The Master Gardener Volunteers are excited to guide you on your vegetable garden adventure!
Vegetable Gardens for Everyone Series: Preparing Your Garden
- Monday, April 5, 2021, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Get the guidance you need to prepare your garden soil for the season ahead. We’ll show you how you can build raised beds which is the way to go if your soil is less than ideal, and we’ll explore irrigation methods that will take the stress out of keeping your garden well-watered and in optimum condition
Preparing to Plant 9:00 a.m.
So, what is going on down there in the dirt? We will learn why soil tests and analysis are the best things you can do before you start planting. How to go about it and what the results mean in terms of suitability for a vegetable garden. Basic soil amendments and improving soils for best performance, as well as soil resources or blending your own soil for raised beds, will be specifically covered. DIG IN!
Presented by Dona Crawford, Master Gardener Coordinator
Raised Beds 10:30 a.m.
Want to save your back? Want to deal with lovely soil rather than rocks? Want a longer growing season? Want less weeding and maintenance? If your answer to these questions is yes, raised beds may be the answer. This course will tell you who, what, where, when, why, and most importantly - how. Find out not only the positives but also the negatives of raised beds. And, if you decide it’s a good idea, we’ll tell you how to plant and maintain them, too.
Presented by Marge Bonner, MGV
Irrigation 12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m.
Instructor Cheryl Qamar will take a deep dive into the pros and cons of soaker hoses, drip irrigation, rain barrels, overhead sprinklers, and the plain old garden hose. She’ll talk about the best times of day to water how to avoid spreading diseases.
Presented by Cheryl Qamar, MGV
Fee
$25
Register
https://cceulster.mahaplatform.com/events/amskxtw7uu
Location
This event is online
Last updated March 29, 2021
Your Instructors
Dona Crawford started working part-time for the Cornell Cooperative Extension in 2004 as the Community Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener coordinator and soon became full-time. In the past 16 years, she has trained 60+ Master Gardener Volunteers for Ulster and Sullivan counties. Much of her horticulture expertise has been learned “on the job”. She is known locally as the “Bug Lady”. She is responsible for supporting, organizing, and maintaining all aspects of the Master Gardener program.
Dona is a well-known speaker at local garden clubs and the annual Garden Day at SUNY Ulster. She has given talks on invasive pests, native plants, woodland gardens, and many other topics. She has also been the chair of the Ulster County Emerald Ash Borer Task Force and worked with the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership.
Marge Bonner started gardening in Southern Jersey with her Grandmother, picking strawberries to sell at a roadside stand. Her occupation as a Development Economist exposed her to tropical gardening in lush Indonesia as well as drought-stricken Ethiopia. When she retired to the Catskills more than 20 years ago, she joined the Master Gardener program to learn by doing. She now tackles ticks, beaver, geese, and numerous diseases as she gardens on her 17 acres in Kerhonkson. Raised beds (along with deer fencing and irrigation) have helped in that endeavor
Cheryl Qamar became a Master Gardener in 2012 and continues to learn from her gardens and fellow gardeners. She is committed to sustainability as she faces the ongoing challenge and adventure of gardening.