Sat, Mar 3--Low-Maintenance, Sustainable Gardening Including Edibles in Madison

Sat, Mar 3--Low-Maintenance, Sustainable Gardening Including Edibles

Olbrich Gardens, Madison, WI    9 to 4 p.m. 

http://www.olbrich.org/education/classes.cfm#workshops   $40/$50

This is going to be a fun and educational day--I think.  Here are the details:

Any garden can be low-maintenance and include edibles, this day-long workshop will cover strategies to grow a garden with few weeds, little watering; that will be admired by most. I will discuss nature's "weed and feed," simple composting, lasagna gardening, tomato blight prevention, edible landscaping, organic practices, and much more to help you plant and maintain a healthy, naturally fed edible garden and landscape--that feeds you.

Here are the topics:

Mulch! Mulch! Mulch!  Nature’s Weed (Control) and Feed
Nature abhors bare soil!  Learn how plant based mulches suppress weeds, retain moisture, moderate soil temperatures, feed and protect soil life—who feed and protect our plants.  Then learn how to use this info to the best advantage for you and your plants.  Reduce weeding, water and fertilizing.
 

Composting 

You just wet layered Carbon and Nitrogen ingredients and let the microbes Break It Down--but which are Carbon and which are Nitrogen?

Lasagna Gardening

Lasagna (deep mulch) Gardens recycle cardboard, and leaves or old hay into a deep mulch that you plant directly into.  Come learn how to have a garden that has no tilling, no digging, and little weeding and little watering--all season.  Plus, really healthy/productive plants.

Vegetables 101
Growing some of your own food is a great feeling, great eating and a great use of some of your yard.  How to choose what to grow, basics of planting, spacing, when to plant, mulching, watering, soil preparation and more will be covered.  

Tomato Blight—Prevention Is Worth a Pound A Year, Actually More
Having 8 foot tall tomatoes that have leaves to the ground until frost, starts with the seed starting medium.  And watering, mulching, plant spacing, air flow, available nutrients, plant support, fall clean up and LUCK!!

Lunch Break

Edible Landscaping

Combine edible and non-edible annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees in one landscape design and create a really beautiful yard that will be the envy of the neighborhood, not the scourge.

Organic By Design, Not Neglect
Learn many simple, practical and cost effective ways to have a more Organic garden, vegetables and flowers. Soil Health, Insect Control, Cultural and Physical techniques, Encouraging Natural Controls and more will be covered.