It's a lot of work, but labor done upfront saves heartache down the line. We may not get another year like this in the lifetime of your trees and shrubs, but who knows what next year will bring?

Speaking of next year, it is not too early to fill out and send in your application for the 2007 Albuquerque Area Extension Master Gardener class. This wonderful series of classes will teach you about soils, insects, botany, plant diseases, tree issues, turf issues, vegetable gardening, xeriscaping, bonsai, irrigation — the list is long.

I teach a number of the classes, but we have many experts who come in to enlighten our trainees in their area of specialty. Some of these include author, landscape designer and nursery owner Judith Phillips; David Salman, owner of High Country Gardens; Wes Brittenham of Waterwise Landscapes; Jim Brooks, permaculture guru and owner of Soilutions; and numerous New Mexico State University faculty, such as Drs. Carol Sutherland (entomology), Natalie Goldberg (plant pathology), Jon Boren (vertebrate pests), Bernd Lienauer (turfgrass), Robert Flynn (soils) and Ron Walser (fruit).

I've left out quite of few — no slight intended, my good people. For application information, call 243-1386, or log onto