2024 Past Events

All My Money Series: This four-part series is especially good for those starting out on their own and people who are looking to get back on track with their money, but it is open to anyone wanting to participate. A packet of handouts for each class will be mailed to participants before the series begins. Free and online.

• 1/9/2024 @ 7-8pm        All My Money Series (1)-Your Spending Personality and Spending Choices
• 1/11/2024 @ 7-8pm      All My Money Series (2)-Tracking Your Spending
• 1/16/2024 @ 7-8pm      All My Money Series (3)-Spending Plans
• 1/18/2024 @ 7-8pm      All My Money Series (4)-Saving Money
• 2/6/2024 @ 7-8pm        All My Money Series (1)-Your Spending Personality and Spending Choices
• 2/8/2024 @ 7-8pm        All My Money Series (2)-Tracking Your Spending
• 2/13/2024 @7-8pm       All My Money Series (3)-Spending Plans
• 2/15/2024 @ 7-8pm      All My Money Series (4)-Saving Money

Vegetable Gardening Basics: Join us for an informative class all about vegetable gardening! Our knowledgeable Master Gardener, Deborah Moody, will teach you everything you need to know about how to grow your own food! 1/23/2024 @ 6-7pm.

Cottage Food Safety: Participants learn food safety guidelines and the specifics for operating a home-based cottage food business from a home kitchen. Participants also learn about the most current Colorado Cottage Food Act guidelines and best practices. Monthly, 9:00am-12:30pm, January-October. $50 and online.

Indoor Seed Starting Workshop: Join us for a fun workshop and leave with your own planted seeds! Colorado Master Gardener, Judy Cale, will teach you how to start your own seeds indoors and there will be a hands-on planting activity to demonstrate proper planting techniques. 2/27/2024 @ 6:00-7:00pm. Free, in-person.

Seed Starting Workshop: Join us for a spring seed starting workshop where you will learn how to get a jump start on your growing season by starting your seeds indoors. You will learn all about how to properly start seeds, and participants will be planting their own seeds in a pot to take home. (Class by Judy Cale). 3/11/2024 @ 6:00-8:00 pm. $30, in-person.

Xeric & Waterwise Landscaping: Join Colorado Master Gardener Judy Cale for an informative talk about Waterwise Landscaping and the necessary steps needed to create a xeric landscape. 3/26/2024 @ 6-7pm. Free, in-person.

Ferment/Kraut: Natural fermentation is one of the oldest means of food preservation. Fermented sauerkraut is a good source of both dietary fiber and probiotics, believed to improve digestion and gut health. Learn the art and science of fermenting your own sauerkraut in this hands-on workshop. Be ready to roll up your sleeves and chop some cabbage. 3/27/2024 @ 7-8:30 pm. $20, in-person.

Creating Pollinator Habitat: This class will teach you about the importance of pollinator habitat and how to create one in your own backyard! Join Nina Mbengue, Colorado Master Gardener, for a class about pollinators and the plants that will create a proper habitat to attract them.3/30/2024 @12-1:30pm. $30, in-person.

Container Gardening Workshop: Come learn about flower, vegetable and herb container gardening! We will show you how to choose a container, proper plants, soils, planting and maintenance. We will have a hands-on workshop where participants will plant a small container of flowers to take home. (Class by Debbie Moody). 4/27/2024 @ 10am-12pm. $30, in-person.

Native Plants for Birds and Pollinators: Our Colorado birds and pollinators have depended on native plants for millennia. Join Debbie Moody, Colorado Master Gardener, who will teach you all about this relationship and which Colorado native plants are best for our birds and pollinators. 4/20/2024 @ 12-1:30pm. $30, in-person.

Ferment/Kimchi: CSU Extension food preservation class, specifically fermenting kimchi. Participants learn food safety guidelines and the specifics for operating a home-based cottage food business from a home kitchen. Participants also learn about the most current Colorado Cottage Food Act guidelines and best practices. 4/24/2024, 4/25/2024 @ 7-8:30 pm. $20, in-person.

Composting: Join us for an informative talk about composting! Colorado Master Gardener, Andrea Briney, will teach you everything you need to know about to create your own compost for your garden! 4/30/2024 @ 6-7pm. Free, in-person.

The BUZZ on Colorado Bees: Humans depend on pollinators for about 1/3 of our diet, and the most nutritious part of our diet including vegetables, fruits, and nuts. In Colorado, we have over 1,000 species of bees, 250 butterflies, approximately 1,000 species of moths, and more! We have an amazing amount of pollinator biodiversity in Colorado. How can we best support them? This workshop will cover the basics of bees and pollinator conservation. Learn to identify specific groups of bees in your own gardens, and how you can attract them to your landscape (without the risk of stings)! Learn about exciting projects like the Native Bee Watch Community Science program at CSU Extension, and how CSU researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help community scientists identify bees. (Class by Lisa Mason, Arapahoe County CSU Extension Horticulture Specialist). 5/1/2024 @ 6:00-7:30. $30.

NPM Wildflower Walk Roxborough Park: Roxborough State Park comes alive in May with beautiful spring flowering plants in a gorgeous setting. Join your instructors Lenore, Cynthia and Colleen for a fun and informal tour in the park to identify and learn about the native plants that will be flowering at this time. This walk is geared towards native plant enthusiasts and beginners alike. Basic botany concepts and plant families will be emphasized, so prior knowledge in these areas will be helpful, but not required. Please bring your Flora of Colorado book by Jennifer Ackerfield if you have one (not required) and a hand lens. 5/2/2024, 5/9/2024 @ 9am-12pm. $25 , in-person.

Preparing the Soil: Join us at our Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden to learn about soil amendments and how to best prepare your soil for a successful vegetable gardening season! 5/11/2024 @10am. Free.

Container Gardening Class with demonstration: Let the Colorado Master Gardeners of Arapahoe County help you dive into the world of container gardening. Learn everything you need to know to create well-proportioned, elegant planters for summer that are beautiful and will thrive. This class covers everything from selecting the perfect container to choosing the right plants and designing a layout that reflects your style. Attendees will also enjoy a demonstration of several unique and beautiful container designs. 5/11/2024 @ 12-1:30pm. $30.

Ferment/Yogurt: Come learn how easy it is to make yogurt at home. In this program you will learn the history and science of fermenting milk into tangy yogurt. We will also review the health benefits of eating yogurt. 5/15/2024, 5/16/2024 @ 7-8:30 pm. $20, in-person.

Hudson Gardens “Meet the Gardener” Monthly, May-September @ 9:00am

NPM Wildflower Walk Cherokee Ranch and Castle: Cherokee Ranch and Castle is a private property with an elegant and interesting castle and over 3000 acres of rolling hills, forest, and meadows with spectacular views. This Foothills to Plains Native Plant Master Wildflower Walk is geared towards both beginning and advanced native plant enthusiasts. This fun and informal walk will review basic botany concepts and emphasize plant families, so prior knowledge in these areas is helpful but not required. Students will see an array of fantastic flowering native plants on short trails with some uneven footing. Hiking poles advised for those unsteady on their feet, but not usually required. 5/16/2024 @ 9am-12pm. $30, in-person.

NPM Course at Sandstone Ranch Open Space: Come explore and learn with us at this amazing open space. We will introduce you to 40-60 plants using family features and a botanical key to help identify species. Ecological relationships, human connections and the potential to use some of these plants in your landscaping will be discussed. In addition, we will emphasize understanding noxious alien plants and the challenge they present to our native environment. 5/23/2024, 5/30/2024, 6/6/2024 @ 9-2:30pm. $125.

How and When to Plant: Join us at our Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden to learn about the basics of planting a vegetable garden and about how and when to plant your vegetable seeds! 6/1/2024 @ 10:00am.

How to Plant a Pollinator Garden 6/4/2024 @ 5:30-7:30 pm. Free.

Urban Ranchers Day Camp 6/4/2024-6/7/2024 @ 8:00am-12:30pm.

Ferment/Ginger Ale: In this fermentation workshop you will learn to make this fun and fizzy beverage at home using water, sugar, ginger, lemon juice, and baker’s yeast. 6/5/2024, 6/6/2024 @ 7-8:00 pm, $20.

Planting Demonstration: Join us at our Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden for a planting demonstration! 6/6/2024 @ 6:00pm.

Crazy Critters Day Camp 6/10/2024-6/13/2024 @ 9am-3:30pm.

Xeriscaping & Waterwise Gardening: Arapahoe County Master Gardeners will provide an overview of what waterwise landscaping is all about and how you can implement water savings in your own yard with the right techniques and xeric plants. 6/11/2024 @ 6:00-7:30pm. $15, in-Person

2024 NPM Course -Dawson Butte Open Space: DAWSON BUTTE RANCH Open Space in Douglas County has a total of over 7 miles of wide and mostly flat trails which meander through forests and meadows with spectacular views and an amazing array of wildflowers, shrubs and trees. Class hikes are approximately one mile in length. 6/11/2024, 6/13/2024, 6/20/2024 @ 9am-1pm. $125, in-person.

2024 NPM Course Aurora Reservoir: The month of June at Aurora Reservoir brings great diversity. With nearly 1,000 acres of open space surrounding 800 acres of water, this class provides the opportunity to learn about a variety of upland, facultative, and obligate riparian-wetland plant species. Class hikes will be 2-3 miles round trip on a combination of concrete path and gravel trail. Participant entry fees for the Aurora Reservoir are waived compliments of the city of Aurora Parks, Recreation, & Open Space Department. 6/14/2024, 6/21/2024, 6/28/2024 @ 7:30-12pm.

Hudson Gardens Companion Planting: What is companion planting and does it work? Join us for an informal class at the Vegetable Garden on this topic. You might be surprised by what you find out. 6/15/2024 @ 9:30am. Free, in-person.

Native Grass ID Workshop: Join us for an informative workshop about Colorado native grasses! This will be held in the AG building at the Elbert County Fairgrounds in Kiowa. Your instructors will be Raylene Owen and Heather Koch, Native Plant Master trainers. The first half of the workshop will be a classroom presentation and about Colorado native grasses and grass anatomy, including how to tell grasses and grass anatomy, including how to tell grasses apart from dicots, rushes and sedges. 6/22/2024 @ 10am-1pm. $5.

Introduction to CMG Demonstrations: Join us at our Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden to learn about the vegetable gardening demonstrations we will be tending to for the 2024 season!

Baking with 4H 7/9/2024-7/11/2024.

NPM Course at Roxborough State Park: Take a Native Plant Master course at this state park with stunning red rock views and diverse plant communities. Explore the Gambel oak forest and wildflower-bordered trails during three outdoor field sessions where you will learn common and scientific names, ecological relationships and human uses of 40 – 50 plants. You will also develop skills in using family features and a botanical key to identify plants. The course includes special emphasis on natives useful for landscaping and invasive plants that threaten native ecosystems. 7/9/2024, 7/16/2024, 7/23/2024 @ 4-8pm.

Pests and Diseases in the Vegetable Garden: Join us for an informative class about the most common pests and diseases in the vegetable garden and how to manage these problems. (Class by Debbie Moody). 7/16/2024 @ 6:00-7:30pm. $30.00, in-person.

Hudson Gardens “What’s Bugging the Vegetable Garden”: Pests in the vegetable garden can affect the growth of plants as well as decreasing the crop quantity. Join us to find out who are the most common pests in the vegetable garden. 7/17/2024 @ 9:30am. Free, in-person.

Pests and Diseases in the Vegetable Garden: Join us for an informative class about the most common pests and diseases in the vegetable garden and how to manage these problems. (Class by Debbie Moody). 8/3/2024 @ 12:00-1:30pm. $30, in-person.

Tomatoes: Join us at our Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden for a class about growing tomatoes, how to care for and harvest them, and learn about common disease and pest problems of tomatoes. 8/10/2024.

Attracting Bees to your Garden: Join Arapahoe County Master Gardener Sandi Pevac for an informational talk about bees! You will learn about the different types of bees common to Colorado, what they need to survive and how to attract them to your garden with their favorite plants.   8/10/2024 @ 12-2pm. In person.

Pressure Canning Green Beans 8/14/2024 @ 6-8pm. $20, in-person.

Hudson Gardens “Extending the Vegetable Growing Season”: Want to start your growing season early or extend it into the winter months? Join us to learn how to do exactly that. 8/21/2024 @ 9:30am. Free, in-person.

Putting the Garden to Bed and Evaluation of CMG Demonstrations 9/7/2024 @ 10:00am.

Canning Apple Pie Filling 9/11/2024 @ 6-8pm. $30, in-person.

Fall Planted Bulbs: In this class, you will learn everything you need to know about how to plant, care for and maintain fall planted bulbs for springtime flowers. Come join Arapahoe County Master Gardeners who will show you how to create a springtime flower display in your yard with the right fall planted bulbs. (Donnetta Wilhelm). 9/12/2024 @ 6:00-7:30pm.

Hudson Gardens “Importance of Fall Cleanup”: Good fall or end of the season cleanup is essential to keeping your soil healthy and decreasing any over wintering disease, weed, and pest issues. We will give you some ideas on how to do a thorough job. 9/18/2024 @ 9:30am       . Free, in-person.

Fall Planted Bulbs: It’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s garden! Learn how to make your yard a harbinger of spring with colorful blooms from bulbs! Join Arapahoe County Master Gardener Tasha Weaver for a look at fall planted bulbs for spring blooms. 9/21/2024 @ 12-2pm. In person.

Happy Houseplants: Learn how houseplants can keep you gardening through the winter! This class will teach you all about how to grow and care for common houseplants and what to do about pests and diseases on indoor plants. (Class by Donnetta Wilhelm). 10/16/2024 @ 6:00-7:30. $30, in-person.

Meal Planning with Confidence 10/9/2024 @ 7-8:30. Online.

Introduction to Xeriscaping: Have you ever wondered what xeriscaping really is? Arapahoe County Master Gardener Nina Mbengue will explain the basic principles of xeriscaping, what benefits you can gain from a xeric garden, and how to go about installing your own colorful waterwise garden. 10/12/2024 @ 12-2pm.

High Elevation Baking: Have you ever been disappointed when your favorite recipe failed to produce expected results when made at higher elevation? At altitudes above 3,000 feet, recipes may require changes in time, temperature, or ingredients to achieve desired results. In this basic virtual workshop participants will learn about the important role that many ingredients play in baking and about possible adjustments to make to when baking your favorite recipes. 10/23/2024 @ 7-8:30pm. $5.00, online.

How to Freeze Your Credit: Join us for a virtual session about understanding credit freezes. You will learn: -Why you should consider freezing your credit -How to initiate a free credit freeze for yourself -How to freeze the credit of a child under 16 -Precautions and best practices for freezing, unfreezing and monitoring your credit. 11/13/2024 @ 7-8pm. $5.00, online.