Don’t you all usually have some gardening classes in the spring? How do I find out about those? PJ

Yes, we usually have several educational opportunities for Tulsa gardeners and this year is no exception.

One of the mandates for Tulsa Master Gardeners (the prime directive if you will) is to be a resource of university/research-based information for the people of their home counties. Tulsa County is no exception. Let’s run through some of the opportunities that are available to you this spring.

First of all, we have our Urban Gardener classes. These classes have historically been at the OSU Extension here in Tulsa as in-person classes. As most of us transitioned to social distance protocols to protect everyone from COVID-19, we moved the Urban Gardener classes to an online format as well. While we missed being able to meet with fellow gardeners in person, the online format not only provides you with the same information (in some cases more), but it also enables us to provide this class to more people than can fit in our classroom.

In this online series of six lessons, you can learn about soil science, vegetable gardens, pollinator gardens, trees and shrubs, and turf maintenance. Essentially you get a good overview of most of the issues you will face as a urban gardener. Since the classes are online, you can sign up and work your way through the classes at your own pace, on your own schedule. There are videos, downloadable information sheets, and links to other sources of information. The same people teach these online classes as would teach our in-person classes so for those of you who are wanting to up your gardener game, this should be great. There is a $30 fee for these classes.

For this next horticultural education opportunity, we are once again partnering with the Tulsa County Library for their popular Lunch and Learn series. Again, we had been teaching these classes in person, but have transitioned them to Facebook Live for now. These classes are available live on the Tulsa County Library and Tulsa Master Gardener Facebook pages on six Tuesdays, starting last Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. till around 1:00 p.m. They are called Lunch and Learn as the original intent was for you to be able to bring your lunch to the Library and enjoy a class. Now you can do the same thing from your desk at home or at work. There are 5 remaining classes in this series on the following topics: Container Gardening, Heirloom Seeds and the Seed Library, Growing Herbs, Growing Tomatoes, and Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden. During the class you are able to ask questions via the comments section. If you are not able to join us live, these sessions remain on our Facebook pages so you can view them at a later date.

Hopefully, life will begin working its way back toward normal where we can gather together once again, but until then, you will find us online. And remember, you can always call or email our Diagnostic Center for answers to specific gardening questions.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.