Class Content

In this session, Dr. Mohammed Al-Duais will lead the class through late-summer garden care and planning for the fall growing season. The class will begin with a walk through the individual garden plots to see how everything has grown, identify diseases, insect damage, and other garden challenges, and discuss ways to keep plants healthy and productive. Mohammed will then lead a hands-on workshop on building a simple vermicompost bin that can be used at home. The rest of the class will focus on planting fall crops and caring for what is already growing, with time to seed, stake, trellis, prune, and work in the garden plots.

Schedule:

Welcome & Check-in

– Welcome and brief check-in
– Share how things have been going in the garden and any successes, challenges, or questions that have come up

Garden Walk & Plant Health

– Walk through the garden plots to see how everything has developed over the past few weeks
– Look for signs of disease, insect damage, nutrient issues, and other common garden challenges
– Discuss problems that have come up and possible ways of addressing them
– Share successes and observations from around the garden

Building a Home Vermicompost Bin

– Introduction to vermicomposting and how worms transform household food scraps into nutrient-rich compost
– Explore how vermicompost can support healthy soil and plants
– Hands-on workshop with Mohammed to build a simple vermicompost bin that can be used at home
– Learn what can go into the bin and how to keep the worms and compost healthy

Planting for a Fall Harvest

– Explore what can still be planted now for a fall harvest
– Discuss crops that are well suited to the shorter days and cooler temperatures ahead
– Look for available space in the garden plots for fall planting
– Prepare the soil and seed fall crops

Supporting & Caring for Existing Plants

– Spend time caring for plants that are already growing
– Use stakes, twine, and trellis materials to support plants where needed
– Practice staking, tying, trellising, pruning, and other garden maintenance techniques
– Discuss ways to keep plants healthy and productive through the rest of the season

Questions, Concerns, Comments?

– Questions, observations, and anything else that has come up in the garden