Advanced Education
2018 Workshops
Advanced Education at Powell Gardens
Saturday, November 3, 9:00-noon, Composting Workshop
This workshop explores best practice for setting up your own composting area for your home garden, the science behind decomposition, and what matter provides the best organic results for you. A portion of the workshop delves into vermi-composting in space inside and outside your home. It includes instruction for setting up an Earth Machine composter (each participant will receive one to take home, a $150 retail value). This workshop is available for Advanced Education (a certificate will be provided upon completion) for Master Gardeners. Stan Slaughter is one of the top compost educators in the Nation. He was invited by HRH Prince Charles to lecture on Composting in England in 2016. He teaches how and why to compost, how to use it and what to expect. Come and ask your questions to a real expert.
COST: $80. Register at the Powell Gardens website or phone 816.697.2600. MGs should get the Member price.
INSTRUCTOR: Stan Slaughter, Education and Garden Specialist, Missouri Organic
CAPACITY: 50
LOCATION: Multipurpose Room
Dry-farming Techniques for Growing Heirloom Tomatoes
Saturday June 9, 9am-noon 2018 at the Kurlbaum Farm KC Kansas
Topics: tomato selection, seed growing and transplanting, disease prevention and
organic growing methods. A tour and demo of the farm will be a highlight.
Speakers: Cary Rivard, KSU horticulture specialist and owners of Kurlbaum Farm
This session is valid for 3 hours of Advanced Education in the Plant Pests/Disease area
or Fruits or Sustainable Practices of emphasis. Pick the one you need the most to get
the spread of your topics for your application.
The fee to attend the workshop is $20.00 (no refunds). To register, fill out the form
below and mail it with payment (check to MGGKC) by June 1, 2018. If you have
questions, contact Bibie Chronwall chronwall@umkc.edu, 816-523-5526.
Please bring your own water and snack lunch for a Q&A session on the patio.
Address (along Leavenworth Rd), directions and a participant list for possible car-
pooling will be sent to registrants.
Prairie Maintenance
June 16, 2018, all day, Dunn Ranch Prairie
A Day of Advanced Education at Dunn Ranch Prairie
Come spend a spectacular day visiting Dunn Ranch Prairie and learning about our region’s prairie heritage! Witness the spectacular blooms, the birds, the bees and the butterflies in the tranquil setting of Dunn. Located in the 70,000-acre Grand River Grasslands in northwest Missouri, Dunn Ranch Prairie is a 3258 acre prairie being restored by The Nature Conservancy. Native grasslands like Dunn Ranch Prairie are the landscape of America’s heartland. Prairies are important for wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and flood control. They also help clean our water by slowing runoff and erosion, and they stay healthy and green even during times of extreme drought – providing a food source for livestock and pollinators.
Today fewer than 1 percent of our native tallgrass prairies remain, making them the most endangered, least protected habitat type on Earth. Remarkably, almost 1,000 acres of Dunn Ranch Prairie have never been plowed, and the topsoil is 40 inches deep in most places!
Tour of KC Water’s Swope Campus Infrastructure, June 21, 2018
Rain gardens, bioswales, native plantings, permeable pavers—are you
interested in these gardening/water management elements but not sure how they
work together? Then please join the Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas city for a
tour of the Kansas City Water Department’s new Swope Campus at 4800 E 63 rd
Street.
This is definitely not your father’s water department!
KC Water employees will conduct guided tours of the green infrastructure,
including native plantings, pervious concrete, porous asphalt, grasscrete, permeable
pavers, rain gardens and bioswales. You will learn how these elements are built and
maintained to catch, infiltrate and slowly release storm-water runoff from the
campus, improving water quality in the Blue River and preventing erosion in the
neighboring Big Blue Battlefield historic site.
The campus includes a paved walking trail and an outdoor plaza to support
healthy living and connect campus buildings. Plants by the trail vary from mowed
lawn to prairie and new tree plantings that will eventually provide shade.
Even the parking lots will knock your socks off! Medians, trees, landscape
plantings and intelligent traffic flow enhance parking lot safely, sustainability and
beauty. Outdoor lighting uses energy efficient LED technology to reduce energy
consumption and light pollution while providing high quality light. The landscaping
reduces the heat island effect, reduces water runoff and makes the site beautiful.
Tours start at 6:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The event is free, but
registration is required through Eventbrite
Registration starting on May 25 and ending June 15. For more information, call 816-523-5526
or e-mail chronwall@umkc.edu.
2017 Workshops
Native Plant school: Sedges have Edges
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Learn about native sedges and grasses, their ecology and natural history. Discover which varieties are best for groundcovers and garden use and which are best for prairie restoration or a more natural landscape. Get hands-on training in plant identification, view herbarium specimens, and walk around the gardens to get greater insight into their astonishing diversity, function, ecological adaptions and importance in the landscape.
Speakers: Elliott Duemler, B.S. is the manager for Taylor Creek Restoration Nursery. He has extensive experience with prairie restoration, custom seed collection, native plant propagation, and nursery operations. He is a member of the executive committee of Grow Native.
Brett Budach, a graduate of Kansas State University, has a sound knowledge of our Midwestern flora specializing in native grasses, sedges and rushes. His interests include plants, birds, butterflies and moths.
This class is valid for 3 hours of advanced education in either of the areas landscaping, grasses/groundcovers or sustainable practices.
The class is organized by Powell Gardens. Register directly to 816.697.2600 or www.powellgardens.org. Mention that you are an MGGKC. Also e-mail Bibie chronwall@umkc.edu so she can provide a certificate for you. The fee is $45, members get 10% off.
Advanced Soil Health
Southeast Community Center in Swope Park
4201 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, MO on Saturday, September 9, 2017, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
This training is valid for 3 hours of advance education training in the Grasses/Ground Covers/Soil area of emphasis. The agenda will cover:
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How soil formation factors affect the ground beneath our feet
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Determining your soil characteristics and needs
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Soil health and management – soil organic matter and biology, tillage, soil cover, soil fertility
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Soil amendments; myths and realities
This advanced soil management class will illustrate the interactions of people and soil and how easily we can unwittingly undo centuries of work by natural processes. Attendees will learn how to best manage soils for improved resilience, health, sustainability and productivity.
Speaker: Kerry Clark is a soil scientist with the University of Missouri Columbia and lead investigator for organic row crop research. Her work focuses on the effects of agricultural practices on soil quality.
Cost to attend this workshop is $20.00 (no refunds). To register, fill out the form below and mail with payment by September 6. If you have questions, or for further information, contact Cathy Bylinowski, MU Extension Horticulture Educator at 816-252-5051 or bylinowskic@missouri.edu.
JUNE 3rd
Please join us for an Advanced Education road-trip adventure to The Land Institute in Salina, KS, on Saturday, June 3 rd . Through the big windows of our
air-conditioned motor coach we’ll have a perfect view of the eastern Kansas prairie cloaked in the emerald green of late spring.
The Land Institute is a world renowned, science-based research organization devoted to the development of perennial grain crops and polyculture practices as an alternative to annual crop monoculture farming.
Our guided tour by Land Institute staff will include permaculture and no-till practices, the ongoing research on perennial grain crops, and their success story,
Kernza, a perennial grain crop now in production in the US and Africa. We’ll visit the beautiful Wahob Prairie overlook, the research facilities and the perennial grain research plots at the Ohio Street Farm facility.
Logistics: The motor coach will leave at 7:30 a.m. sharp from Picture & Frame Industries, 35 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66103.
We will park and board at this location because of street closures for the Hospital Hill Marathon. We will depart The Land Institute at 4:00 p.m. and arrive in Kansas City around 7:00 p.m.
Credits: 4 hours of Advanced Education credits in Sustainable Practices or Leading
Edge Research in horticulture
Fee: $25 covers lunch, a small donation to The Land Institute and a tip for our driver.
Register ASAP, at the latest by May 30 th by contacting Bibie Chronwall
chronwall@umkc.edu or 816-523- 5526 and sending a check issued to MGGKC to herat 1022 W 64 th Terrace, KC MO 64113.
Your lunch choices are: turkey or ham sandwich or a chef’s salad, all with a side dish of marinated veggies. Registered participants will receive additional information ahead of the trip.
Here is an opportunity to learn, in depth, care and maintenance on all sorts of tools, spreaders, and sprayers; with insight into those small engine power tools found in our garages and sheds. Bob Schultheis, MU Extension Natural Resources Engineering Specialist, leads this class. This training is valid for 3 hours of advance education. Register by February 17, fee is required. Click here for all of the details!
2016 Workshops
Aliens among us: a primer on non-native plants in our landscapes
South East Community Center in Swope Park
4201 East 63rd Street, Kansas City, MO 6413
Saturday, June 4th, 9:00 am – noon
This course is valid for 3 hours of Advanced Education in the Sustainable Practices area.
Among the estimated 50,000 non-native plant species introduced in the U.S., some 4,000 exist outside of cultivation and have become established in both our wild and developed landscapes. Many non-native plants are vital to the U.S. economy; others are among the leading threats to native species and ecosystems. Kansas and Missouri are typical in terms of the number of non-native species in their floras—23% and 28%, respectively. We will explore which plants in our environments are non-native, when they became established and from where they came, which ones pose the greatest threat to human activities, and how botanists document and track them.
Craig C. Freeman is Senior Curator in the R. L. McGregor Herbarium and Senior Scientist in the Kansas Biological Survey, both at the University of Kansas. He holds a BA in biology from Wartburg College, and MS and PhD degrees in biology from Kansas State University. He is the co-author of three books: Roadside Wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains (1991), An Illustrated Guide to Endangered and Threatened Species in Kansas (1995), and Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds (2015). He serves of the boards of the Kansas Native Plant Society, The Nature Conservancy of Kansas, and the Flora of North America Association.
Cost to attend this workshop is $20 and the class is limited to 30 participants. To register, fill THIS FORM and mail with payment by May 25th. If you have questions, or for further information, contact Lala Kumar, MU Extension Horticulture Specialist, Cathy Bylinowski, MU Extension Horticulture Educator or Bibie Chronwall, Master Gardener, AE chair (chronwall@umkc.edu).
Plant Cloning by Tissue Culture for Horticulture
Johnson County Community College, in the Sciences Building
12345 College Blvd Overland Park, Kansas 66210
Friday April 29, 6-9 PM
Valid for 3 hours of Advance Education in the ‘Leading Edge in Horticulture’ area.
This is a great opportunity, maybe the chance of your lifetime, to experience the tissue culture technique. As a master gardener you need to know and understand about important horticulture technologies – even if you will never actually use them yourself. Plant tissue culture propagation is such a tool. It is used extensively in the horticulture industry and in plant biotechnology to allow cloning of select species. This course will explore basic plant tissue culture techniques, including how to prepare tissue culture medium and surface sterilize explants.
Lekha Sreedhar, Ph.D., is an Associate professor and Chair in the department of Horticultural Sciences at Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS. Lekha holds a M.S Horticultural Sciences and Ph.D. Botany, specialization Plant Physiology degrees from University of Guelph, Ontario Canada. Lekha’s post-doctoral research at the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Cook College, Rutgers, NJ focused on understanding the molecular basis for pathogenic and mutualistic fungus in turf grass systems. Lekha has extensive experience developing tissue culture protocols for various species and she is a much awarded teacher.
The fee is $20 and the class is limited to 30 participants. To register, fill out THIS FORM and mail with payment by April 25th . If you have questions, or for further information, contact Lala Kumar, MU Extension Horticulture Specialist, Cathy Bylinowski, MU Extension Horticulture Educator or Bibie Chronwall, Master Gardener AE chair (Chronwall@umkc.edu)
2015 Workshops
Advanced Training in Composting!
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Learn where your plants come from & How to make your own
Saturday, February 21, 2015
9am-4pm (check-in at 8:30am) Kauffman Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Road, Kansas City MO
This class will take you deep into how new varieties of plants are bred, so you
understand the process and can create your own varieties. (It is WAY easier than you think!)
You will be walked through some of the main ways to propagate and make more varieties of
plants you already have or may purchase in the future.
This intensive class will include lectures and hands-on workshops to help you
understand every aspect of these topics. This session will be led by
Joseph Tychonievich, author of Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener, who
specializes in taking seemingly complex, technical aspects of gardening and breaking them down
into simple, clear, easy-to-understand terms. You’ll leave with a new understanding of where
plants come from, and a whole new set of skills.
To register, go to this link Eventbrite. Please register immediately to provide us with a headcount.
Then send a check for $55 (which includes lunch) to Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas
City, PO Box 884, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063. It would be appreciated if it was mailed no later than
2/15. If you should register after 2/15, please bring your check to the seminar.
The class will count as 6 hours of Advanced Education for Master Gardeners.
2014 Workshops
Tomato Grafting Workshop at Powell Gardens
Sat., Nov 15, 2014
10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Tomato grafting can help growers organically manage soil-borne diseases and increase crop yield. We invite commercial growers and home gardeners to attend this workshop, which is led by experts from Kansas State University and Powell Gardens.
10 – 10:30 a.m. Introduction to Herbaceous Grafting and Benefits with Mark Gawron, Heartland Harvest Garden Horticulturist at Powell Gardens
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Grafting and Soil-borne Disease with Dr. Cary Rivard, Fruit and Vegetable Specialist at K-State Horticulture Research and Extension Center, Olathe, Kansas
11:15 – noon K-State Grafting Research Update with Lani Meyer, Graduate Student, K-State Horticulture Research and Extension Center
Noon – 1 p.m. Lunch at Cafe Thyme (included in registration fee)
1 – 2:30 p.m. Grafting Technique and Hands-on Demonstration with Dr. Cary Rivard
Space is limited. Make reservations at http://www.powellgardens.org/tomatografting or 816-697-2600 x 209.
Location: Powell Gardens, 1609 NW U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, Missouri 64061
Fee: $25 per person
Below are links to the September 2014 Advanced Training Workshops:
Thursday, Sept. 4 – Lawn Care Professional Workshop
3 Thursdays, Sept. 18, Sept 25, Oct 2 – Treekeepers
2013 Workshops
To provide more in-depth training on a specific topic, the three-hour format Advanced Training classes have been developed. They are designed to improve the member’s knowledge of a topic so they can provide more comprehensive services in the community and be recognized for their continued education and skills.
October 5, 2013 – Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application
Linda Chalker-Scott Ph.D. Washington State University
Author: The Informed Gardener, The Informed Gardener Blooms Again
Full Day registration 8:30 am to 3:30 pm (lunch included) – $45
A.M. Session only– Myth Debunking
8:30 am to 12:30 pm (lunch included) – $30
A.M. Session only– How Plants Survive in Urban Settings
11:30 am to 3:30 pm (lunch included) – $30
Lunch, conversation, book signing and “on your own tour” of Kauffman Gardens or Discovery Center – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm.
Sept. 5, 2013 – An Organic Approach to Lawn Care
This workshop will provide information on non-synthetic fertilizers and pesticides on lawns and cultural practices which will help maintain green lawns in a non-conventional way. MGs will earn 4 advanced education hours.
University of Missouri Extension Center
1106 W. Main Street, Blue Springs, MO 64015
Workshop: 9:10am – 2:00pm
July 20, 2013 – Garden Remedies from the Pantry and Garden Center
Jeff Gillman, Ph.D. University of Minnesota – Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota
Full Day – 8:30 am to 3:30 pm (lunch included) – $45
A.M. Session only– The Truth About Garden Remedies and Decoding Gardening Advice
8:30 am to 12:30 pm (lunch included) – $3
A.M. Session only– The Truth About Organic Gardening and Looking at Garden Center Products
11:30 am to 3:30 pm (lunch included) – $30
