Workshops

VGN offers garden workshops on varying topics throughout the season.  The best way to keep in touch and hear about workshops as soon as they are announced is by following us on Instagram (@vtgardens) and by signing up for our monthly newsletter (scroll down to the footer of this webpage to join our mailing list).

If you are interested in hosting a VGN workshop in your community, please email carolina@vtgardens.org and we’ll send you our menu of workshop offerings and fees.

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We are proud to offer many opportunities to share our expertise on garden-scale food production. We have at least one workshop scheduled every month from March through October!

 

• Garden Like a Farmer Workshop Series – Tools, tips & techniques for gardening with climate resiliency in mind, inspired by lessons we’ve learned from the farming community and adapting our practices to the garden-scale.
  • Monthly workshops will take place at community garden sites in the Burlington area.
  • Free for everyone thanks to funding from the City of Burlington’s Conservation Legacy Fund!
  • Select workshops will include language interpretation for non-English speaking community gardeners.
  • Registration for all workshops opens a month prior to the scheduled workshop date.

• Greenhouse Spring Events – Monthly workshops, drop-in demos, and community events  focus on seed starting, seed saving, season extension and growing culturally meaningful crops.
  • All events will take place in the Greenhouse at Landry Park, in Winooski.
  • Free for everyone thanks to funding from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program!
  • Select workshops will include language interpretation for non-English speaking community gardeners.
  • In addition to workshops, event listings below also include Drop-In Demos (stop by for hands-on learning with our Greenhouse Team) and Community Events (celebrating seasons and sharing abundance).

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Community Event: Greenhouse Spring Opening – Saturday, March 21, 10am-12pm, Greenhouse, Winooski

Join us to celebrate the official start of our greenhouse season! We will be sharing guidance for seed starting at home, visitors can participate in a guided tour, and all ages are welcome to make a block print to take home. 

Save the date! More details coming soon!

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Workshop: Seeding & Transplanting Calendars – Thursday, March 26, 5:30-7:00pm, Greenhouse, Winooski

This workshop will support gardeners in determining calendar dates for starting seeds in an indoor grow light setup or in a heated greenhouse. Fine tuning a seeding calendar requires an understanding of information on a seed packet and the ability to do some math to calculate a seeding date and transplanting out date. Gardeners need to keep track of last frost dates, consider crops that are cold hardy versus frost sensitive, and make many adjustments along the way. Participants will leave with a calendar to guide their seeding and transplanting, but most importantly, they will gain the knowledge and confidence to calculate dates on their own depending on crop varieties, garden location, and production goals.

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Workshop: Seed Starting Tips & Techniques – Thursday, April 2, 5:30-7:00pm, Greenhouse, Winooski

Join us as we dive into the joyful world of starting seeds indoors! The first step is to gather essential materials such as a  soil mix for seed germination and cell trays or pots. Participants will learn how to select appropriately sized trays/pot, why we never recommend using egg cartons for seed starting and why we love air-pruning trays. We will share tips for successful germination and seedling growth, best practices for watering and fertilizing, and guidelines for hardening off. This workshop will be applicable for gardeners starting seeds indoors under grow lights or in a heated greenhouse.

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Season Extension – Thursday, April 16, from 5:30-7pm, Starr Farm Community Garden, Burlington 

Cool spring temperatures are ideal for growing many beloved crops, while others will need a little extra warmth and protection from potential frost. Join us for an exploration of row cover thicknesses, plastic and biodegradable mulch to warm up soil, tarping techniques to eliminate weeds, and peek inside our DIY low tunnel. These simple season extension techniques require minimal investment in materials to achieve a gardener’s dream of harvesting luscious spring greens, getting an early start on brassicas, and preparing soil to welcome warm season crops in a few weeks.

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Drop-in Demo: Soil Blocking – late April – exact date & time TBD, Greenhouse, Winooski

In an effort to reduce our use of black plastic trays and pots in the greenhouse, we use soil blocking for a portion of the starts we grow from seed. Join us to watch the process in action and practice using soil blockers for seed starting.

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Water Conservation – May  – exact date & time TBD, Zoom webinar

This Zoom webinar will offer a live and recorded version, with language interpretation available. We are partnering with Burlington Area Community Gardens to offer guidance on best practices for gardening during unpredictable weather such as the high precipitation, devastating flooding, and drought we’ve experienced over the past three years.

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Pest Management – Tuesday, May 12, from 5:30-7pm, Tommy Thompson Community Garden, Burlington

Join us for a hands-on workshop to identify common pests in vegetable gardens and make a strategic management plan. We will explore how to select and appropriately apply various low-tech strategies such as: selecting resistant varieties, attracting beneficial predators, using row cover, and shifting your planting dates. We will focus on some of the most prevalent vegetable pests, including: flea beetles, leaf miner, Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetle, swede midge, and leek moth. Come prepared to scout for pests and share your own experience dealing with pests in your garden!
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Community Event: Spring Plant Giveaway – Saturday, May 16, Greenhouse, Winooski

One of our grant projects for the 2026 growing season focuses on growing culturally meaningful crops to support access to traditional foods for immigrant communities in Winooski and Burlington. At this Spring Plant Giveaway we will share a variety of crops from the African, Asian, and Latin American diaspora that are hard to find in Chittenden County, unless you are seed starting them yourself. 

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Drop-in Demo: Growing Ginger in Vermont – late May – exact date & time TBD, Greenhouse, Winooski

We begin sprouting ginger rhizomes in late March, we keep trays on heat mats through April, and finally by late May its time to transplant ginger. We’ve successfully grown ginger at the garden-scale in Vermont and we are excited to share our experience with you.

Stay tuned for more updates and event listings for Summer and Fall!