Food Gardening Workshops in June, July at Tolay Lake

If you are you interested in growing more healthy food for yourself and your family, or already have a garden but could benefit from more specific skills and information, the  Sonoma County Regional Parks and iGROW Sonoma are offering a series of specialty gardening workshops for both beginners and experienced gardeners.

The one-day classes will be taught at Tolay Lake Regional Park off Lakeville Highway beginning the first week of June and continue into July, and cover a range of cooking and gardening topics of interest to the farm-it-yourself movement. Instructors include by Stefan Stehling of Work Horse Organic Agriculture; Wendy Krupnick, a veteran of North Coast organic farming; and Cheryl Witte, an experienced garden manager for several youth gardens.

There is a suggested donation for each class, but members of Sonoma Regional Parks are entitled to a reduced donation along with their other benefits. Classes will be inside the Tolay Lake Regional Park's  historic barn and in its educational garden.

Thinking of attending? Be prepared: Wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and long pants. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and adequate food and water. Parking is $7 per car, or free with Regional Parks membership. The park gate will open 30 minutes prior to the event. Registration is not required.

Scheduled classes are as follows:

• June 2 - Success with Seeds and Starts: Growing your own transplants
  1-3 p.m. with Wendy Krupnick
• June 3 - Three Sisters Gardening Family Workshop
  10 a.m.–1 p.m. with Cheryl Witte
• June 9 - Introduction to Biointensive Gardening
  8 a.m.–5 p.m. with Stefan Stehling
• June 10 - Water and Weeds: Management in the Edible Garden
  1–3 p.m. with Wendy Krupnick
• June 23 - Introduction to Biointensive Gardening
  8 a.m.-5 p.m. with Stefan Stehling
• July 14 - Cooking from the Garden
  1-3 p.m. with Wendy Krupnick

Wanna stay closer to home? The parks system hosts two classes on gardening in the Sonoma Valley.

• April 21 and August 4, 9 a.m.- noon
  , DeChene Avenue

For more details, go to sonomacountyparks.org or call (707) 789-9699 to register. For more information about local gardening resources, visit igrowsonoma.org.