Year Round Organic Gardening in Western Washington State
Instructor: Linda Gilkeson, Ph.D Entomology SU
In our mild West Coast climate we can enjoy fresh food from our gardens year around. Tips on what to grow, planting schedules, protection from extreme weather and how to avoid common pests and problems.
Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees
Instructor: Judi Stewart, WSU Master Gardener and Member North Olympic Fruit Club; Dr. Roger Eichman, Member North Olympic Fruit Club, Past-President Western Cascade Fruit Society
A top notch grafting class presented by North Olympic Fruit Club members, providing knowledge and techniques to enable you to create fruit trees next spring and summer and in years to come. Basic grafting techniques will be demonstrated, along with videos and time for questions.
Session six
Bob Simmons
"Can I Plant Something Pretty on my Drainfield?”
Bob Simmons is WSU Extension’s Olympic Region Water Resources Regional Specialist. Over the past 27 years, he has provided community based water resource stewardship programs focusing on water quality in the Puget Sound region. Over his career he has provided septic sewage system education and stormwater management using bio-retention strategies and served as the chairperson of the Washington Governor’s Council on Environmental Education.
James Cassidy
Soil Test Results in Hand - What Does it all Mean?
James Cassidy has been an Instructor of Soil Science at Oregon State University for over 14 years. and the faculty advisor for the wildly popular OSU Organic Growers Club - OSU's student farm. Coming from a non-traditional background in the music industry, he is passionate about soil and is popular with students. The student farm project has over 300 student volunteers and continues to grow, now entering its 20th season.
Beth Chisholm
Community Gardens and Food Banks
Beth Chisholm, WSU Whatcom County Master Gardener Program, Community First Gardens Project
Dan Hinkley
The Best Plants for Challenging Places
Dan Hinkley has a lifelong interest in plants which led him to receive his B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and M.S. in Urban Horticulture. In 1987 he and his husband, architect Robert Jones, established Heronswood Nursery. Devoted to introducing rare plants to the gardeners of North America, this endeavor led him into the wilds of China, South and Central America, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nepal and Vietnam over the past 20 years. He is the author of three award-winning books: The Explorer’s Garden: Shrubs & Vines (2009), Winter Ornamentals (1993) and The Explorers Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials (1998), and his new book on the making of Windcliff, his private garden, will be published by Timber Press in late 2020.
Jeannine Polaski
Community Gardens and Food Banks
Jeannine Polaski has been engaged in the Mason County Master Gardener program since 2013 after retiring from a career in Telecommunications. Eleven years ago, the Mason County Master Gardeners created a demonstration garden which incorporates both a vegetable food bank garden and community garden bed rentals. Jeannine will be sharing the lessons learned over the life of the garden.
Dr. Gwen K. Stahnke
Ten Things an MG should Know about Lawn Care
Dr. Gwen K. Stahnke received her B.S. in Horticulture/Turf and her Masters degree in turf grass, with a robust career path that has included teaching golf course operations, serving as area agronomist for TruGreen and sod farm management. She earned her PhD in Turf and was Turf Extension Specialist in Puyallup for over 20 years. Currently, Dr. Stahnke is Professor Emeritus, WSU-Puyallup REC, instructor for the Turfgrass Management program at Walla Walla Community College and a representative from the US. on the International Turfgrass Society’s Board of Directors.
Jana Ferris
Leading Through Change: Empowering Volunteers
Jana Ferris is the Volunteer Development Specialist with WSU Extension, providing education, support, and systems management expertise to faculty and staff volunteer administrators. She has been actively involved in leadership of volunteer programs for over 30 years, providing academic preparation in education and organizational psychology, as well as faculty leadership of large (over 650 volunteers) and middle management 4-H and Girl Scout volunteer programs.
INSTRUCTORS: Session three
Kate Bratrude
Demo Gardens: Everything You Need to Know
Kate Bratrude is a WSU Master Gardener in Chelan/Douglas Counties and is Manager of the WSU Master Gardener Community Education Garden in Wenatchee and has enjoyed expanding the community education opportunities the garden provides.
Bob Taylor
Demo Gardens: Everything You Need to Know
Bob Taylor has been a Master Gardener since 2001, serving as WSU Demonstration Garden Coordinator, Foundation member and part of the State MG Foundation Board. For the last 15 years Bob has expanded his involvement into Youth Outreach, teaching both Master Gardener and Master Recycling/Composting related topics. He is currently teaching 5 topics to Title one primary school students grades K-5. . Bob received the Master Gardener of the Year Award in 2018.
Jennifer Marquis
Demo Gardens: Everything You Need to Know
Jennifer Marquis is the statewide WSU Master Gardener Program Leader. She has been with Extension for 10 years and enjoys leading and empowering volunteers to accomplish program goals and objectives. Working with the WSU Master Gardener Program fulfills her passions for people and natural resources.
Wendy Sue Wheeler
Pesticides: WSU Master Gardener Policy and the Law
Sam Maupin
Developing and Growing the Perfect Tomato
Tim Kohlhauff
Garden Lessons in a Box
Tim Kohlhauff is the urban horticulture coordinator for WSU’s Spokane County extension office, where he leads the Master Gardener volunteer program. He is an adjunct instructor at Spokane Community College where he has taught Arboriculture, Advanced Arboriculture, Plant Problem Diagnosis, and pest management classes. For 10 years, Tim was the arborist at the Spokane Country Club golf course. He has been a certified arborist since 2004.
Mary Dessel
Creating Pollinator Friendly Gardens
Mary Dessel is a Mason County Master Gardener active on the Education Committee organizing the MCMG’s educational workshop series, Through the Garden Gate, as well as helping teach MG training classes and community outreach events. She has a B.S. in nursing and in forestry and a Masters in Forestry with an emphasis on forest entomology, and was a park naturalist in the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park.
Christina Pfeiffer
Christina Pfeiffer is a horticulture writer, educator, and consultant with 40 years’ experience in landscape management and plant care. She brings an emphasis on sustainable garden practices applied in sync with the cycle of the seasons to her teaching and writing and holds degrees in horticulture from Michigan State and the University of Washington and is an ISA Certified Arborist©. She is author, with Mary Robson, of Pacific Northwest Month-by-Month Gardening, 2017.
