Thursday, September 13, 2012

Fall Savvy Gardener Classes


We've added a new class to our fall line up!
Many of you have asked us how to combine rainwater harvesting with drip irrigation. Now we have a class for you on September 26th. Check out the Irrigation section below and register soon. We anticipate this class will fill quickly.
Just a reminder that our first fall class starts on Saturday, September 15th at Magnusson Community Center.
These classes are brought to you by the Saving Water Partnership and Cascade Water Alliance so that we can offer free classes throughout King County. If one isn't in your area, we hope you'll check out other locations.

 

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Look under the lawn & yard care section (Fall Groundwork in the Natural Garden) for a class that talks about putting your food garden and other plants to bed for the winter. Other food gardening classes will resume next spring.

 

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Beautiful Solutions for Gardening on Slopes
Emily Bishton, Landscape designer and environmental educator
Learn how you can replace hard-to-mow slopes with beautiful, easy care plantings. We'll focus on critical soil building steps, plant selection, planting techniques and proper watering. See for yourself how a heavily-compacted slope in Magnuson Park has been completely transformed, and how the plants in a second garden rebounded as a result of building healthy soil. Please note, this class is not intended for very steep slopes that require structural engineering.
Optional hands-on learning: Join us after the class at 10:30 for experience in proper planting and mulching at the adjacent Resource Conservation Landscape demonstration garden. Additional sponsorship from Magnuson Community Center.
  • Register through Seattle Parks & Recreation
    Saturday, September 15 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
    Magnuson Community Center/Windemere Room
    7110 62nd Ave NE, 98115
    Register through Parks online | Phone: (206) 684-7026
Wildlife-Friendly Gardening for Beauty and Sustainability
Emily Bishton, Landscape designer and environmental educator
Welcome songbirds, butterflies, and beneficial insects into your yard while conserving natural resources at the same time. Discover how urban wildlife can provide you with year-round natural pest and weed control and better pollination. See beautiful, tried-and-true plants in Magnuson's Bird-Friendly Landscape. Learn about design techniques and maintenance practices that can attract and nurture beneficial wildlife in your garden for years to come.
Optional hands-on learning: Join us after the class at 10:30 for experience in proper planting and mulching at the adjacent Bird-friendly Landscape demonstration garden. Additional sponsorship from Magnuson Community Center.
  • Register through Seattle Parks & Recreation
    Saturday, October 20 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
    Magnuson Community Center/Windemere Room
    7110 62nd Ave NE, 98115
    Register through Parks online | Phone: (206) 684-7026
Wonderful Plants for Winter Color
Susie Egan, Owner of Cottage Lake Gardens, Master Gardener
Enjoy beauty in the winter! Learn about the trees, shrubs and perennials that will add evergreen foliage, eye-catching bark, bright berries and fragrant flowers to your garden. Master gardener Susie Egan will present a colorful slide show of all these plants which she grows at Cottage Lake Gardens.
  • Register through Brown Paper Tickets:
    Saturday, September 29 10:00 – 11:30 am
    21 Acres
    13701 NE 171st Street, Woodinville
    Register online | Phone: 1-800-838-30066
Sustainable Garden Design
Jessi Bloom, Owner of NW Bloom Ecological Landscapes
From low-maintenance, beautiful plants to delicious edibles, this class will cover strategies to create a thriving garden. Learn how to work with your yard's light, soil and water to create a healthy, nourished landscape. You'll also discover strategies that allow you to have a pesticide-free garden that is safe for families and pets. Award-winning landscape designer and horticulturist, Jessi Bloom is a Timber Press author and owner of N.W. Bloom Ecological Landscapes.
  • Register through Brown Paper Tickets:
    Wednesday, October 17 6:30 – 8:00 pm
    21 Acres
    13701 NE 171st Street, Woodinville
    Register online | Phone: 1-800-838-30066

 

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Healthy Soils
Ladd Smith, Co-Owner of In Harmony or Graham Haroldson, In Harmony
Healthy, beautiful, long-lived plants are the result of healthy soil. Participants will learn everything they need to know about soil to create an environment where plants will thrive. We will discuss what soil is made of, what lives in the soil, the importance of pore space, and how to use mulch to improve and protect your soil, while conserving water.
Locations
Register through Brown Paper Tickets.
Thursday, September 27 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Redmond Senior Center
8703 160th Avenue NE, Redmond
Register online | Phone: 1-800-838-3006

 

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Fall Gardening for Spring Beauty Next Year
Ladd Smith, Owner of In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes
Take advantage of cool weather, great plant sales and lots of leaves. Fall gardening provides a head start to next year's garden successes. Learn the key steps to put your garden to rest for the winter months. Discover how these tasks can reduce next year's weeding and watering while helping your plants thrive even more in spring and summer.
Locations
  • Register through Brown Paper Tickets:
    Wednesday, September 19 6:30 – 8:00 pm
    21 Acres
    13701 NE 171st Street, Woodinville
    Register online | Phone: 1-800-838-30066
  • Sunday, October 7; 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
    McLendon Hardware
    440 Rainier Avenue South, Renton
    No pre-registration needed. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis at McLendon's.
Natural Yard Care
Ladd Smith, Owner of In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes
By working with Mother Nature, you can have a great looking landscape that's easier to care for and healthier for families, pets, wildlife, and our great Northwest environment.  Come learn what Natural Yard Care is all about and how to create a healthy, beautiful yard. 
Locations
Register through Brown Paper Tickets.
Fall Groundwork in the Natural Garden
Falaah Jones, Seattle Tilth, Garden Hotline educator
Get a jump on spring by taking care of the garden in fall! Learn how to take advantage of our Maritime Northwest climate with fall planting and soil building. Discover which mulches work best for different types of plants and learn a variety of methods to protect your plants through the winter. Join us in some hands on soil building activities by planting cover crops, adding compost and mulching garden beds for the winter. You may be surprised as we dispel some common planting and mulching practices. Take these steps now for next year's successful growing season.
Locations
Register through Brown Paper Tickets.

 

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Rainwater Harvesting and Drip Irrigation:
A Perfect Pairing

Dan Borba, Natural Rainwater, Rainwater Harvesting and Carey Thorton, Seattle Tilth, Drip Irrigation
Rainwater is pure, plentiful and your plants love it. Best of all, it's free! Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting and storing rainwater for use in your yard. Drip irrigation is an extremely efficient and effective way to water your plants. This class will teach you how to utilize both technologies to help you save money and keep your landscape looking great!
Locations
Register through Brown Paper Tickets.
  • Saturday, September 26 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
    Kirkland Maintenance Center
    915 8th St, Kirkland
    Register online | Phone: 1-800-838-3006

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Seattle Celebrates Local Food and Urban Farming at 25th Annual Harvest Fair

Where else can you press apples into cider and learn to make cheese while listening to live music outdoors? Seattle Tilth’s Harvest Fair invites you to do all that and more at Seattle’s local food and urban farming festival! The 25th annual Harvest Fair is on Saturday, September 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Meridian Park.

The Harvest Fair is a lively event with workshops, demonstrations, family activities and tasty food. See urban goats and chickens, talk to beekeepers and cheese makers, swap seeds and barter home made goods! Local organic farm stands will be abundant and overflowing with fresh produce at the height of harvest season. Stock-up on native and edible plants, local books, garden supplies, farm crafts and sustainable goods.

Workshops and demos include yoga for gardeners, fermenting foods, natural dyes, seed saving, making mozzarella cheese, edible mushrooms and cooking demonstrations. Food donations are being collected for the food bank at the BEET Hunger booth.

Activities include:
  • Raffle to win a chicken coop, beekeeping starter kit or year’s supply of Organic Valley milk
  • Seed swap
  • Cider pressing
  • Urban livestock area
  • DIY herb crowns
  • Barter hosted by Backyard Barter (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)
  • Kids crafts in the children’s garden
  • Organic farmer’s market
  • Sustainable vendors
  • Kids' parade
  • Live music from Slap and Tickle, Mostly Water, Creepin' Critters, Holy Crows, Bucharest Drinking Team and Nyamuziwa Marimba
Readers to Eaters will present regional authors discussing their books in our speaker’s tent. Authors include:
  • Colin McCrate, Food Grown Right in Your Backyard
  • Jill Lightener, Edible Seattle Cookbook
  • Larry Korn, English editor of Masanobu Fukuoka's Sowing Seeds in the Desert
  • Pat Tanumihardja, Asian Grandmother's Cookbook

Known for teaching people to grow food organically and conserve natural resources, Seattle Tilth brings together over 50 participating organizations and businesses for this annual community event. Key sponsors include Organic Valley, PCC Natural Markets, New Roots Organics, Bastyr Center for Natural Health and Seattle Seed Company. Media sponsors include KUOW and Chinook Book. The Harvest Fair is a kick-off for Washington Organic Week.

Volunteers are needed to help make it all happen and volunteering is a fun way to get involved and meet people. Admission is FREE but donations are accepted at the entrance to help cover event costs. See you at the Harvest Fair!