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NOTE: This class is 75 minutes in length and will extend into the free time between Sessions C and D.

This is the third class in the Climate Change series.

There is much to consider in designing a climate smart garden: how water is harvested, used, and directed; how soils are nurtured to make them more drought-resilient and fertile; how plantings can help with thermoregulation of the site; how materials choices can contribute to our carbon footprint - and the list goes on! In this class we'll discuss attributes of climate-smart gardens.
We'll cover design ideas and solutions to implement, including planting and materials choices, to meet our design goals and make our gardens - both new and existing - more resilient.

Supports MG Priorities: Climate Change, Water Conservation

Don’t we all love strawberries? Yes, you can grow your own! Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow, and they are far more flavorful than those you bring home from the grocery store. We’ll explore plant selection, how-to planting for your spaces — especially here on Whidbey, care and concerns through the season from harvesting to storage and some fun facts and interesting history.

The class is designed for beginners to experienced gardeners who want to expand or refresh their knowledge or get more creative with their plantings or new varieties.

Supports MG Priority: Local Food

Do you love eating from your garden? Anza’s class will help you get the most from your small farm or garden year round. This class will cover the basics of soil, bed preparation, microclimates, season extension, timing your plantings and harvesting tips. Now is a good time to create your garden maps for your best harvest ever.

Supports MG Priority: Local Food

A homegrown tomato is the Holy Grail of the kitchen garden, and yet it can be one of the most challenging hot-season crops to grow in our moderate Maritime summers. However, help is on the way! Bill Thorness will share tips and techniques to help you have your best tomato year yet. You’ll learn about season extension, pruning, trellising, pests, diseases and proper fertilizing and watering.

Supports MG Priority: Local Food

We will explore soil properties that gardeners can influence and how and why to enhance them. We will show how the soil food web is essential for creating a healthy human food web and human health in general.

Supports MG Priority: Soil Health

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature

Do you have a slug and snail problem in your garden? This class will provide information that will help you deal with these plant damaging pests. There are several ways to manage these invasive species.

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature

Starting a new garden can be a daunting task for beginners, and for those who are more experienced. This class helps you consider the elements that make a garden a delightful place to enjoy in solitude and with friends and family. We will look at choosing plants that will mature gracefully, hardscape that showcases the plants, and ways to avoid costly mistakes.

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature

NOTE: This class is 75 minutes in length and will extend into the free time between Sessions C and D.

Take your garden photos to the next level! This class will focus on learning skills that will enhance the photos you take of your garden and the wonderful natural world that surrounds us here in the PNW. We will cover what makes a good composition, how to use the light to your advantage, some basic editing skills, and a hands-on walk through the marketplace to practice the learned skills. This class will be geared towards using a cell phone camera but is applicable to any type of camera you would like to use.

A sub-irrigated planter (SIP) is a generic name for a type of container gardening where the water is introduced below the soil surface. This class will demonstrate how to apply the SIP principles to both smaller container planters and large raised or handicapped accessible beds.

Supports MG Priority: Water Conservation

This one-hour class provides an introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a sustainable approach to managing pests using a combination of effective, environmentally conscious strategies. Participants will learn to define pests and pesticides, understand the IPM pyramid of tactics, and explore key concepts such as pest prevention, monitoring, and tolerance thresholds. The course emphasizes the integration of multiple tactics to manage pests effectively, evaluating results for continuous improvement, and utilizing pesticide management resources responsibly. Perfect for gardeners, landscapers, and anyone seeking practical, eco-friendly pest management solutions.

Supports MG Priority: Clean Water

Learn how easy it can be to build your own worm bin, what it takes to keep your worms happy and how to harvest the "black gold" that is vermicompost. We will build a bin, step by step, which will be available at the market place raffle after the class.

Supports MG Priority: Soil Health

NOTE: This class is 75 minutes in length and will extend into the free time between Sessions C and D.

Pruning less often can be a boon to both the gardener and the plants! This talk will cover when to prune for optimal results, best pruning cuts, and how much to take off. We’ll review best pruning practices for promote moderate growth rates and reduce the frequency of pruning needed to keep shrubs and hedges in good form and health. Learn how to prune young trees for strong structure and to reduce future pruning needs as they mature. Pruning less often saves labor and energy and reduces green waste volume.

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature

Composting is a powerful way to align with nature, enriching your soil with fertility, structure, hydration, and beneficial microbes while contributing to carbon sequestration. This practical one-hour workshop delves into the many benefits of composting and offers a clear, step-by-step understanding of the composting process
Topics include the "how" of composting including selecting input materials, choosing a composting location, and deciding between hot and cold composting methods, as well as troubleshooting common issues and maximizing the use of finished compost. The workshop also addresses the challenges and choices gardeners face in composting at home or in community gardens
By the end of this class, participants will have the knowledge and confidence to compost effectively, appreciate the value of composting in sustainable gardening, and feel motivated to implement or improve composting practices in their home or community gardens

Supports MG Priority: Soil Health

Mix the best soil for the sweetest strawberries and plant two sweet strawberry plants.

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Discover kokedama, the centuries old Japanese art form, whose origins lie in bonsai. Kokedama, which loosely translates to moss ball, provides a graceful repository and growing habitat for indoor and outdoor plants. You’ll be guided through a modern take on this unique planting technique and create a decorative plant sculpture that is a self-contained, sustainable home for a living plant. The moss surround makes these decorative kokedama orbs verdant and stunning especially when you put your own creative spin on the twined wrapping. Displayed on a piece from your cupboard, hung from an invisible string, or given as a gift, this “Make-n-Take” might be the beginning of a new hobby.

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature

This in the fourth class in the Native Landscape series.

This session will focus on some of the common wildlife species using woodlands on Whidbey Island, and ways to provide habitats for them using active (and passive) management techniques. We will also discuss animal damage issues that may come up, and ways to combat nuisance wildlife. Local resources will be identified. He might even sing a song.

Supports MG Priority: Nearby Nature