Registration now open.

Winter Gardening Know-How Series

Four 1-1/2 hour ONLINE sessions

One weeknight per week for 4 weeks

Wednesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 PM

November 8, 15, 29 & December 6, 2023

Knowing HOW-TO is important in the short-term. But gardening KNOW-HOW is forever! Take advantage of the downtime during late fall to gain the gardening knowledge that will serve you for years to come. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, our tips and tricks will give you the edge you need to succeed. Join us and let’s grow together!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: The Know-How Series is designed for home gardeners of all levels of experience. Lecturers are senior Massachusetts Master Gardeners. Handouts are provided for most sessions, andthere will be plenty of time for live Q&A with the speakers.

TOPICS:

At the MMGA, we love to talk about gardening and horticulture. But we also like to listen. We’ve selected four timely late fall topics based on countless discussions with home gardeners to create  our four-week Winter Gardening Know-How Series.

• Gardening Basics: Learn about the basic needs of your plants. Find out how you can most easily meet the needs of your botanical companions for years of happiness in the garden. 

• Cold Frames: Cold frames and hoop houses are great season extenders, allowing vegetables to be planted 2-4 weeks earlier than unprotected plants. They also play a key role in the transition of seedlings of all kinds from the sheltered windowsill or greenhouse environment to the outdoors. Learn how, where, and when to use these interesting tools in your own garden.  

• What's Wrong with my House Plant? Prevention and early detection are important to control insects and diseases on indoor plants. In addition to diagnosing issues with your plants, learn the factors that make for happy houseplants, including light, water, and soil, and when and how to provide them.

• Inviting Wildlife into Your Garden: Ecosystems are becoming more fragmented. Pollinator numbers are decreasing. And climate change is a reality. As gardeners, we need to create safe havens for our local wildlife. One way to do that is by providing food, water, and shelter. Learn simple ways to adapt your garden and gardening habits to welcome all sorts of our fellow creatures.

Winter KNOW-HOW SERIES PRESENTERS are senior Massachusetts Master Gardeners (MGs) who are passionate subject matter experts and trained speakers.

● Gretel Anspach is a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, and a recently-retired systems engineer for Raytheon. She won the MMGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Gretel established and maintains a 20,000 square foot food production garden that has provided fresh produce to the Marlboro and Maynard Food Pantries for the last ten years. Her primary interest and focus is always in the science behind horticulture. 

● Bonnie Power has been a Massachusetts Master Gardener since 2016 and member of the MMGA Speakers Bureau since 2018 ... and a serious outdoor/indoor gardener most of her life. Curious and research-oriented by nature, she has many horticultural interests and areas of expertise. Bonnie holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Zoology, which informs her perspective on the management of garden insects. She spent the past year as manager of the MMGA Soil pH Testing team and while she has passed this on to a new manager, she continues as a member of the team. She also volunteers at Garden in the Woods, a Native Plant Trust botanical garden in Framingham, where she is a guide. She learned to grow vegetables as a child from her father, and flowers and houseplants from her mother. Early in her marriage, her father-in-law provided her first lessons in organic gardening. At home in Marlborough, Bonnie grows a variety of vegetables and ornamentals (with a bias for natives). 

● Laurie Bebick is a graduate of Massachusetts Master Gardener Training and a long-time gardener, who has been fascinated by nature her whole life. A practicing fine artist, she approaches gardening as both an art and a science, always with an eye toward supporting nature’s creatures. When not working as a Certified Veterinary Technician, Laurie can be found in her home garden, spying on and offering greetings to all the critters who visit, especially Wally the whistle pig who lives under her garage. She is a graduate of the MMGA Speakers Bureau Training Program.

COST: The cost of the four-lecture Fall Gardening Know-How Series is $60.00, payable online by  credit/debit card or PayPal. Classes are not available individually. Price includes a number of handouts and  live Q&A time with speakers. 

Learn gardening basics and beyond at MMGA's online

Winter Gardening Know-How series

November 8, 15, 29 and December 6, 2023

To ensure everyone has a great educational experience, space is limited. Registration closes once we are full or 5:00 PM, Saturday, November 4, 2023. Refunds for series cancellations must be requested by Saturday, November 4, 2023. Refunds not available for individual missed classes.

Questions?

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions

Or email us at KnowHow@MassMasterGardeners.org

Do you get the winter gardening blues? For in-depth gardening/horticultural education, join us for our virtual 10-week Home Gardener Boot Camp Program. Registration opening in November.