Mar 8, 2024 By Mark Hofmann 3 min read

A free program to help gardeners learn how to grow their own produce returns this year, with classes offered in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

Seed to Supper is a comprehensive vegetable gardening program that provides both beginner and experienced gardeners the tools they need to successfully grow a portion of their own food, and do so on a limited budget.

The classes cover vegetable gardening fundamentals like soil preparation, garden planning, maintenance and harvest.

Participants who complete the six-week class will be able to start a raised bed, an in-ground vegetable garden, container gardens or participate in a community garden.

Andrea George, a Penn State Extension master gardener in Fayette County, said there’s “economical value” to growing vegetables. She noted that a garden at home lessens the need for shopping at the grocery store.

“At the end of the six weeks, participants are eager to get started to put into practice what they have learned,” George said.

Course books and other supplies are provided for Seed to Supper, and participants, who must be at least 15 years old, are required to register.

In Fayette, the program will be held at the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville and Uniontown Public Library.

Classes in Connellsville begin Saturday, March 16 and run from 10 a.m. to noon. In Uniontown, classes begin March 18 and run from 10 a.m. to noon. The program runs for six consecutive weeks.

The last day to register is Saturday, March 9.

For additional information, visit extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/outreach/seed-to-supper, or fill out an application at either library.

In Greene County, the program begins on April 30 at the Corner Cupboard Food Bank in Waynesburg. For additional information or to register for the class, contact the Corner Cupboard Food Bank at 724-627-9784.

The program will also be held in Washington County, although details were not immediately available.

The master gardeners in Greene are also holding their annual spring gardening seminar later this month.

“We focus on topics suggested by participants from the previous years, or if there is something that they should know more about. For example, last year we did a session on the Spotted Lanternfly,” said Cheryl Brendel, a part-time coordinator with the Penn State Master Gardeners of Greene County.

This year’s seminar will examine pruning fruit trees, honey bees, and hummingbirds.

Brendel said the discussion about hummingbirds was prompted by comments that fewer seem to come to the feeders set out for them. The Corner Cupboard Food Bank has donated seed for the participants to give away at the event.

The seminar will be held Saturday, March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg at the 4-H Building #10.

The cost is $10.