Registration now open.

Fall Gardening Know-How Series

Wednesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 PM

August 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2024

Knowing HOW-TO is important in the short-term. But gardening KNOW-HOW is forever!   As the weather starts to turn in late summer, now is the perfect time to start planning for all the shut-down tasks that are critical for garden health while also preparing for next year’s garden.  In this series, you will also learn how to propagate plants, save your seeds for your future gardens and use organic matter to create your own compost. Whether you are new or an experienced gardener, our tips and tricks will give you the edge you need to grow a healthy, sustainable garden and create a thriving landscape.  Join us and let’s grow together!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Whether you are a beginner or experienced gardener, the Know-How Series is designed for you to become a better gardener and steward of your environment. Lecturers are senior Massachusetts Master Gardeners and experienced gardeners. Handouts are provided for most sessions, and there 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  topics based on countless discussions with home gardeners to create our four-week Fall Gardening Know-How Series. 

• Propagation: This presentation provides an overview of the methods of sexual and asexual plant propagation. It includes a discussion of seed collection, plant breeding, and nomenclature and a description of several methods of asexual propagation, such as division, cuttings, layering, grafting, and cell culture. 

• Composting: Composting put simply is a unique method of recycling. It uses existing microorganisms to decompose organic matter into usable and highly nutritious soil. It can be done in your backyard, under your sink or even in commercial settings. All you need is to know the composting recipe for success, an open mind, and the desire to help the environment. 

• Seed Saving: During this presentation we will talk about the reasons for saving your own seeds and learn some of the basic techniques for ensuring genetic purity. We will include discussions about the home garden plants from which seeds can be easily saved and stored for future use. 

• Preparing Your Garden for Winter: It's that time of year again! Time to rake, cut back, weed, divide, clear debris, mulch, overwinter, prepare new beds, plant bulbs, and protect your tender evergreens and newer plantings from winter hazards. In other words - another beautiful autumn in New England!

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

• Gretel Anspach is the Chairman of the Board at 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.

• Kathi Gariepy is a former special needs preschool and kindergarten teacher who has been gardening since she was a child. She is a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, volunteering more than 10,000 hours, past Vice President of the MMGA, past chair of the Master Gardener Advisory Board, past president of the Attleboro Garden Club. Kathi is a Landscape Design Consultant and on the Gardening Study Council. She has worked with the Master Gardener training program and the Caterpillar Club, in Weezie’s Garden for Children at Elm Bank, as well as being an active member of the MMGA Speakers’ Bureau. Kathi has worked as lead teacher for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, education coordinator for MassAudubon and studied landscape design at Rhode Island School of Design. She is also the recipient of the MMGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award (the Golden Trowel) and the MHS Silver Medal and is currently the chair of the Attleboro Conservation Commission. Kathi teaches children and adults about the wonders of nature. She also owns the garden design company Pleasant Vistas.  Kathi lives in an old farmhouse with perennial borders, herb gardens, a vegetable garden, grapes, blueberries, raspberries and some very old, still producing, apple trees.

• Tony Bonnano has been a Massachusetts Master Gardener since 2007. He designed, built, and oversees the Victory Gardens at the Veterans Community Health Care Center in Lowell and is the horticulture leader for the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord’s Outreach Organization, teaching and running a volunteer program at the facility’s farm.  Tony also chairs the Topsfield Fair Home Garden committee and is a Certified Massachusetts State Fair Judge. An accomplished vegetable grower, he was named a Top Vegetable Exhibitor at the 2017 and 2019 Topsfield Fairs.

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

Fall Gardening Know-How series

 August 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2024

To ensure everyone has a great educational experience, space is limited. Registration closes once we are full or 5:00 PM, Sunday, August 4, 2024. Refunds for series cancellations must be requested by Sunday, August 4, 2024. Refunds not available for individual missed classes. 

Have questions about how to register, class payment or other related topics? Please see answers to frequently asked questions here

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 for the 2025 program begins in fall, 2024.