OVID, N.Y. — Beat down those winter blahs and start getting ready for spring!
The Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension (SCCCE) Master Gardeners have organized a day of speakers, food and gardening information to help you prepare for the 2020 gardening season.
The workshop will be held Saturday, March 7th at the Ovid Fire Department, 2136 Brown Street (just off of Route 414/96) in Ovid from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Price for the workshop is only $30.00. There will be plenty of coffee, tea and refreshments for the morning break and a homemade buffet lunch at noon. Participants will also receive handouts, free seeds and valuable gardening information from some very knowledgeable speakers. There will also be a question and answer session with Master Gardener volunteers and door prizes.
The first workshop, “Edible Landscaping With Uncommon Fruits” starts at 9:15AM with Marvin Pritts, Marvin came to Cornell in 1984 as the berry crop specialist with an appointment in extension, research and teaching. He works primarily with production, season extension, and pest management systems in strawberries and raspberries, and has consulted with berry farmers throughout the world.
Most gardeners relegate their food-bearing plants to the back of the house and put their showy ornamentals in the front for all to see. However, there are a myriad of fruit-producing plants that have beautiful flowers and foliage, and also produce edible fruits. Many of these are not commonly grown, but will thrive in the New York climate. Marvin will show participants how to spice up their landscape with beautiful ornamental plants that also produce flavorful, nutritious and inexpensive fruit.
After a brief coffee break, Brandon Miller will focus on “Landscaping with Woody Plants: Site Considerations and Plant Selections”. Brandon is a Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University working in the Urban Horticulture Institute under the direction of Dr. Nina Bassuk. Brandon’s research aims to improve managed landscapes by solving production issues of desirable nursery crops and exploring management and landscape-installation techniques that enhance the quality of urban sites.
Brandon will talk about how site assessment and plant selection are necessary components to creating a beautiful and functional landscape. The pitfalls and limitations of a planting location determine the success, or failure, of woody-plant establishment. However, thoughtful plant selection criteria can simplify the process of enhancing your landscape. Participants will learn about issues often encountered with planting sites, how to match your landscape to well-suited tree and shrub selections, and introduce underutilized species of woody plants that merit attention.
A lunch break, featuring homemade soups, fresh salad, bread and great homemade desserts is followed by “Permaculture Gardening: Beautiful and Functional”. Sean Dembrosky from Edible Acres has been planting permaculture gardens and food forests for 15 years. Patterning gardens, orchards and his nursery after what he observes in nature, the systems he works with have become richly diverse.
Sean will show how permaculture can be a gardening style that helps plants thrive in relationship to one another, while restoring soils, facilitating habitat and creating both beauty and food/medicine for us! Participants will explore basic concepts of permaculture and examples of how you can incorporate these easy ideas in your garden this season!
The day concludes at 2 PM when Master Gardener volunteers will be available to answer any questions. There will also be free seeds and some very nice door prizes! All monies raised are used to support the Master Gardener program at SCCCE, a not-for-profit educational system. Interact with other gardeners and start preparing for your spring gardening projects.
Registration by March 6th is encouraged as space is limited. To register or for more information call 315-539-9251 or go to: www.senecacountycce.org for a link to register online.
Celebrating over 100 years of serving the people of the County, Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension puts to practical use the scholarship and research of Cornell University and the national land grant system in the areas of agriculture and food systems sustainability; nutrition, food safety and security, and obesity prevention; 4-H youth development, and children, youth , and families; environment and natural resources, sustainable energy and climate change; and community and economic vitality. The office is located at 308 Main Street Shop Centre in Waterloo. For more information about this and other programs, please contact us at 315-539-9251 or email seneca@cornell.edu.
–Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension
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