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Home & Garden
Container Gardening
Do you have a small yard, maybe no yard at all or you don't think you can have a garden? Container gardening is what you need! Container gardens can be any size and shape. Grow water plants, vegetables and of course flowers. Instructor, Michelle Hackbarth with River Valley Landscape, will walk you through the process of picking out a container, what types of soil to use for your plant type and what plants you will want to use for your own container garden. Together we will find your long lost green thumb. Each student will pay the instructor $15 at the class to cover a container, soil and plants for your own sample container to take home.
Course # HMG 1115 002 $55/9 Thurs. 6:30 - 8 pm
Iowa Falls, River Valley Landscape, Hwy 65 S.
Instr: Michelle Hackbarth
Grinnell Gardener Series
Every gardener knows that no matter how long you have been at it, there is always more to learn. The Grinnell Gardener Series offers classes on a variety of gardening topics for beginning and experienced gardeners alike. With the help of local experts, you will leave these classes more informed, more excited, and more prepared for the next season of gardening!How to Grow: Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the easiest, most reliable vegetables you can grow. For every pound of seed potato you can plant, you can get 10 pounds or more. Potatoes are widely adapted, and even under challenging conditions will still produce a yield. Starting with new potatoes in July, you can be eating potatoes from your garden from the summer well into the winter. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of growing potatoes organically in your garden, including selecting varieties and amounts to plants, sources for quality seed potatoes, preparing the soil, planting and growing methods, irrigation, weed, pest, and disease control, harvest and storage. We will also talk about enjoying your harvest with potato recipes that go beyond mashed potatoes and potato salad. Whether you have always planted potatoes or you are growing them for the first time in your life, this workshop will help you better understand how to get a good crop. Participants will take part in planting a bed in the Community Garden with potatoes and should dress accordingly. Handouts will be provided on course material as well as further resources to explore. Participants can choose to purchase up to 5 pounds of seed potatoes to plant in their garden from the instructor (cash or check). Rain location will be at the Iowa Valley Grinnell campus, Room 109.
Course # HMG 3000 106 $144/13 Sat. 10:30 am - Noon
Grinnell, Grinnell Community Garden, Miller Park
Instr: Jordan Scheibel
How to Grow: Sweet Potatoes
Although they are a tropical perennial plant, you can grow excellent sweet potatoes in Iowa. They need warm soil for planting, hot summers, and sufficient moisture at the beginning of their growth, but are relatively drought tolerant, which is good news in our current climate. Varieties with shorter maturity periods are better suited for our northern growing season, with less than 4 months of good growing season for sweet potatoes. Learn the basics of growing sweet potatoes organically in your garden, including selecting varieties and amounts to plant, sources for sweet potato ‘slips’ for planting, preparing the soil, planting and growing methods, irrigation, weed, pest, and disease control, harvest, and storage. We will also talk about enjoying your harvest with sweet potato recipes and tips for preservation. Participants will take part in planting a bed in the Community Garden with sweet potatoes and should dress accordingly. Handouts will be provided on course material as well as further resources to explore. Participants can choose to purchase up to 10 sweet potato slips to plant in their garden from the instructor (cash or check). Rain location will be at the Iowa Valley Grinnell campus, Room 109.
Course # HMG 3000 107 $146/1 Sat. 10:30 am - Noon
Grinnell, Grinnell Community Garden, Miller Park
Instr: Jordan Scheibel
Composting 101: Food for the Food
Compost 101: Food For The Food, is an interactive workshop devoted to introducing the fundamentals of soil science and offering simple designs for setting up a composting system at home or work. Organic matter is a primary component of soil structure, and when we make compost, we are building organic matter that enhances the biological activity in soil essential for nutrients to become available to roots. This class will provide the recipe of common source materials necessary to produce finished fertilizer (a specific ratio of greens to browns), and it will show how to build a pallet corral for outdoor use, plus a bucket method for indoors. Proper aeration, hydration, turning, vermiculture and compost tea will also be discussed. Most of what enters a landfill is potential compost. Let’s recycle old food to become the ingredients for new food! Instructor Scott Koepke is the coordinator of Soilmates, a garden education program from New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City that focuses on the fundamentals of gardening, food origins, soil conditioning, composting, and season extension. The workshop will take place at the Grinnell Community Garden at the south end of High Street in Miller Park.
Course # HMG 3000 104 $124/27 Sat. 10:30 am - Noon
Grinnell, Grinnell Community Garden, Miller Park
Instr: Scott Koepke
Perennials - Shade, Light, Color
You might have driven south of Tama on Highway 63 and noticed a home surrounded by several beds of beautiful flowers. This is the home of Wayne Gibson who is planning on telling you about perennials and answering your questions. We will tour his gardens as he points out the perennials’ color, height, and preference for sun or shade. Find out about perennials and decide what you might want in your own garden. Tama.
Course # HMG 1112 002 $116/24 Mon. 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Tama, Gibson Residence, 3976 Highway 63 S.
Instr: Wayne Gibson