Classes 2011
April 3, Sunday, Raising Backyard Chickens, with Tracey Parish & Barb Mueser . Learn how to select, purchase and care for a flock of chickens, find out what they need and the benefits they provide. 1:30 pm
April 9, Saturday, Planting by the Moon with Mikl Brawner The moon and planets influence life on earth. Mikl has been planting by the Biodynamic Calendar for 20 years with success. Be in sync with the cosmic rhythms. Biodynamic Calendars available 10 am
April 9, Saturday, Growing Veggies and Herbs in Containers: In her first year Ellen Dart grew $900 worth of food and herbs in containers. She will show the simple methods for success she has learned: baby greens, squash, peppers, tomatoes. 1:30 pm
April 10, Sunday, Veggie Gardening 101 with Niki Hayden. She will present a simple and effective introduction to growing food without chemicals. This is Niki’s passion and specialty. This class will give you the information and confidence to succeed. 10 am
April 10, Sunday, Success with Seed Starting with Sandy Swegel. Learn simple tricks for starting seeds on a budget under various conditions. Sandy says seeds WANT to grow; just give them the right opportunities. Sandy is an experienced gardener. 1:30 pm
April 16, Saturday, How to Grow the BEST Tomatoes, with Carol O’Meara. Not only is Carol an Extension Agent for Boulder Co. Co-op Extension, she knows how to grow the best tomatoes because she is passionate about her “Love Apples”. Learn how to choose, site, feed, support and manage pests for those “home-grown” tomatoes. 10 am
April 16, Saturday, Building Topsoil and Fertility with Mikl Brawner. We will discuss how to support soil life, enrich poor soils and improve plant health and nutrition from the bottom up: composts, fertilizers, mulching, worms, deficiencies and tilth. 1:30 pm
April 17, Sunday, Mulch, Mulch: The Lasagna/Sheet Mulch Method with Barbara Miller. This method of organic veggie gardening takes less work, needs no tilling, reduces compaction & uses less water. Barbara grows 8,000 sq. ft. of veggies by herself. 10 am
April 17, Sunday, Intro to Grapes (Viticulture) with John Martin. How to grow grapes for wine and for juice & fresh eating, including successful varieties, location, pest magement, pruning and trellising. John grows 60 vines and makes wine at Stonebridge CSA 1:30 pm
April 23, Saturday, Organic Lawn Care with Mikl Brawner. How to support healthy soil and soil life using compost, organic fertilizers, aeration, proper watering and mowing, and how to avoid and deal with weeds. Plus, Freedom Lawn & Meadows. 10 am
April 23, Saturday, Succession Planting: Getting more from your space with Rich Pecoraro Co-owner of Abbondanza Farm. Learn the plants, their cycles, characteristics, culture & sowing windows to maximize veggie output in our short growing season. 1:30 pm
April 24, Sunday, Permaculture for Small Spaces with Adam Brock. Apply permaculture design to containers, side yards, under-the-sink (mushrooms), & other small areas. Adam runs Wild Green Yonder, an urban permaculture design and education company. 10 am
April 24, Sunday, Rose Pruning & Care with rosarian Eve Brawner. Eve will demonstrate and discuss why and how to prune roses. Wear long pants, long sleeves, gloves and a hat. She will also discuss feeding, watering, etc. to maximize your success. 1:30 pm
April 28, Thursday, Container Growing for Beauty & Food with Gail Clarke. Learn how to choose the best containers, soils, plants, fertilizers and learn companion planting, succession planting and watering. Gail does landscaping & is a Master Gardener. 4 pm
May 5, Thursday Wild Edibles and Medicinal Weeds with Ann Drucker. A hands-on herb class in the field: forage, taste, learn, make wild pesto & healing vinegar. Ann has over 20 years experience teaching herbal healing in her joyful, experiential way. 3:30 pm
May 7, Saturday, Berries and Small Fruits with Mikl Brawner. Small fruits are delicious, high in antioxidants, take up less space & bear sooner than trees: strawberries, currants, raspberries, grapes, gooseberries. The best varieties for CO. & how to grow them. 10 am
May 7, Saturday, Success with Clematis: Queen of Vines with Eve Brawner. There are so many different types, colors, sizes etc. Learn which ones succeed here, & how & where to use them. She will also cover planting, fertilizing and appropriate pruning. 1:30 pm
May 14, Saturday, Making Compost with Mikl Brawner. 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 how. Mikl has been composting for 30 years. 10 am
May 14 Saturday, Alison Peck: Edible Landscaping Learn how to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, vines and herbs in your yard, beautifully. Learn which plants are the most successful and how to integrate them into your landscape. Alison has been designing edible landscapes for 25 years; she owns Matrix Gardens landscaping. 1:30 pm
May 15, Sunday, Fruit Trees for CO. with Mikl Brawner. Learn which varieties are successful here, which are not, and which are good flavored: Apples, Cherries, Plums, Pears, Peaches, and learn how to care for them. Mikl’s 1st orchard was in 1976. 10 am
May 15, Sunday, How to Plant a Rose with rosarian Eve Brawner. Watch & participate in the planting of container-grown roses. Wear long pants & sleeves, gloves, hat & work shoes. Eve will also discuss how to get your roses off to a great start. 1:30 pm
May 21, Saturday, Secrets of Veggie Gardening in the Mountains with Roland Evans. Learn how to amend soils, choose the right varieties, simple plant protection strategies. Roland grows over 50 varieties of veggies at 7500’. CEO of Organic Bountea 1:30 pm
May 22, Sunday, Spring Pruning for Shrubs with Mikl Brawner. When spring-blooming shrubs have flowered, they should be pruned for better bloom, strength, health, beauty & to remove broken, diseased and old wood. Mikl pruned professionally for 35 years. 1:30 pm
June 4, Saturday, Plant a Faerie Garden (for Kids) with Harlequin’s Staff Deb, Elaine & Michelle They will help children 5-9 create a faerie garden to take home. Please bring small natural objects to include. We will provide a container, plants etc. that will support butterflies, toads, beneficial insects and other fairies. $20 includes materials; 10 am
June 4, Saturday, Gardening with Native Plants with Mikl & Eve Brawner. Native shrubs & wildflowers thrive in CO., support native pollinators & birds, save water & have a Western look. Learn how to choose & grow natives successfully. 20 years experience 1:30 pm
June 5, Sunday, Growing Vegetables without Chemicals with Niki Hayden. Niki will cover soil amendments for fertility, pest barriers and nontoxic methods for insect and weed control.Niki has many years of experience with healthy gardening:Front Range Living. 10 am
June 11, Saturday, High Altitude Gardening with Diane Badertscher. Gardening above 6000’ has its own challenges. There are certain plants and certain strategies that can improve your successes. Diane lives and gardens at 8000’ and can help you. 1:30 pm
June 12, Sunday: Opportunities and Tricks of Xeriscape with Mikl Brawner: There are advantages to gardening with less water, and tricks that will improve your success. Mikl’s xeriscape experience of over 20 years has taught him tricks that will cost you a lot less than it cost him. 1:30 pm
June 16, Thursday, 4:30; Plants for Permaculture, Part 1: Alison Peck will discuss woody plants for food, medicine, habitat and more, based on 25 years experience. June 18, Saturday, Plants for Permaculture, Part 2: Alison will lead a tour of her mature permaculture landscape at Nyland Cohousing 10 am (cost for 2-part class $25)
June 18, Saturday, Making Herbal Preparations with Garima Fairfax. Turn plants into effective herbal teas, infused oils, salves, lotions & tinctures. Hands-on learning: leave with samples. Garima is a certified herbalist; her company: Wild Sage Skin Care. 10 am, $20
June 18, Saturday, Knowing and Supporting Beneficial Insects: Carol O’Meara. If you know the good bugs, you can relax and let them do their work. If you also support them, you will have less to do. Carol is a Coop. Ext Agent and an excellent teacher. 1:30 pm
June 19, Sunday, Free Class for Members: Great New Xeriscape Plants with Mikl & Eve Brawner: See details in ‘The Harlequin Effect and Membership’ 1:30 pm
June 23, Thursday, Back-yard Beekeeping with Julie Finley Learn honeybee culture and the plants that support them. Visit our Top Bar hives to learn a great system for natural and small scale beekeeping. Julie buzzes with 15 years experience. She’s a honey 4 pm
July 9, Saturday, Landscaping without Chemicals with Mikl Brawner. Plants do not need petroleum fertilizers and toxic pesticides. They do just fine with organic products and methods. Learn how. Mikl has been researching and testing this for 35 years. 1:30 pm
July 10, Sunday, Season-Extending for Fall & Winter Harvests with Eric Johnson. Learn how to grow veggies thru the winter w/o extra heat & with low-tech solutions. Eric has studied horticulture and has 20 years experience, gardening & experimenting 1:30 pm
July 16, Saturday, Intro to Rainwater Harvesting with Jason Gerhardt. The focus is on what we can do legally to benefit from rainfall, for water conservation, economy & plants. Jason is a permaculturist and teacher of permaculture design at Naropa & other. 1:30 pm
July 23, Saturday, Saving Your Seed with Janis Kieft. Learn how to save flower and veggie seeds from your garden. Topics include: isolation, selection, harvesting, seed storage, testing & more. Janis is a professional with 30 yrs experience. 1:30 pm
Aug 13, Saturday, Mikl Brawner will give a talk and demonstration “Pruning for Strength, Health and Beauty”. Learn to train young trees, to restructure shrubs and trees broken by storms, to prune roses. Mikl has 35 years experience in pruning. 1:30 pm
Aug. 21, Sunday, Pruning for Strength, Health and Beauty repeat of Aug 13. 1:30 pm
Aug. 27, Saturday, Making Preserves from Colorado’s Fruits with Engrid Winslow. Engrid makes delectable jams, marmalades & fruit butters etc; Sample & learn techniques & recipes for making these distinctive homemade preserves. $20 (materials included) 1:30 pm
Sept. 10, Saturday, Harlequin’s/Coop Ext TOMATO TASTING Be prepared to bring tomatoes and taste tomatoes and have some fun. (discover a new Best Tasting Tomato?)See our Fall Newsletter or Blog or call in Aug. for the details of time and place.
Sept. 17, Saturday, Low-Tech Greenhouse Design and Operation with Mikl Brawner. Mikl has been researching, building and using simple greenhouses for 20 years. This class will focus on 5 designs on site at the nursery. 1:30 pm