Get Hands-on Experience in the Garden with Master Gardeners!
Would you like to dig in, get your hands dirty, and get some real hands-on experience in the garden with Master Gardeners?
These days, many of us are concerned about food security and would like to know more about how to successfully grow our own food and maintain our gardens.
We are excited to offer a 9-week, one-topic-per-week course (Sept. 5 – Oct. 31) held on Fridays from 9:00 am to noon, providing you with the opportunity to learn by practicing gardening skills.
This is a chance to make new gardening friends and rub shoulders with your local Extension Master Gardeners in an informal, friendly, and nurturing environment. And, of course, you’ll be able to ask the Master Gardeners questions as you move through the activities we have planned.
Register below or call 360-577-3014, Ext. 3 to reserve your place — space is limited — first come, first dig! Just DO IT!
Registration is Closed for the 2025 session!
Classes will be held weekly, on Fridays, Sept. 5 – Oct. 31, at the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at the Cowlitz County Fairgrounds. We will meet indoors before each session for a short briefing, then go out and get our hands dirty!
The cost for this hands-on gardening series is $100—that’s just $10 for each session.
The 2025 Topics:
Each week, subject matter experts will share their knowledge on a variety of essential gardening topics – from building a raised bed, to sowing perennials from seed, to pruning and more. Additionally, they will help and guide you in putting what you’ve learned into practice. Here are the topics that will be covered:
Build Raised Beds
Work together to build a raised bed. Learn the three styles of raised beds, how to choose the best location, test drainage, select soil/medium, and how to calculate and source the soil.
Soils
Bring in a soil sample from home. Test soil texture and nutrients, learn how soil affects plant growth, compare native vs. bulk soils, and learn tips for improving wet/clay soils.
Irrigation
Learn about the Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy, which introduces and conserves rare ornamentals, with a focus on the distribution and preservation strategies of vulnerable plants new to North America.
Plant Propagation
Start perennials from seed, explore compact, low-maintenance peony varieties, learn propagation from cuttings and root division, practice dividing dahlia tubers, and grow more plants to share or expand your garden.
Winter Gardening
Learn how/when to plant for winter harvests, prepping/fertilizing raised beds, planting strategies (spacing, direct sowing, transplanting), garlic planting, crop protection, and slug and pest control.
Saving Seeds
Save seeds from vegetables and flowers, harvest seeds from tomatoes, peppers, squash, and more; learn seed-saving techniques for pollinator-friendly plants, prepare seeds for next season’s garden, and grow a garden that attracts beneficial insects.
Planting Trees and Shrubs
Choose the right tree or shrub for your site, prepare roots and planting hole correctly, properly plant and backfill trees and shrubs, and learn mulching techniques for healthy growth, plus after-care tips for dry summer conditions.
Pruning
Learn basic pruning cuts, sharpen your pruners with a free sharpener, disinfect tools before pruning, practice removing dead, damaged, and diseased branches, and apply pruning techniques hands-on.
Winning Against Weeds
Hands-on: Identify common local weeds, learn to distinguish weed species, understand weed growth patterns, explore chemical control methods, and explore natural weed management strategies.
