Build skills
Planning a garden for next year?
You’re in luck!
The Free the Seeds community created a series of online skill-building workshops just for you. This real-time series gives you practical tips and guidance relevant to our growing area throughout the gardening season.
Each session includes complementary resources so you can take a deeper dive into those topics that interest you most.
Happy gardening!
Online gardening sessions
April: Start your seedlings
Easy-to-grow plants that do well in the Flathead Valley
Seeds you should start now
Which seeds you can plant directly in the garden
How to start your seedlings
Watch the start your seedlings presentation
May, part 1: Prepare for planting
Getting your plot ready for planting
Options to fit your space: containers, straw bale gardens, raised beds, and garden plots
Crops that do well together
And much more…
Watch the prepare for planting presentation
May, part 2: Create and maintain healthy soil
Benefits of No Dig Gardening
The Basics on Starting a No Dig Garden
Creating a successful plan to start your own No Dig Garden
Examples of different types of successful No Dig Gardens
Watch the create and maintain healthy soil presentation
June: Early garden tips for success
Home gardeners Chris Dye and Ise Lund share:
A virtual tour of what their gardens look like mid-June
What’s working, what hasn’t, ideas for future improvements
Topics include pest control, beneficial insects, companion planting, maintaining healthy soil, and more…
Watch early garden tips for success presentation
July: Prepare to preserve the harvest
Julie Laing, creator of the Twice as Tasty food blog and author of the forthcoming book The Complete Guide to Pickling, shares her expertise on preserving your harvest. Topics include:
Preservation techniques, including canning, dehydrating, dry storage, freezing, pickling and fermenting, and refrigerating
Pros and cons of each technique
Best technique for specific homegrown fruits and vegetables
Tools, resources, and recipes
Watch prepare to preserve the harvest presentation
August: Get ready for fall
Robin Kelson of the Good Seed Company will give you tips on how to prepare your garden for fall, including:
Choosing plants to save seeds from and when
Creating a living food source for your soil microbes this winter
Late harvest plantings that produce into winter
Flower, herb and vegetable seeds to plant in fall for next season harvest
Watch get ready for fall presentation
September: Practical guide for seed saving
Good Seed Company’s Robin Kelson shares what you need to know to save seeds from your garden, including:
A bit about why to save your seeds
Choosing plants to save seeds from and when
Harvesting and processing “wet seeds” and “dry seeds”
Germination testing and how to maximize seed viability over time
Planning next year’s garden with seed saving in mind
Watch the practical guide for seed saving presentation
Also see:
Free the Seeds workshop recordings, archived by year