Gardening tips and tricks for beginners
Ready to elevate your gardening game? These 15 tips will help you grow a greener, healthier garden indoors and out.
GENEVA, NY — The deadline for the 29th annual Ontario County Master Gardeners spring garden symposium is Feb. 10.
The symposium, which features three presenters on a variety of gardening topics, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Feb. 21 at Club 86, 86 Avenue E, Geneva. The cost is $45 per person and includes refreshments, hot buffet lunch, door prizes, and a folder with all the presenters’ handouts.
Here’s what’s happening at the symposium.
Soil Preparation & Fertility – A Look at Soil Health & More
There are five steps to a healthy garden soil, according to presenter Steve Reiners, who is professor and former chair of the horticulture section of Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science.
The steps Reiners will detail include a soil test, adding organic matter by using compost and cover crops, reducing tillage and keeping the soil as undisturbed as possible, rotating crops and covering the soil as much as possible.
In addition to working with commercial vegetable growers, Reiners is a gardening enthusiast and a longtime supporter of the master gardener program.
Flowers Gone Wild: Creating a Meadow in Your Yard
Presenter Nell Gardner will introduce participants to the idea of creating a wildflower meadow, not from seed, but from plugs. Gardner will share plant information, combinations and ideas for creating a long-lasting oasis for you as well as bees, birds and butterflies in the yard.
Gardner has worked for Cornell University and has run her own consulting business and Flower Farm “Flower Fields” for over 30 years. She also is a consultant to parks, farms, and historic and cultural organizations.
Facing the Challenges of Growing Vegetables in the Home Garden
Growing vegetables in the home garden is not as easy as it was 10 to 20 years ago, according to presenter Russell Welser, who is senior resource educator focusing on home and community horticulture, general agriculture and natural resources at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County.
His presentation will provide information on key pests, along with strategies to deal with them. He will also present some cultural practices that may help gardeners with changing weather patterns.
Welser also oversees the master gardener volunteer program and the gardening newsletter, “Inside Dirt.”
To register for the gardening symposium
For details on registration, visit https://cceontario.org/events/2017/02/11/spring-garden-symposium. For more information, call 585-394-3977, ext. 427, or email nea8@cornell.edu.
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