Classes

Class time: 10 AM to 3 PM • 12 person maximum Mushrooms are delicious and healthy, but also shrouded in mystery! Learn more about them in this Mushroom Cultivation and Identification Workshop taught by mycology enthusiast Zach Hedstrom. Plan to leave the class with basic knowledge about how to grow mushrooms, the ways in which fungi can increase ecological vitality, as well as familiarity with the process of identification and various local wild mushroom species. Participants will partake in 2 hands-on mushroom growing activities and take away a log inoculated with Oyster Mushroom spawn that, with proper care, will produce tasty mushrooms for multiple years. Everyone will also receive a handout packet for help in identifying local mushrooms. Participants should bring their own lunch, and weather-appropriate clothing. It will be a day full of fungi, and FUN!

Class time: 1 PM Learn how to turn waste into wealth by cultivating soil microorganisms. Nature does the work if you know how to lend a hand. In this class, you will learn what works in our climate, and what doesn’t. Mikl has been composting for 35 years.

Class time: 1 PM Small fruits are delicious, high in antioxidants, take up less space and bear sooner than trees: strawberries, currants, raspberries, grapes, gooseberries. Learn about the best varieties for Colorado and how to grow them.

Class time: 10 AM Not all insects will harm your garden; and in fact many insects are “good guys” that will not only control garden pests but also help your garden in other ways. Learn how to recognize and attract beneficial insects to your yard and garden.

Class time: 1–2 PM Free admission! Laura Somers, Wildscape Ambassador, representing Audubon Rockies and Colorado Native Plant Society will demonstrate the importance of restoring our communities, one garden patch at a time. From a birds-eye view, learn how to create wildlife-friendly gardens that help combat the loss of open spaces and create green corridors that link your wildscape to larger natural areas by providing habitat for wildlife.

Class time: 10 AM If you have a backyard garden, it’s probably being pollinated by some of Boulder County’s 500+ species of native bees. We’ll talk about some of the basic types and how you can create bee friendly habitat to invite them to your yard. Then we’ll walk through Harlequins’ demonstration gardens to observe some of these bees in action.

Class time: 1 PM Learn how to look for and identify common pests, and how to judge if anything needs to be done. Learn which organic solutions are the most effective, for what, and how to do it. Mikl has been walking this talk for 35 years.

Class time: 1 PM Gardening with less water is not that hard if you know how! There are tricks that will improve your success. Mikl’s will pass on his 30 years of xeriscape experience.

Class Time: 10 AM Have you ever watched bees coming out of a knothole in an old tree or seen those stacks of boxes near a field and wondered what was inside? Come take a peek inside a working hive of honeybees and chat about what it takes to have a hive of your own or to help bees in general. Please wear long sleeves and pants.

Class Time: 1 PM Elaine is a landscape architect who will show you the elements of designing areas of your property. Learn how to observe your site, identify goals, take a site analysis, create a comprehensive design, and how to approach installation in manageable pieces.

Class Time: 10 AM In this class, you will learn the basics of mushroom identification and what you should know before going out on a hunt. We will also introduce a variety of local mushrooms and their identification features. This is a good class for beginners as well as those who have done some foraging before.

Class Time: 1 PM Tyler will begin the class with a centering movement that will prepare us for learning about the plants. Katrina Blair, author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival will be here to share the exceptional nutrient and medicinal qualities of 13 useful plants that are abundant, free to harvest and readily available. Her book will be available for sale.

Class Time: 10 AM In this class, you will take what you learned in the classroom and put it to practice on a mushroom hunting field trip in the mountains. Location given at registration. Please come with weather-appropriate clothing, water, and good shoes. Zach Hedstrom is a mushroom fanatic and grower at Hazel Dell.

Class Time: 1 PM Mikl has been researching, building, and using simple greenhouses for 20 years. This class will focus on five designs on site at the nursery.

Class time: 1 PM Weedbarrier, wood chips, straw, fine gravel, bark? Which mulches should be used and where? Why is mulching so important? What’s wrong with redwood and cedar? Mikl will discuss these questions and suggest solutions.  

Class Time: 1pm Learn how to train young trees, restructure shrubs and trees damaged by storms, and to prune roses. Mikl has over 35 years of experience in pruning. (Repeat of Aug 11.)

Class Time: 10 AM – 2 PM This class will answer those oft-asked gardening questions such as: when do I prune my roses, start tomato seeds, seed grass, put down sod, cut back ornamental grasses, prune lilacs and clematis, apply soil microbes, when to fertilize, transplant perennials, divide iris, etc., etc. Get the picture? Answers provided. Kelly is one of the region’s preeminent horticulturists, and an expert in natural plant nutrition and pest control. Plan to bring a sack lunch