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2021 Webinars

Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Series

The global pandemic of 2020 saw the rise of many new gardeners trying their hands at growing their own produce. In anticipation that the trend will continue in 2021, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association has created a FREE Webinar Series for Beginning Vegetable Gardeners offered via Zoom. Through a series of 6 one-hour online sessions, certified Master Gardeners and Interns will take you from buying seeds, starting seedlings, and setting up your garden space all the way through to harvesting your produce, saving seeds for next year, and preparing for the next growing season.

Sessions will be on the 3rd Thursday of each month from February through July. You can pick and choose which sessions you’d like to register for, but we hope you’ll register for them all. After registering, you will receive an e-mail message with the link for joining the Zoom session. There is a different link for each session in the series.

During live sessions, participants will be able to submit questions to the presenters. Sessions will be recorded with links posted on this webpage for later viewing.

Registration

Click on the buttons below to register for each session. There is no fee, but registration is required.

Donations

Donations are strictly optional but welcome. Proceeds benefit ongoing Virginia Cooperative Extension education efforts supported by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association.

NSVMGA is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.


Webinar Donation Levels



Sessions

Session 1: Planning the Garden: Selecting and Starting Seeds

Start off on the right foot by planning what seed to buy and how much you’ll need. You’ll also learn tips for starting seeds indoors, plus how succession planting can help ensure a bountiful harvest all summer long.

This session was held on February 18, 2021. You can view a video recording or click the image below to see a pdf of the slide deck from the presentation.

Session 2: Setting up Your Garden Space

Learn how to choose and prepare an area suitable for your vegetable garden. This session will cover the importance and steps for testing the soil and making appropriate amendments before planting—including using compost as a soil amendment—and some tips for growing in raised beds.

This session was held on Thursday, March 18. You can view a video recording or click the image below to see a pdf of the slide deck from the presentation.

 

Session 3: Maintaining the Garden

Unfortunately, a garden won’t take care of itself. From weeding and watering to keeping an eye out for pests, find out what you should be doing throughout the season to care for your vegetables. This session will include some show-and-tell about tools you’ll need to keep your garden in top shape.

Thursday, April 15, 7 p.m.

Register Button Session 3 

Session 4: Planting and Harvesting your Produce

When should you plant and when should you pick? Plant too early, and tender seedlings could be killed by frost. Pick too early, and you may be missing out on having great tasting veggies. In this session, you’ll learn both when and how to plant some of your favorite veggies and then when to harvest at the peak of readiness.

Thursday, May 20, 7 p.m.

Register Button Session 4 

Session 5: Saving Seeds and Composting the Biomass

Not all seeds are the same. Find out which you can save and how, while helping to save money and select for the most desirable traits. Plus, learn what you can safely compost after the harvest is complete to create your own organic soil amendment.

Thursday, June 17, 7 p.m

Register Button Session 5 

Session 6. Preparing your Garden for the Next Season

As one growing season comes to a close, it is time to plan for the next one. Whether you are preparing to plant again for a fall harvest or putting the garden to bed until next spring, steps you take now—including taking good notes about lessons learned this year—will pay off later.  This session will discuss using cover crops to preserve and replenish the soil and season extenders to help you grow a fall crop.

Thursday, July 15, 7 p.m.

Register Button Session 6

 

 

 

Webinars for Beginning Vegetable Growers

Visit our event web page to register.

Vegetables in a basket

Save the Date!

  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 3 – April 15, 7 p.m.
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 4 – May 20, 7 p.m.
  • GardenFest – June 5
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 5 – June 17, 7 p.m.
  • Gardening in the Valley Tour – June 26
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 6 – July 15, 7 p.m.
  • FallFest – September 11, 2021

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Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association

11 hours ago

Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association
Incorporating Native Plants in Your Garden – Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) by EMG JennServiceberry is blooming all over my property right now, so I thought this would be a good native to talk about this week! There are actually four different types of serviceberry, and they can be difficult to distinguish from each other botanically: Downy, Shadbush (A. canadensis), Allegheny (A. laevis), and Apple (A.x grandiflora, a cross between A. arborea and A. laevis; multiple cultivars). Downy, or Common Serviceberry is the largest of the four, and grows into a small tree or large shrub. It is vase-shaped with an open branch structure, and is usually multi-stemmed, growing 12-20’ tall. Green to red and finally purple fruit show up in clusters in late summer to early autumn. A. arborea is native, like all Serviceberries, to most of the East Coast, except for the coastal areas of the Carolinas through to Florida. It will take a variety of soils, including clay, but thrives in slightly acidic, moist soil in full sun. It will tolerate drier soil if it has more shade and cooler temperatures. One of the earliest trees to bloom in the spring, the flowers are a source of pollen and food for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. In addition, the serviceberries host hundreds of species of caterpillars. If you have been following my posts, you know how important caterpillars are in the ecosystem! And birds love the fall berries. Serviceberries can be susceptible to occasional rust diseases, as members of the Rosaceae (Rose) family. Because most of these rust diseases have an alternative host in junipers, if there are no species of juniper within a radius of several miles, this should not be an issue. In hot, dry locations, spider mites can affect the appearance of the plant. Serviceberry may be propagated by seed or by softwood cuttings. See www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=amar3 for more information. It does form root suckers, and over time will form a colony, growing as a shrub rather than a tree. Pruning should happen in the fall to avoid an excess of sap loss. The common name serviceberry comes because it blooms as soon as the ground starts to thaw, and it is blooming when people were able to dig graves and bury their dead after the winter. Not the prettiest image…but in bloom, this is a spectacular tree! It is lighting up the woods right now where I live. Other stories about the common name include that the “service” refers to the plant usually being in flower around Easter.This species is most effective in naturalistic plantings and along wood edges, ponds and streams. It is particularly effective against a dark background when it blooms!Join us each Tuesday to learn about #NativePlants you can add to your garden. See previous posts at #addnativeplants. For more information, see:plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/amelanchier/www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286375hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/serviceberry/ ... See MoreSee Less

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