Registration Now Open For Gardening and Beekeeping Classes Starting In January 2024!!
Our Annual Spring Plant Sale Is Scheduled For Saturday May 25th 10-2pm and Saturday June 1st 10-2pm
If You're Thinking About Garden Maintenance Help, Redesign, or Installation, Get On My Calendar ASAP!!
CLASSES
Teaching both through community outreach and on the farm is incredibly important to me. I continue to offer courses through our local Community Education program as well as in-person throughout the year, and I encourage anyone interested in visiting the farm to contact me to set up an appointment for a tour. Here is a brief list of some of the classes I have to offer throughout the year.
Watch for upcoming classes for 2024 here as well as on Facebook and Instagram @ Little Waldo Farm.
Gardening encourages us to be active, learn from nature, and eat healthier. Research has shown that gardening improves both your mental and physical health, plus you get beautiful flowers and delicious tasting food. Gardening is a gateway to a healthier and more wholesome life, and I look forward to sharing that with all of you.
Native Bees, Our Trees, & How to Help these Important Pollinators
Are you interested in learning more about the important connections between native pollinators and our native plant habitats? Did you know our native bumblebees are essential to good blueberry production? Many of our wild growing fruits, nuts and flowers are dependent on pollination from native bees. Bees are truly meant for pollination, and many are harmless to humans. Learn how to support important native bee habitat and intern help benefit many of the plants and trees that make up our native ecosystems.
Class held at THHS Community Room on Wednesday January 31st from 6-7:30
$16
Gardening with Natives with Special Focus on Pollinator and Wildlife Habitat
Are you interested in adding native plants to your landscape? Do you enjoy watching wildlife, bees, or birds, but have trouble with rabbits or deer munching on your precious ornamentals? This class will focus on those plants that will attract a variety of wildlife and beneficial insects to your landscape, but help to keep the deer and rabbits from destroying those plants you appreciate so much.
Class held at THHS Community Room on Wednesday February 21 from 6-7:30 $16
Edible Gardening
Are you interested in growing your own food but are limited by space, know-how or time? This class will help you to decide what, where, and how to grow some of your favorite fruits and vegetables. Despite our limited growing season, there are many edible plant options that do well in our climate, even in containers. We'll discuss the best varieties, proper growing requirements, and long-term care for several vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible flowers.
Class held at THHS FACS Room 2305 on Wednesday March 13th from 6-7:30
$16
Basic Gardening
Are you interested in what it takes to have a garden. If you've thought about starting a garden, but aren't sure where to begin, this is the class for you. We will discuss the basic needs for having a successful garden, and how to keep things low maintenance. This class will help you to decide what kind of garden space will work for you, and a variety of methods to help achieve healthy happy plants.
Class held at THHS Community Room on Wednesday February 28th from 6-7:30
Also held at William Kelley School on Thursday March 14th from 6-7:30 $16
Companion Planting for Home and Container Gardening
Do you know which plants might enjoy other plant's company? Incorporating flowers with your veggies, herbs with your flowers and all of the like together can benefit your growing spaces in ways you may not be aware of. This course will help you decide which plants you can incorporate into your planting designs to help benefit your yields.
Class held at THHS Community Room Wednesday April 3rd from 6-7:30
$16
Gardening with Kids
Get your kids involved in the garden by exploring fun ways to help them understand just how important knowing where and how we get much of our food. Learn methods to make gardening fun for the whole family without turning it into a chore. Grow something of your own with hands-on activity to include an easy-to-grow plant to take home. For adults and children; children must be accompanied by an adult.
Class held at THHS FACS Room 2305 on Wednesday April 10th from 6-7:30
Also to be held at William Kelley School Thursday April 11th from 6-7:30
$20 per family
Growing Fruit in Northern Minnesota
Would you love to have your own fresh fruits right in your own back yard? Did you know there are over a dozen fruits we grow up here besides apples, blueberries and raspberries? In this class we'll discuss the varieties and requirements necessary to grow fruits all season long. Knowing which varieties are needed in proper pollination for good fruit set and spacial requirements is key to harvesting delicious, high-yielding fruits.
Class held at THHS Community Room on Wednesday February 7th from 6-7:30
$20
Winter Sowing
Winter Sowing is great way to garden from start to harvest. We will discuss methods of early seed starting, also known as winter sowing, and all the benefits to utilizing this method. Learn different varieties and methods to extend the quantities and quality of your home-grown harvests. Bring home your own winter-sowed mini greenhouse. All materials provided.
Class held at THHS FACS Room 2305 on Wednesday January 24th from 6-7:30
$25
Honey Beekeeping
A Note About Honey Beekeeping
Honey beekeeping is a wonderful and challenging hobby. Luckily for honeybees they are an incredibly important agricultural commodity across the globe. They are also the most researched insect to date, and because of this, they have much more monetary support to continue their survival.
Our native bee populations including some of our 20 species of native bumblebees are showing serious declines and honeybees, which are non-native bees, can impact this. I encourage those interested in honey beekeeping to evaluate their prospective hive locations and monitor for presence of native populations. Honeybees are competition for floral resources, and the more planting of flowers, especially native flowers, trees and shrubs, the less of an impact our hobby beekeeping may create.
Intro to Honey Beekeeping I & II
Have you thought about becoming a beekeeper, or pondered about having a beehive on your property? This class is a two part series on honeybees and their care in the Northland. Honey beekeeping is a fascinating hobby, but there are some key concepts to caring for them throughout our changing seasons. If you are interested in learning the basics of beekeeping, the first session will focus on introductory beekeeping, helping you to decide if this hobby is right for you. Intro to Honey Beekeeping II will focus on the more in-depth details of honey production, swarming, and over-wintering. You must take Intro to Honey Beekeeping I to register for the second session.
Classes held at THHS Community Room
Introduction to Honey Beekeeping 1 held Wednesday January 17th from 6-8pm $35
Introduction to Honey Beekeeping 2 held Wednesday February 14th from 6-8pm $25