URBANA, Ill. – Seasons come and go, but home gardening, environmental stewardship, and backyard food production take year-round effort. University of Illinois Extension provides timely tips in its fall edition of the popular Four Seasons Gardening horticulture workshops. 

Each online workshop is free. Registration is required at the website listed. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate, contact Gemini Bhalsod at gbhalsod@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting access needs.

• Dahlias: Digging, Dividing, and Diseases will be held Sep. 27 at 1:30 p.m.. Register at go.illinois.edu/4SeasonsDahlias. Dahlias can be a dazzling cut flower for your flower bed or garden. Gain Dahlia growing tips for summer care while learning to identify pest and diseases that can damage blooms. Fall brings new techniques for digging and dividing the tubers as a way of propagating for next season’s flowers.

• Using Fresh Produce will be held Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. Register at go.illinois.edu/4SeasonsProduce. You have grown fresh produce all summer long, now what do you do with the excess produce like onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and more? Explore simple ways of storing produce for longer shelf life and sharing resources for get easy recipes like refrigerator pickles to make your produce go further. 

• Deep Bark Secrets of Tree Selection will be held Nov. 1 at 1:30 p.m. Register at go.illinois.edu/4SeasonsTrees. Are you looking to plant more trees in your yard? Confused about what species might be best? Have something in mind and want to ensure its success? Branch out to find methods for selecting the right tree for your site. Make informed decisions when selecting your next tree.

SOURCE: Gemini Bhalsod, Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator
WRITER: Judy Mae Bingman, Illinois Extension Marketing and Communications Manager