Gardening from the Ground Up webinar series returns

By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension

University of Minnesota Extension Educators are excited to bring you the third annual Gardening from the Ground Up Zoom webinar series. Free virtual workshops will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, Feb. 22-25, each afternoon. The series will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from soil nutrients, plant health, and insects – all useful for any curious beginner gardener or yard owner.

• Tuesday, Feb. 22: How environmental factors affect nutrient management

In the past few years, we’ve experienced it all in Minnesota. We’ve had large rainfall events and intense droughts accompanied by fluctuating temperatures. How do temperature and precipitation affect nutrient availability and plant nutrient uptake? Join local Extension Educators Adam Austing, Tarah Young, and Troy Salzer to discuss how to best manage your fertilizer, soil, and garden in extreme weather conditions.

• Wednesday, Feb. 23: Building a resilient garden

Gardens can be unpredictable places. By building diversity in our gardens, we can reduce weak points and assure that even when some things go wrong, there are other things that succeed. Local Extension Educators Troy Salzer and Robin Trott will discuss how soil health and plant selection can lessen the impact of a changing climate in your garden.

• Thursday, Feb. 24: How not to kill your tree

As local Extension Educators, we often receive phone calls about trees that appear to suddenly be dying. We’ve learned to look for and identify risk factors early on that will lead to immature tree death. Local Extension Educators Katie Drewitz and Karen Johnson will share with you how to identify these risk factors and how to avoid killing your trees.

• Friday, Feb. 25: App-free insect ID

Local Extension Educators Shane Bugeja and Claire LaCanne will provide guidance for identifying insects commonly found in the yard and garden – without a phone app. Identifying insects – or at least narrowing down the suspects – is important to properly address them. Having an idea of what you are seeing can also aid in communicating with other gardeners or horticulture professionals.

Gardeners and yard owners throughout Minnesota and the Midwest may find this series useful. Gardening from the Ground Up is brought to you by University of Minnesota local Extension Educators across much of Minnesota, representing Benton, Blue Earth, Douglas, Hubbard, Le Sueur, Meeker, McLeod, Morrison, Rice, Stearns, Steele, St. Louis, and Wright counties.

To join us for all or one of these webinars, please go to z.umn.edu/GardenUp to register. When you register, you can choose to attend one or multiple sessions. Pre-registration is required to receive the webinar link. Recordings of the webinars will be sent out at the conclusion of the series.

If you have questions about the webinar series or need assistance with registration, please call your local Extension office. Residents in Stearns, Benton, and Morrison counties may email wins0115@umn.edu or call (320) 255-6169 ext. 1.