Registration open for Winter Gardening Fair in Cedar Rapids

John Beranek (left) pours water on a tree that he and Nick McGrath planted in the median along Grande Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids on June 1. McGrath, a field coordinator at Trees Forever, will be teaching “Planting Trees for Tomorrow” at the Linn County Master Gardeners’ Winter Gardening Fair on Feb. 18, 2023. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Registration is now open for the 18th annual Linn County Master Gardeners’ Winter Gardening Fair, which will be held Feb. 18, 2023, at the Kirkwood Regional Center, 1770 Boyson Rd. in Hiawatha. Tuition is $59 for the all-day event and student rate is $30 for high school or college students. Lunch is included.

There will be more than 70 gardening workshops presented by Iowa gardening experts and local Master Gardeners. Fifty of then will be brand-new topics. Speakers include the following:

Aaron Steil, consumer horticulture Extension specialist at Iowa State University. He’s also the host of “Gardening with Steil” on PBS and a regular guest on Iowa Public Radio’s weekly “Hort Friday” segment. Steil will be teaching classes on “Waking the Garden in Spring” and “Water-Wise Gardening in Iowa.”
Scott Koepke is the founder of Garden Bridge Outreach, an interactive garden life skill education program serving primarily social service agencies and correctional facilities in the corridor. He also co-founded the hunger relief farm Grow: Johnson County. Koepke will be teaching a class called “From Soil to Soul: The Healing of Gardening.”
Nick McGrath is a field coordinator at Trees Forever. He has assisted Iowans in replanting efforts after the August 2020 derecho. He will be teaching “Planting Trees for Tomorrow.”
Kacie Waters is a natural resources field specialist for ISU Extension. She works to create natural resources education programs and also assists in the coordination of the Iowa Master Conservationist Program. She will be teaching “Gardening and Wildlife” and “Edible Ground Cover Lawn Alternatives.”
Kristine Nemec is a program director at the UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center. Nemec’s class is “Add Balance to Your Blooms: Why Native Plants, including Native Grasses, Matter.”
Suzanne Slack is an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at ISU, Slack will teach “Unusual Berries for Iowa” and “How to Fight Fire (blight) in Apple and Pear Trees.”
Emelia Sautter is a certified nature and forest therapy guide. She will be presenting a class on “Nature and Forest Therapy.”
Emmaly Renshaw’s passion for growing local food systems and improving food access for all families led her to be the executive director of Feed Iowa First. Renshaw will be talking about “Regenerative Gardening — Retire the Tiller for Better Soil Health.”

A question-and-answer session will be offered with Steil, Waters and Slack.

New this year is a Seed Swap. Bring your extra seeds and swap them for different ones. Organizers will accept seeds from your garden or labeled packages of seeds 3 years old or less.

Workshop topics range from creating compost, square-foot gardening, houseplant care, and ponds and water features. Hands-on classes include how to make a succulent fairy garden and how to make a native bee house. For complete class descriptions and registration, click here.

Registration includes your choice of five classes, and a box lunch. Deadline to register is Feb. 10, 2023.