Name: The Year Round Gardener in South Seattle
Start: 2026-02-14T10:00:00-08:00
Location: Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands

The Year Round Gardener in South Seattle

Inspired by our year-long growing season and Tilth Alliance’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, this 40-hour, intensive course takes place over eight months so that participants can learn together in the garden, practicing seasonally appropriate activities like garden design and planning during the winter months and pest and W**d management throughout the summer.
Each class will meet one Saturday a month, in-person from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., February-September, and will include a combination of:
- lecture-based presentation to learn what you can plant, W**d and harvest from your garden in the upcoming weeks
- hands-on activities to practice and gain mastery of seasonal gardening tasks
- group discussion to learn from fellow participants and troubleshoot what is happening in your own garden
- suggestions for harvesting and preparing seasonal fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs to learn new ways to utilize them in your kitchen and home
Learning topics and hands-on activities for the course will include:
- February — introduction to organic gardening, seed starting indoors, planting bare root fruits
- March — seasonal planning, garden design, chopping-in winter cover crops
- April — assessing soil health, fertilizers, planting seeds and starts outside, pest identification and management
- May — warm season crops, season extension and smart watering
- June — companion planting, culinary herbs and making herbal products
- July — harvest tips, food preservation, planting the fall and winter garden
- August — exploring the soil food web, compost systems and beneficial insects
- September — seed saving, preparing the garden for winter and harvest celebration
This holistic course is appropriate for beginner to intermediate gardeners and anyone looking to commit to a year in the garden learning new skills, integrating previous knowledge into deeper understanding and connecting with a community of fellow gardeners.
We will spend a lot of time outside, so be prepared for gardening activities and dress for the weather. In each class we will spend a little time harvesting and preparing food together, eating and sharing about our own gardens.
Course dates in South Seattle are second Saturdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Feb. 14; Mar. 14; Apr. 11; May 9; June 13; July 11; Aug. 8; Sept. 12
Class fee includes a copy of Tilth Alliance’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide and comprehensive class materials. You can expect to be assigned some homework to complete in between classes and a final project to be presented at the end of the course.