Gardeners can improve their know-how with videos, webinars
Kentucky homeowners who want to up their game in vegetable or landscape gardening will have a lot of opportunities in the coming months. The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service is offering a variety of free webinars that people can join from their home computers or smart phones.
“Last year we had a record number of home gardens being put out and a lot of new gardeners because of the pandemic,” said Philip Konopka, agriculture and natural resources extension agent in Lewis County. “That was a natural response, and that was a good response. There are a lot of benefits to gardening besides feeding your family: stress relief, a feeling of accomplishment.”
Konopka and UK horticulture extension professor Richard Durham, have organized the webinar series The Unexpected Pleasure of Gardening, which began Feb. 25 and continues the following two Thursdays. The three sessions will cover the bones of home vegetable gardening and novel vegetable varieties on Feb. 25, small fruit production such as blueberries and strawberries in the home landscape on March 4 and suggestions for annual and perennial flowers suited to the Kentucky landscape, as well as their care on March 11. Each 90-minute session will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.
To sign up for the free series, register at the local county Cooperative Extension office. Registrants will receive a link to join the webinar on Zoom.
The free Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays, which were begun last year in response to the pandemic, continue on Zoom each Wednesday at a new time, 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. CT. The weekly 15- to 20-minute sessions are taught by UK extension specialists and horticulture agents and cover a variety of topics that will be of interest to the keepers of large or small gardens or landscapes, no matter their expertise level.
Season Two topics for February and March include pruning apple trees, pruning brambles, new plants for a new year, starter fertilizer and lawn establishment, building a self-watering raised bed, and rain gardens.
Those interested in joining the webinars should register for one or more of the sessions here. The first season is now available for viewing here. The second season sessions are recorded, but take about a week to post. They can be found here. The UK Cooperative Extension Service is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. With its land-grant partner, Kentucky State University, UK Cooperative Extension brings the university to the people in their local communities, addressing issues of importance to all Kentuckians.
