Companion Planting (NEW!)
Which plants grow well together and and enhance each others’ growth? Which plants repel each other and inhibit each others’ growth? In this program, Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to maximize garden space and productivity by discussing which plants you can safely plant next to each other and which plats you should avoid planting together.
The Container Herb Garden
Herbs are wonderful plants that add color and flavor to our meals and health to our bodies. They are usually grown in a garden, but they can also be grown in smaller more enclosed spaces. In this class, Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to arrange and grow your favorite herbs on a smaller scale inside a container.
Controlling Garden Marauders
Aphids eating your cucumbers? Squirrels stealing your corn? Rabbits munching on your lettuce? Can they be stopped? Yes they can. Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will teach you strategies and tactics to stop these invaders from destroying your garden and stealing the fruits and vegetables you worked so hard to grow.
Fall Vegetable Gardening
Vegetable gardening does not have to end when summer does! Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will review how to prepare your garden for the fall, and discuss what vegetables are ideal for planting and harvest during this season. Grow a bountiful crop of delicious, sweet, crunchy vegetables for good healthful eating throughout fall and even into winter!
The Garden of Doom
Certain plants look beautiful, but hold hidden dangers that should make you think twice about planting them. Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will alert you to these botanical rogues and how to carefully cultivate them to mitigate their hazards if you decide to plant them.
Gardening for Pollinators
A successful vegetable garden requires the actions of specific insects and animals to carry pollen from one plant to another. Without these pollinators, most of our fruit and vegetable crops would fail to produce. To help our garden crops produce bountiful harvests, we must encourage these pollinators to come into our gardens, and Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how.
Growing and Using Corn
Whether it's sweet corn, popcorn, or cornbread, it just wouldn't be summer without this wonderful garden vegetable. You can purchase it from a grocery store or from a farmers market, but for the freshest possible corn, you have to grow it yourself. In this class, Mark Lyons, and experienced corn grower and garden coach, will teach you everything you need to know to grow this tasty mouthwatering summer treat.
Growing and Using Herbs
Herbs are wonderful plants that add color to our gardens, flavor and nutrients to our food, and health to our bodies. In this class, Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to plant, cultivate, use these wonderful plants.
Growing and Using Mushrooms
Like mushrooms? Ever thought about growing your own? Mark Lyons, an experienced mushroom grower and garden coach, will show you how to grow your very own mushroom harvest. It also will show you how to preserve your mushroom harvest and how to make the most of these culinary treasures.
Growing and Using Root Crops (NEW!)
Carrots, turnips, radishes, and other plants with edible parts underground are nutritious, delicious, and add color, crunch, and variety to our diets. Mark Lyons, an experienced vegetable gardener, will show you the techniques for planting, cultivating, harvesting, and using these underground culinary gems
Growing Terrific Tomatoes
Nothing compares to the sweetness and flavor of a fresh, home-grown tomato! Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to successfully grow this juicy, mouth-watering garden fruit in your own backyard or container garden.
Heavenly Homemade Dairy Treats (a.k.a. Crème de la Cream)
There is more to dairy than just milk. In this class, Mark Lyons, an experienced home cheesemaker, will show you how to turn that milk into wonderful treats such as butter, cheese, buttermilk, crème fraîche, and Devonshire clotted cream.
Home Cheesemaking
Like good cheese? Ever thought about making it yourself? Well, you can, and Mark Lyons, an experienced home cheesemaker, will show you how! In this program, you'll learn about the ingredients, equipment and techniques for making your own cheese. Mark will also demonstrate how to make a simple soft cheese and you will also get a chance to sample some of the homemade cheeses that Mark has made.
The Joy of Perennials
Perennial flowers, with their bright colors and long life, are an excellent addition that can liven up any garden. In this class, Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to grow and cultivate these beautiful garden gems, along with how to choose the best and hardiest specimens for our region.
The Joy of Goat Milk Cheeses
Goat milk cheeses are a rare and delicate treat. Have you ever wondered how they’re made, or thought about making your own? In this class, Mark Lyons, an experienced home cheese maker will open your eyes to the delicious world of goat milk cheeses, and show you how to make chevre and whole goat milk ricotta. The first class will be a lecture, and then you will begin making chevre. In the second class, you will finish the chevre and make whole goat milk ricotta. Enjoy samples of these delicious cheeses, while learning the art of cheese making.
Making the Most of Your Herbal Harvest
Your garden has produced a bumper crop of herbs. What are you going to do with all of them? Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you how to harvest and store your herbal treasures as well as how to use them to prepare butters, vinegars, oils, teas, potpourri, sachets, and other herbal delights.
Post Harvest Activities for a Productive Garden Next Year
Cultivating, weeding, watering, and harvesting in your garden are over and done with for the season. What do you do next? For starters, letting it lay there until the following spring is exactly the wrong thing to do. Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will discuss cleaning up the garden after the harvest is in, preparing the soil for the following spring, winterizing garden tools, fall planting, dealing with excess from the harvest, and preparing for next year's garden.
Power Vegetable Gardening
Take part in the backyard gardening hobby that's growing in popularity, and experience the joy of harvesting power crops of healthy, delicious, sweet, crunchy vegetables! Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will review the basic techniques of vegetable gardening. Everything from site selection, soil preparation, and seed starting through fertilization, watering, pest control, and harvest will be covered. Both new and experienced gardeners will learn something they can use.
Preserving the Harvest
Your garden has yielded a bumper crop of fruits and vegetables—and your friends and neighbors can't take any more. So what are you going to do with the surplus? Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will review a number of ways that can be used to preserve the harvest through the winter, and maybe even beyond. It will cover canning, freezing, dehydrating, and winter storage techniques.
Spring Garden Preparation and Tools (NEW!)
Spring will soon be upon us, and that means it's time to get ready for another season of gardening. But how? Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will discuss tools and techniques for getting your garden ready for spring planting
Sprouts and Microgreens for Good Health
Sprouts and microgreens are green vegetable plants that are easy to grow, yet packed with nutrients. Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will tell you all about how to grow and use these nutritional powerhouses!
Vegetable Gardening in Small Spaces
Lacking a big backyard does not mean that you can never have your own vegetable garden. Mark Lyons, an experienced garden coach, will show you tips and techniques for making the most of limited space to grow a bountiful harvest of sweet, crunchy vegetables.