Makin' a Plan | Spending a couple of weeks thoughtfully planning out what you're going to grow and where you want to plant it makes all the difference in a successful growing season. Who wants to have only one pound of tomatoes but 5 bushels of zucchini when what you really wanted was to can tomatoes??? Learn how to map out your beds and how to plan crop rotations and succession plantings. Bring the measurements of at least one, if not all, of your beds so we can cater this session to you! | Winter January 10, 2013 |
How Eggsciting! | Learn to raise chickens in an urban (or any) environment for eggs and extremely valuable compost material (poop!) Topics will include breed selection, housing, feeding and local laws and ordinances. | Winter January 24, 2013 |
Cooking from Your Pantry | You worked hard to get some of your produce put up. So did Ellaberry Gardens. Join us for an array of dishes prepared using preserved produce and we'll learn to use every last bit of garden goodness in our late winter and early spring meals. Go home with great tips and some yummy recipes! | Winter February 7, 2013 |
Let's Get Growin'! | It's time to begin again! In the next couple of weeks, our potatoes, peas, lettuces, spring brassicas, onions, leeks, carrots, parsnips, beets and more go into the ground. Learn how to wake that garden up and get it breathing and growing again! You'll leave with a handy spring/summer planting guide that will help you plan your succession planting through the summer and lots of encouragement! | Winter February 16, 2012 |
There's a 20 lb. Pumpkin in That Seed! | We will explore the hidden meanings in seed packet jargon and learn to start our own plants inside from seed to save money and just for plain ole fun (and a nice lesson in patience.) We'll also be sure to cover transplanting your seed babies from inside to your garden. What is hardening off and is it necessary? What plants are really better suited to direct seeding outside? Join us and find out! You'll sow some seeds to take home that you can watch germinate and grow into productive marvels! | Spring March 22, 2012 |
Ella, Ella, Ellaberry, Where Can My Garden Grow? | Location, location, location. Learn how to site your plants (did you know that you can grow spinach and lettuce in the shade?) and, more importantly, learn how you can grow in a surprising variety of places...raised beds, 5 gallon pots, old boots...we'll try anything! Take home a lovely tomato plant to grow wherever you feel brave enough to try it! | Spring April 5, 2012 |
You Can Eat That ?! | Oklahoma landscaping isn't limited to azaleas and Bradford pears. Us Okies are more resourceful, yes? Learn how to include edible flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruits in your existing landscape while beautifying your home and filling your belly. You might also be surprised to learn which plants you're already growing that could be enhancing your dinner table! Take home a wonderful example. | Spring April 19, 2012 |
The Pharmacy Out Back
| What if you could walk out your back door and pick your "medicines" from plants you have grown to aid your and your family's health, healing and general well-being? You can!!! Learn to grow common herbs and flowers and how to prepare tinctures, teas and salves. Plan to leave with a delightful concoction! | Spring May 3, 2012 |
Feed What Feeds You | Your plants have to eat well before you can eat well. We will cover why fertilizing your plants naturally is so important and how to go about it. We will cover basic composting, the fertilizing requirements of different plant families, and what natural products are available to us locally in NE Oklahoma. Plan on leaving with a small bag of good ole' worm poo produced right here in Oklahoma for your fertilizing pleasure. | Summer June 21, 2012 |
Thirsty Plants Don't Make Juicy Tomatoes | Irrigation in Oklahoma's sweltering summer heat is especially important. Learn ways to keep your plants' thirst quenched besides standing in your yard with the hose. Mulching with recycled materials, rainwater collecting, drip irrigation, and other alternative watering methods will be explored. Leave with one nifty recycled irrigation creation! | Summer July 5, 2012 |
Broccoli, Cabbage and Spinach, Oh My! | Participants will learn how to summer sow for fall harvests. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuces, spinach and carrots will be covered. You will leave with several seeds sown in small cups for your fall eating. | Summer July 19, 2012 |
What Does One Do with a Bushel of Tomatoes? | We will cover the very basics of preserving your harvests including freezing, canning and dehydrating. We will make sure you leave with basic knowledge of how to preserve some foods with resources to further your learning. You will also take home a quart of tomatoes that you put up yourself! | Summer August 2, 2012 |
Hungry Spring? No More! | We're gonna learn to plant fall crops for early spring eating to fill in that gap between when we've eaten up all our stored produce and our garden isn't producing much quite yet. You'll be munching on fresh greens when your neighbors are just beginning to think about putting seeds in the ground! | Fall September 27, 2012
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Sow That's How You Do It?! | Learn how to save seeds from your plants to start your garden over and over...the ultimate in sustainability. Warning for those with delicate sensibilities: we will be "dissecting" some unfortunate fruits and vegetables so we can examine what's on the inside and save their seeds. Time and interest permitting, we may touch on propagating from cuttings as well. Plan to leave with seeds to start in your own garden next spring!!! | Fall October 12, 2012 |
Baby Spinach, It's Cold Outside! | We truly have a 3 season growing cycle in NE Oklahoma and some say we can extend that even further by growing in a cold frame. Come see how it works and leave with plans to build your own cold frame very inexpensively. We'll also learn how to put our gardens to bed for the winter. | Fall October 26, 2012 |
That's the Nicest Thing That Anyone's Ever Done For Me! | In this class, we'll turn our hearts and minds towards the holiday season and explore ways to create heart-warming, meaningful, and useful gifts from our gardens. You'll go home with a little gift yourself! | Fall November 9, 2012 |