Greenhouse Project, Carson Tahoe Health offer 2020 Foothill Garden Education Series starting Friday

The first of a series of 12 educational gardening classes presented through the collaboration of Carson Tahoe Health and The Greenhouse Project begins this Friday, Jan. 24. Site managers Cory King and William Pierz have put together the monthly series of classes.

All classes are free and will be held from 11 a.m. to noon. Weather permitting, classes will be held outdoors at the Foothill Garden located behind the CTH Cancer Resource Center, located at 1535 Medical Parkway in Carson City.

In the event of inclement weather organizers will use a semi-public space in the main hospital building or a small meeting area inside the Cancer Center. Seating is somewhat limited and format casual; please encourage participants to bring chairs and lunch/snacks for themselves.

Classes are as follows:
— Jan. 24: Seed selection, seed starting, and seed saving w with William Pierz. In this installment we’ll be diving into the world of seeds. From selecting varieties and suppliers to germination and seedling care, we will cover it all. Included will be an overview of timing indoor starts for transplants in Northern NV and seed saving techniques and strategies

— Feb. 14: Fruit tree, grape vine, and rose bush pruning with Michael’s Apples and William Pierz. In this installment we’ll be going in depth on dormant season maintenance for your fruit bearing trees, vines, and ornamental trees and shrubs. We will have special emphasis on Apples, Stonefruits (cherry, peach, plum, apricot, etc.), Grapes, and Roses.

— March 6: The Early Spring Garden and Companion Planting Demystified with William Pierz. In this installment we will be discussing the mutually beneficial relationships we can cultivate in our gardens as well as the potential abundance in your “pre-summer” garden. Beat the summer heat and start early with appropriate crops!

— April 3: Growing Superb Strawberries with William Pierz. In this installment we’ll be diving deep on Strawberry cultivation! We’ll talk propagation, varieties, fertility needs, tricks to maximize your harvest and protect from pests, as well as where they want to grow naturally in your landscape. A limited supply of plants propagated from the Foothill site will be available for sale.

— May 1: Growing Top-Shelf tomatoes and Pretty Peppers with Cory King. In this installment we’ll be talking about the intricacies of growing incredible tomatoes and peppers. From fertility management and soil preparation to pruning techniques and season extension techniques, you’ll leave feeling confident in this year’s crop.

— June 5: Apples in the orchard and grapes on the table with Healthy Trees and Cory King. In this installment we’ll be discussing strategies and maintenance techniques for maximizing the harvest from your fruit trees and vines. Additionally, we’ll be talking about managing your yard/orchard for the benefit of your harvest and covering some midseason management techniques to keep your flowers blooming.

— July 10: Beneficial Insects, Garden Allies, and tricks to growing chemical free with William Pierz. In this installment we’ll be discussing the importance of a chemical free landscape in maintaining healthy, low-maintenance gardens and orchards. Exploring the relationships between predators and prey, plants and their allies, and our cultivated spaces and wild places is a wonderful way to find your own holistic approach to gardening and landscape management.

— August 7: Designing for Abundance: Food Forests and Edible Landscapes with William Pierz. In this installment we’ll be discussing food forests or edible forest gardens. Explore the whats, hows, and whys of designing a layered polyculture system in your landscape. We’ll dive deep into strategies, design elements, and climate appropriate species to grow.

— Sept. 4: Growing Glorious Garlic with Glorious Garlic Farm. In this installment we will cover everything you need to know to grow amazing garlic over the winter. You’ll learn about growing in ground, in containers, soil requirements, the many different types of garlic, and how harvest and cure your garlic for storage.

— Oct. 2: Microbe Madness with William Pierz. In this installment we’ll talk about the importance of microorganisms in our gardens, our bodies, and our lives. We’ll cover strategies for protecting and boosting the diversity of different microbiomes and discuss methods of cultivating microorganisms to introduce into your systems.

— Nov. 6: Passive Soil Building, Green Waste Management, and Compost 101 with William Pierz. In this installment we will be diving into the wonderful world of compost. Become empowered by learning to turn your food and yard waste back into fresh produce! You’ll learn different methods for small-scale composting as well as low maintenance strategies for building soil and managing your property’s green waste all at the same time.

— Dec. 4: Save the Soil: Solving Problems by Reducing Erosion with William Pierz. In this installment we will discuss the issues related to loss of topsoil, its impact on our society, and strategies to help shift from erosive practices to soil building practices. We’ll look at the individual and community scale as well as explore large-scale possibilities for change.