Jamestown, NY – The second of three free gardening workshops at Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) will be 5-6 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2017.

You can learn about “Extending the Season” with tips and tools.

In this climate, growing things all year long can be a challenge. You can learn about cold-hardy vegetables, tools such as cold-frames and cloches that create warmer microclimates, and simple frost protection to make the harvest last a little bit longer or come on a little bit earlier in the spring.

Audubon senior naturalist Sarah Hatfield, volunteer Reg Boutwell, and other local gardeners will show you the ways they keep their gardens producing into the fall and through winter. There will be a short program followed by a panel questions-and-answers session.

Hands-on demonstrations will be available in the ACNC kitchen garden, so come prepared to go outside, dressing for the weather with appropriate footwear.

The Western New York Land Conservancy will host a special talk at the Niagara Falls Public Library with featured speaker Sally Cunningham at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4. Sally is the author of the nationally popular gardening book “Great Garden Companions” and is well known in Western New York from her regular segments on Channel 4 News and articles in The Buffalo News. 

Sally will describe the critical importance of native plants and she will share ways that all Western New Yorkers can use natives in their own yards and gardens, just as the Land Conservancy is doing in the Niagara Gorge. 

Jamestown, NY – Beans, winter squash, Asian pears, apples, and quince.

These are some of the veggies, fruits, and tubers of the season that you can harvest and enjoy at the final session of Audubon Community Nature Center’s gardening series on Sunday afternoon, October 1.

You are invited to the home of organic gardeners Scott and Pam Stoleson in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, for the 1-3 p.m. event.

Likely things you will be able to pick and sample include Shinseiki and Yoinashi Asian pears, Beurre Bosc pears, Rose Finn and Austrian Crescent potatoes, winter squashes, American hazelnuts, and Aromatnaya Quince.

You will also discuss planting a cover crop in harvested areas to replenish the soil’s organic material, preparing to plant the first plants for next season (garlic!), and putting the garden to bed for the winter. 

The finale will be a feast of home-grown veggies, possibly augmented by harvests from other farms nearby.