Burnsville 'Master' Gardeners Host Free Classes at Valley Natural Foods

Dakota County boasts more than 130 participants in the U of M's "Master Gardeners" program who volunteer thousands of hours per year teaching community members about horticulture.

This April and May, Burnsville's Valley Natural Foods is holding several free classes taught by Master Gardeners:

10 Tips for Planting a Successful Garden

When: 10 a.m. April 6

Instructor: Janice Gestner

Details: 3 people must be registered by noon April 4th or else the class will be cancelled.A flourishing garden does not just happen automatically, without effort. It takes several very important steps and various factors to plant a successful garden. In this free class, learn 10 garden tips around these topics:

•Soil testing: how to gather a good sample 
•Soil temperatures that are best for different plants
•Plants to start indoors or buy and plants to seed directly
•Soil amendments/preparation/compost
•Fencing/cages/trellises (when needed)
•Sun/plant considerations
•Watering considerations
•Best seed catalogs to use
•Things to observe as plants emerge
•Plant spacing

Planning and Planting a Vegetable Garden

When: 6:30 p.m April 8

Instructors: Dan and Cheryl Forrest

Details: 3 people must be signed up by April 4th or else the event will be cancelled. Are you interested in trying a vegetable garden, but don't know where to start?  This class will help you select a site, amend the soil, purchase seeds and transplants and plant the garden.

Small Space Veggie Gardening

When: 6:30 p.m April 15

Instructors: Dan and Cheryl Forrest

Details: 3 people must be registered by Thursday, April 11 or else the class will be cancelled.

This class is not for the person who wants to turn their entire yard into a garden, but rather for the person who wants to start on a small scale and have fun trying some new things. It is possible to combine veggies and herbs into your existing landscape, plantings or flower beds. Come and join us for some specific tips on gardening in small spaces including raised bed gardening, vertical gardening, companion gardening, square foot gardening, succession gardening and container gardening. We will give you some ideas and names of specific plant varieties to help you get started, and then you can let your imagination and creativity take over.

Blueberries: The Secrets of Growing this Super Fruit!

When: 6:30 p.m May 16

Instructors: Tori Clark

Details: 3 people must be registered by noon on May 14th or else the class will be cancelled.

You can grow a superfruit in your own yard! The secret to succes lies in site preparation. Tori Clark will share with you all the secrets for planting and caring for blueberries along with which varieties are best to plant. She will also discuss why these tasty fruits are so good for you too!

e Secrets of Growing this Super Fruit!

When: 10 a.m. May 18

Instructors: John Zweber

Details: 3 people must be registered by May 16th or else the class will be cancelled
Learn the basics of square-foot gardening, the practice of planning small, but intensively planted gardens. Attend this class to understand how to select a proper site, construct a square-foot garden, determine the right amount of plants, maintain proper plant care, along with learning harvesting and other methods to extend the growing season. This method is less work, it saves water, creates less weeds, is pesticide and herbicide free, is easily accessible and can effectively utilize small spaces.

Plant Diagnostic Clinics

At 10 a.m. on May 11 and 25, Valley Natural Foods will be hosting plant diagnostic clinics:

Master Gardeners hold Plant Health Diagnostic Clinics to help identify plants and insects and to diagnose common plant diseases. Bring in a weed or ornamental plant, fruit, vegetable, tree sample, shrub sample turf sample or an insect for identification and recommendations for cultural control.