Through the years, few lectures have been as fundamental to our competence as gardeners, as relevant to all, or as popular as those delivered by Charlie Mitchell. He has been our “soil guru” for so long and in so many ways that we find it difficult to think about soil quality without having a mental image of Charlie popping into our brains.
Dr Charles C Mitchell retired from Auburn University in March. That means that, like it or not, we’ll eventually need to adjust to having someone else teach us about building up our soil. But there’s a silver lining adorning this cloud: at our request, he’s preparing to share some of his expertise with us on May 17, 2016. He’ll be reflecting on his illustrious career, what he has learned, and what changes he has seen. He has titled his talk “Loving Plants, A Little Science, and a Lot of Living – Perspectives from 60 Years of Gardening in the South.”
Charlie grew up on his family’s farm in Marengo County. He has degrees from Birmingham-Southern College, Auburn University and the University of Florida. Before coming to Auburn in 1984, he was director of the Soil Testing Laboratory at Clemson University in South Carolina and has remained active in soil testing research at Auburn. Charlie is responsible for Auburn’s adding nutrient recommendations for Alabama crops. More recently, it is Charlie’s quiet persistence that has resulted in Auburn’s now having a test for organic matter available as an optional component of its standard soil test. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Certified Crops Advisors.
In addition to his professional activities, Charlie now serves as president of the Lee County Historical Society, is active in the Auburn Civitan Club and the Auburn-Opelika Men’s Camellia Club, and is a volunteer leader of a local 4-H Club. He and his wife, Peggy, are avid gardeners and take care of several of the gardens at Pioneer Park in Loachapoka. They love to travel.
5/17/16 Update: Charlie has graciously agreed for us to host his slides from the presentation. Thank you, Charlie!
