Gardening 101 Class Series

We are excited to walk you through a 7-class course to prepare you for an abundant and successful growing season!

• Who is this course for?: New to intermediate gardeners. No prior growing experience is required for this course.

• Course Format: Online

• Course Cost: $210 and $180 for students (entire series) OR $35 per individual class

• Time: Mondays from 7:00-8:00 pm (sometimes, we may run until 8:30 pm).

• Course Dates: March 11th, 18th, 25th, April 1st, April 8th, and April 15th

• Additional Benefits:

  • 15% off our annual plant sale online (opening in late March for sales)

  • An in person session at our Fresh Roots Farm to tour our greenhouse and fields to experience previous class material covered in person (time tbd based on the availability of the class).

Topics Covered:

Class 1: Planning your garden 

• Overview of the course 

• What growing zone are you growing in? What implications does that have?

• Evaluating/ observing your plot (wind, water, sun, shade, pests pressure, runoff), what native or invasive plants are currently growing? What is the soil composition like?)

• Where to get your soil tested, and why you may want to do that.

• Types of gardens:

  • Raised beds 

  • Permanent raised beds 

  • Container Gardening 

• Class 2: Gathering the Seeds and Plant Families

  • Where to get your gardening supplies (seeds, potting mix, seeding trays, etc) 

  • Different types of seeds: GMOS, Hybrid, Organic, Open Pollinated, Heirloom 

  • How to choose your seeds to grow more climate-resilient crops 

  • Breaking down the major crop families 

  • Discussing annuals vs. perennials and how they can coexist in a garden plot 

• Class 3: Seed Starting, Transplanting, and Planting with the Seasons

  • What crops to grow best in each season

  • Implications of changing daylight throughout the seasons

  • Succession planting for continual harvest

  • Direct seeding vs transplanting 

  • Methods of turning over a garden bed for a new planting

• Class 4: Reaping and Maintaining the Harvest

  • How to care for crops that have a long harvest window (pruning, mulching trellising, etc)

  • How to harvest major crops 

  • How to get the most yield out of each crop 

  • Discussion of the diseases and pests that plague each crop and organic remedies for that 

  • Discussion of basic preserving methods (canning, pickling, Lacto-fermentation) 

• Class 5: Composting, Irrigation, Amendments 

  • Composting 101 

  • Different types of composting methods 

  • Different methods of irrigation 

  • Discussions of living soils and how that affects what amendments you use 

    • Soil as the immune system of the plant 

• Class 6: Winterizing your garden 

  • Tarping, mulching, cover cropping 

  • Crops that can maintain through the winter 

  • Utilizing row cover and greenhouse poly 

  • Growing greens for the winter 

• Class 7: Fresh Roots Farm Visit (in person)

  • Take a tour of our Fresh Roots Farm,

  • Learn more about the specific of each veggie and how they like to grow

  • Talk about integrating native and medicinal plants into your garden space

  • Enjoy a farm salad!

FAQs:

• Can I just pay for one class?

  • You can! However, we prefer that participants purchase the whole course package if possible.

• Can I get a refund if I miss a class?

  • We’re sorry, but we cannot offer refunds for classes missed. We will be recording the classes and uploading them to a private youtube just for this class so you can always view them at your leisure.

• I only have room for container gardening./ or a very small in ground plot, can I still take this course?

  • Absolutely! Most of this course is geared for gardens of all types. You will be surprised how much you can grow in such a small space!