Friday classes
Do Plants Talk?
Instructor: Dr. David Crowder, Associate Professor, WSU Dept of Entomology
Plants face constant attack from pests like herbivores and pathogens. Plants are not undefended, however, and have a variety of chemical and physical defenses to repel attackers. This course will discuss the ways in which plants defend themselves and how growers may be able to promote healthy plants that can protect themselves from stressors.
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Planning a Water-Wise Garden: Design Principles for Everyone
Instructor: Michael A. Sanchez, Scholarly Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture
In our climate with increasingly bone-dry summers, a practical answer is Xeriscape, an ecological approach for dry, water-wise gardening. Learn how to be successful incorporating key design principles, selecting plants with drought-tolerant characteristics, and constructing the garden for long-term sustainability.
Garden Lessons in a Box
Instructor: Tim Kohlhauff, Urban Horticulture-WSU Extension
“Garden Lessons in a Box”, are effective research-based lessons for younger gardeners that can be easily carried to remote sites, and include supplies, resources and curriculum outline that any Master Gardener can use.
Companion Planting - Do Carrots Really Love Tomatoes?
Diane Decker-Ihle, WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener
What is interplanting, aka companion planting and how can it enhance your vegetable garden? The speaker will give examples of science- based plant associations we can use to enhance crop yield and quality in our home vegetable gardens.
If Bugs Could Talk …Gardening in Tune with Insect Lifecycles
Panelists: Sharon Collman, Professor Emeritus, WSU Extension; Dave Pehling, retired WSU Extension Snohomish County zoologist
If bugs could talk they’d be shaking their antennae and stridulating in disbelief at our efforts to control them. Sharon will take a merry look at the insects and how their life cycles should influence your actions. It’s really not that hard.
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Deer Resistant Garden Design
Instructor: Karen Chapman, CPH
What deer-challenged homeowners need from master gardeners are tried and true strategies and design tricks that will enable them to have the garden of their dreams without resorting to fences or constant spraying. This class illustrates key design steps and abundant examples.
*Please note: recording not available for this class.
A Convenient Truth - Composting for the Home Gardener
Instructor: Don Krafft, WSU Master Gardener and Master Composter
Learn how to teach the basics of composting through this primer on waste management, reasons to compost and the basics of the process and material. Enhance your understanding of the benefits and ways to promote it to the home and community gardener.
Citizen Science - Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills
Instructor: Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D Horticulture
The increase in unfiltered information available on the web has created a need for university Extension programs to assist citizens in developing critical evaluation skills .This presentation will provide Master Gardeners with guidelines for evaluating articles, books, and electronic resources objectively.
Building a Growing Groceries Program
Instructor: Kate Ryan, Agriculture Program Coordinator for WSU Snohomish County Extension
With skyrocketing interest in growing fresh, healthy food at home, demand for accurate information relevant to each region is increasing throughout Washington and beyond. Starting in 2009, the WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries program developed as a direct result of that demand.
Thirteen seasons later, the program has evolved into several activities and focused efforts to get our communities growing! You’ll learn how the program, and our partnerships, have grown over the years and what you can do to start a similar program in your community.
The Importance of Trees to Our Lives and Landscapes
Instructor: Ben Thompson, Department of Natural Resources, Urban Forestry Specialist
Trees are the longest-lived plants in our gardens and landscapes, bearing witness to changes between seasons and years, and evolving to those changes. Today we find ourselves also needing to adapt. Explore the value and relevance of trees to the planet and our daily lives today and into the future.
Creating Garden Beauty All Year with Native Plants
Instructor: Mary Foster, WSU Master Gardener
This class features Northwest native plants used to highlight beauty and color throughout the year, including attractive native flowers. Learn how berries, colorful leaves, and interesting texture can also add depth, variety and attractive features to your garden.
Ten Things an MG should Know about Lawn Care
Instructor: Dr. Gwen K. Stahnke, Professor Emeritus-WSU Puyallup
Lawn care practices are involved either directly or indirectly in many of the questions that MGs are asked to answer in clinic. Our goal is to reduce the potential for negative impacts such as damage to adjacent plantings and the pollution of surface runoff. Here’s a list of the most important issues to know about.
The Culture of Gardening: The Work is in Our Hands
Instructor: Abra Lee , Horticulturalist
Through determination, enthusiasm, and willpower Black women overcame ugliness in America to cultivate beauty in the landscape. This is an exciting discussion of their historical legacy, self-expression, and activism in garden clubs.
Community Gardens and Food Banks
Panelists: Beth Chisholm, WSU Master Gardener Program Community Gardens Project; Jeannine Polaski, former WSU Master Gardener Program Coordinator - Mason County; Jennifer Marquis, WSU Master Gardener Program Statewide Coordinator
Community Gardens and Food Banks can fulfill a need in our WSU Master Gardener educational mission, provided they meet program requirements. Join in the discussion as our panelists share their experiences-both good and bad and explain the roles that community gardens and food banks can play in fulfilling WSU Extension’s mission. Bring your questions & experiences to share and learn how you can enrich your local WSU Master Gardener program!
Gardening Amid the Tree Roots
Instructor: Christina Pfeiffer, Horticultural Writer/Educator
Installing new plantings and maintaining old gardens within the shade and root zone of large trees can present challenges. This class provides information and methods for improving long-term success for both the trees and surrounding landscape.
Not in My Backyard
Instructor: Jim Kropf, WSU Natural Resources Program Director, Director of County Administration for WSU Extension, WSU Pierce County Extension Director
Learn to analyze how light, soil, PH, temperature and exposure determine the health of your garden’s plants. Learn how to grow plants with four season interest, control weeds, outsmart insect predators, deal with critters and avoid thugs and heartaches. Mastering garden dilemmas in your backyard will make you more knowledgeable and effective as a master gardener in your county.
Creating Pollinator Friendly Gardens
Instructor: Mary Dessel, WSU Master Gardener, Masters in Forestry
Bumblebees and other pollinators are declining due to multiple threats such as habitat loss. Learn how insect pollinators benefit us and what you can do to protect them…and improve habitat in your own gardens.
Pesticides: WSU Master Gardener Policies and the Law
Instructor: Wendy Sue Wheeler
Pesticide laws are critical to protect human health and the environment. It is important to understand how pesticide use is regulated. Federal, state, county, and local laws can impact pesticide applications. This class will cover labels, formulations, personal safety, and environmental safety topics and the laws that govern them.
Developing and Growing the Perfect Tomato
Instructor: Sam Maupin
Tomatoes are the most popular plant to grow by home gardeners and for good reason. There are so many different varieties and production methods they can fit into almost any garden. With so much variability, perfecting the tomato should become a personal endeavor. At the Brothers Greenhouses, we have been conducting trials to determine which varieties are the most productive and tasty. We would like to share the results of our experiences to help the community find the best plants for their gardens and the best flavor to their plates. Join this class to learn about possibilities and empower you gardener's intuition.
Sustainable Stormwater Management and the Role that MGs Can Play
Instructor: Dr. Ani Jayakaran, Associate Professor-WSU Extension
Learn the current state of the science related to green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), how it can be used as a means to sustainably manage stormwater, impact Puget Sound communities, and the role that Master Gardeners can play.