Growing Great Vegetables
The last few years have seen a surge of gardeners taking up the trowel for the first time to try their hand at growing vegetables. This year, come prepared with Growing Great Vegetables, a five-week webinar series covering the basics of starting a vegetable garden from start to finish led by University of Illinois Extension gardening experts.
Whether you have a large garden or a patio with room for a few containers, now is the time to start planning for a successful garden.
Sessions will be from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays from March 4 to April 1, 2025. Each class covers a different topic and will consist of a live 50-minute Zoom webinar presentation by Illinois Extension educators followed by a Q&A. Extension horticulture educators
Chris Enroth,
Jennifer Fishburn,
Nicole Flowers-Kimmerle, Ken Johnson, and
Sarah Vogel. Registration is $10.
March 4 - Where will you Garden?: Build a garden using whatever space you have. Learn about traditional garden plots, raised beds, salad tables, container gardening, growing vertically, and more.
March 11 - Seed and Plant Choices and soils and fertilizers: Planning, design, and layout are key elements to successful gardening. Learn about hardiness zones, frost and freeze dates, how to order plants or seeds from a garden catalog or locally, reading and selecting seed packets, and starting plants from seed. We'll also cover soil testing and amendments, fertilizer, manures, mulch, watering, and weeding
March 18 - Cool Season Vegetables: Cool-season crops can be grown in spring or fall, each with its own characteristics and potential issues. Learn about some of the different cool-season vegetables that can be grown in Illinois and how to grow and harvest them.
March 25 - Warm Season Vegetables: Warm season crops grow during the hottest part of the year. This session will cover how to make vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, squash, and more flourish.
April 1 - Insects and Diseases: New and experienced growers alike are challenged by pests, diseases, and disorders of vegetable plants. Learn about insects, diseases, and wildlife pests and how to prevent and manage them.
Bonus session, April 29 - Join the experts and get your plant and gardening questions answered!
Sessions will be recorded and made available to registered participants if they are unable to attend live.
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Ken Johnson at kjohnso@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting access needs, when possible.