Board Meeting
2025-03-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-04-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-06-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-07-10 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | Online via Zoom Platform
The Master Gardener Foundation of King County holds two regular meetings: recurring Board Meetings and an Annual Meeting. Board meetings are regularly scheduled from 7:00-8:30PM the second Thursday of the month, generally via teleconference. Foundation members may attend any Board meeting as observers or by invitation. Contact Board President, president@mgfkc.org, if you would like to attend. Agendas and minutes of the Board meetings are found in the Foundation Board archives.

Special meetings may be called at any time by the President or by request of the membership. Notice of special meetings will be sent to the membership via e-mail not less than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting. [MGFKC By-Laws 5.5, January 2013; Article VII, Meetings]

The Board of Directors shall hold regular meetings at such times and places as the Board decides. Board meeting times and locations are regularly published in The Connection, the Newsletter of the Master Gardeners of King County and the Master Gardener Foundation of King County. Recent issues may be found under Resources / Newsletters.

NOTE: Most meetings are conducted via Zoom. In person Board meetings are usually held in the Extension Master Gardener program office at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle. During the summer months, the Board may move its regularly scheduled meetings to various Master Gardener gardens in order to become familiar with these locations. Changes to these locations will be posted here as they become available.

What's a Garden Without Tomatoes?
2025-03-19 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
What’s a Garden Without Tomatoes? with Extension Master Gardener Sharon Peach and 21 Acres Educator Ansley Roberts.
Most everyone that grows edibles dreams of those mouth-watering tomatoes. Whether grape-sized, cherry types, slicers, sauce or beefy types, tomatoes are prized in the garden. What does it take to be successful at growing great tomatoes? Join Master Gardener Sharon Peach as she shares her expertise about cultivar selection, planting, growing, and enjoying this popular food crop. Cap off the evening with Ansley Roberts, Farm Manager for 21 Acres, who will introduce us to “dry farming”. Not sure what that is? Come find out!
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Mastering Mason Bees: Essential Insights for Successful Spring Pollination
2025-03-22 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Speaker: Dave Hunter, Owner and Founder of Crown Bees
Join Dave for an enlightening session designed for master gardeners. In this workshop, Dave will share his extensive knowledge on how to harmonize with nature to maximize the success of spring pollination with local native mason bee. Learn practical strategies and gain valuable insights that you can apply and pass on to others, ensuring a thriving and productive gardening season.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Beacon Food Forest: Seattle's Communal, Edible Landscape
2025-04-02 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Beacon Food Forest: Seattle’s Communal, Edible Landscape with Beacon Food Forest Educator, Elise Evans.
In 2009, four friends looked at a bare sunny hillside in Jefferson Park and dreamed that the diverse and dynamic community of Beacon Hill could have a source of delicious, organic, free food. Fifteen years later, the Beacon Food Forest (BFF) has grown into a 4 acre community oasis where visitors speak many languages, children wander shaded paths hunting for berries, elders harvest herbs for medicinal teas and recent immigrants meet long-time residents while picking juicy tomatoes. In this class, Elise Evans, Seattle P-Patch Community Garden Coordinator at BFF, will introduce us to many edible plant varieties that are less familiar yet adapted to grow well in the PNW. She will discuss plant guilds and other strategies used to build a perennial forest ecosystem that is culturally relevant to people of many backgrounds; one that might also serve as a model for creating edible landscapes, both big and small, in the home garden setting.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Gardening with Children
2025-04-12 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Gardening with Children. Speaker: Pauline O’Rourke, Extension Master Gardener and Instructor “Living Lab” and “Kids in the Garden” classes at the Bellevue Botanical Garden.
Presentation: Bring your children and grandchildren into the garden to learn about our natural world. They will discover where our food comes from, watch pollinators at work, and see how worms help our soil.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Board Elections Open
2025-04-15

Grow the 'Other' Edible Nightshades: Pepppers, Tomatillos, Eggplant
2025-04-16 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Grow the ‘Other’ Edible Nightshades: Peppers, Tomatillos, Eggplant with Extension Master Gardener, Jean Jones.
What does it take to grow sumptuous peppers, tomatillos, and eggplant? Are you hungry for tips to control those pesky flea beetles? Jean shares her expertise about cultivar selection, planting, growing, and enjoying these popular edible nightshades.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Plant It Where the Sun Don't Shine
2025-04-26 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Plant It Where the Sun Don’t Shine. Speaker: Greg Butler, Garden Designer and Educator.
Presentation: Here in the PNW, dry shade is a common gardening challenge. Fortunately, there are many species adapted to these conditions, and a plethora of native and exotic plants thrive in the parched shadow of conifers, deciduous woodlands, and north facing walls. We’ll discuss assessing and modifying site conditions, and then consider a wide assortment of trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers that aren’t afraid of the dark.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

BDG Workshop: Pruning for Healthy Trees
2025-04-26 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
Bellevue Demonstration Garden is again offering in-person workshops.
These in-person workshops will spotlight Master Gardeners who have combined knowledge
amounting to hundreds of years! Veteran and novice gardeners alike will benefit from these
presentations derived from science-based research, personal experience and state-of-the-art
methods. Workshops will consist of a 30-to-45-minute presentations in the park shelter
followed by a 20-to-30-minute demonstration or hands-on experience.
Garden Shelter at 15500 SE 16th St, Bellevue, WA 98007
Topic: Pruning for Healthy Trees
Speaker: Brandon Bray
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Location

Bellevue Demo Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98006

REGISTER

Roots and Rare Fruits
2025-04-30 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Roots and Rare Fruits with Extension Master Gardeners Margaret MacLeod and Brandon Bray.
A wide variety of root crops and less commonly grown fruits can thrive in Western Washington. Margaret and Brandon describe how to select, grow and harvest root veggies and some of the more rare fruits that grow in our region
Cost to Register: $8.00
Register

Protecting our Unsung Heros, our Pollinators
2025-05-03 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Protecting our Unsung Heroes, our Pollinators. Speaker: Sue Melgaard, Extension Master Gardener
Presentation: For food security and survival of our plant species, pollination is critical and needs to be a high priority. Sue will present how to create a healthy habitat for our pollinator and beneficial insects.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Neely-Soames Homestead Demonstration Garden Plant Sale
2025-05-03 11:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neely-Soames Homestead Demonstration Garden, 5311 South 237th Place, Kent, WA, 98032, United States
The Neely-Soames Homestead Demonstration Garden Plant Sale will be
held on Saturday, May 3 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m at the Neely-Soames
Homestead, 5311 S 237th Place in Kent. The sale will feature annual and
perennial ornamentals, natives, and edibles, and an Extension Master
Gardener Plant Clinic.

Master Gardener Pop-up Clinic: Redmond Garden Club Plant Sale
2025-05-10 08:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)

Bellevue Demonstration Garden Annual Spring Plant Sale
2025-05-10 10:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday May 10th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Event: Bellevue Demonstration Garden Annual Spring Plant Sale
Location:
Bellevue Demonstration Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98007

The Bellevue Demonstration Garden Annual Spring Plant Sale is coming your way! This is a community event, please share this info with your friends and neighbors. The sale will feature warm-season veggie starts as well as ornamentals, a garden flea market, a large supply of burlap sacks, a MG Plant Clinic, and more.

To respond to high demand, this year we are expanding the variety and quantity of tomato plants for your garden. The veggie starts, including basil, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, and tomato, are grown by Extension Master Gardeners at the City of Bellevue greenhouse located a few blocks from BDG. Ornamentals for sale will include in-season nursery selections as well as plants grown by Extension Master Gardeners. We will have colorful annuals and perennials, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and ‘spillers and thrillers’ for container gardening.

Master Gardeners will be on site to answer questions and assist with plant selection.

Nearby parking is available both on the street and in the parking lot.

Proceeds from demonstration garden plant sales enable the Master Gardener Foundation of King County to support the activities of the WSU Extension King County Master Gardener Program. Cash, Check, and Credit Card will be accepted.

Grow Cukes, Squash and Melons – Big and Small
2025-05-14 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Grow Cukes, Squash and Melons – Big and Small with Extension Master Gardeners Sue Kraemer and Jim Olson.
Cucurbits love heat! When the soil warms up, it’s time to plant cucumbers, squash and melons. Come find out which varieties do best in Western Washington as well as tips for planting, growing, harvesting and pest management. Cucurbits can be large and sprawling although some varieties are bred for growing in pots. Presenters will share space saving tips using trellises and containers.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Board Elections Close
2025-05-15

Understanding King County Soils for Better Gardening
2025-05-17 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Understanding King County Soils for Better Gardening. Speaker: Gary Hergert, recent PNW transplant, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska Agronomy-Horticulture.
Presentation: To be a successful gardener it is helpful to know the nature of the soil. This presentation will provide a focused look at soil, with something new for everyone. Recent local geology and parent materials that created King County soils will be discussed. Major soil properties including soil texture, soil structure, porosity, infiltration, water holding capacity and soil biology will be presented. Gain a new understanding of how to manage soil tilth, quality and health.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

BDG Workshop: Composting - Turning Weeds and Garbage into Garden Gold
2025-05-17 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
Bellevue Demonstration Garden is again offering in-person workshops.
These in-person workshops will spotlight Master Gardeners who have combined knowledge
amounting to hundreds of years! Veteran and novice gardeners alike will benefit from these
presentations derived from science-based research, personal experience and state-of-the-art
methods. Workshops will consist of a 30-to-45-minute presentations in the park shelter
followed by a 20-to-30-minute demonstration or hands-on experience.
Garden Shelter at 15500 SE 16th St, Bellevue, WA 98007

Topic: Composting – Turning Weeds and Garbage into Garden Gold
Speaker: Fred Wemer
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Location

Bellevue Demo Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98006

REGISTER

The Nutritional Powerhouse: Corn and Beans (legumes)
2025-05-28 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
The Nutritional Powerhouse: Corn and Beans (legumes) with Extension Master Gardener Maria Gerace.
Corn and beans form the basis of many traditional cuisines around the world and provide a complete protein when consumed together. And (fun fact) neither crop requires insects for pollination! Join Maria for a smorgasbord of information and growing tips for these two dietary staples, corn and beans (legumes).
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Rain Gardens
2025-05-31 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Rain Gardens. Speaker: Gary Fredericks, Extension Master Gardener.
Presentation: We live in an area where we either get too much rain or not enough. If your landscape suffers from being too soggy, WSU Extension Coordinator, Gary Fredricks will discuss an environmentally friendly way to create a native plant oasis that soaks up the extra rainwater. Learn where to place the garden, how to construct it, and what plants to consider.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

Deer Resistant Gardening
2025-06-07 09:30 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Deer Resistant Gardening. Speaker: Adam Romero, Extension Master Gardener.
Presentation: This talk explores the tenets and practices of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through the lens of building a deer resistant garden. Our speaker will draw examples from his own experiences of gardening with extreme deer pressure. He will highlight the practices and plants to build and enjoy a garden alongside deer and other PNW wildlife.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

BDG Workshop: Late Spring Seed Starting
2025-06-07 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
Bellevue Demonstration Garden is again offering in-person workshops.
These in-person workshops will spotlight Master Gardeners who have combined knowledge
amounting to hundreds of years! Veteran and novice gardeners alike will benefit from these
presentations derived from science-based research, personal experience and state-of-the-art
methods. Workshops will consist of a 30-to-45-minute presentations in the park shelter
followed by a 20-to-30-minute demonstration or hands-on experience.
Garden Shelter at 15500 SE 16th St, Bellevue, WA 98007

Topic: Late Spring Seed Starting
Speaker: Colleen Donahue
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Location

Bellevue Demo Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98006

REGISTER

Summer Starts for Fall and Early Spring Harvests
2025-06-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Summer Starts for Fall and Early Spring Harvests with Extension Master Gardeners Andrea Borning and Karen Adams.
Lettuce and spinach harvests yield space in the garden to plant hardy winter greens. New to Growing Groceries this year is a lesson on cultivating edibles in the Asteraceae family – chicory, radicchio, escarole, and curly endive. Andrea and Karen will share what they’re planting in June and July for harvest in the fall and for overwintering until spring. These summer planted crops will extend your harvest for the rest of the year.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

BDG Workshop: Propagation - Tips and Techniques
2025-06-14 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
Bellevue Demonstration Garden is again offering in-person workshops.
These in-person workshops will spotlight Master Gardeners who have combined knowledge
amounting to hundreds of years! Veteran and novice gardeners alike will benefit from these
presentations derived from science-based research, personal experience and state-of-the-art
methods. Workshops will consist of a 30-to-45-minute presentations in the park shelter
followed by a 20-to-30-minute demonstration or hands-on experience.
Garden Shelter at 15500 SE 16th St, Bellevue, WA 98007

Topic: Propagation – Tips and Techniques
Speaker: Fred Wemer
Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Location

Bellevue Demo Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98006

REGISTER

Caring for Community at Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens
2025-06-25 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online via Zoom Platform
Caring for Community at Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens
The Master Gardeners of King County maintain ten demonstration gardens where the public can see firsthand the types of plants that grow well in our area and learn recommended planting practices and overall garden care. Many of these gardens also grow groceries for local food banks to help alleviate food insecurity in our neighborhoods. In this class, Master Gardener volunteers from three demonstration gardens will share with us some of their time-tested strategies for growing food crops and how they support their community in interesting and novel ways.
Cost to register: $8.00
Register

BDG Workshop: Maximizing Your Tomato Yield at End of Season
2025-08-09 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bellevue Demonstration Garden, 15500 SE 16th St., Bellevue, WA, 98007, United States
Bellevue Demonstration Garden is again offering in-person workshops.
These in-person workshops will spotlight Master Gardeners who have combined knowledge
amounting to hundreds of years! Veteran and novice gardeners alike will benefit from these
presentations derived from science-based research, personal experience and state-of-the-art
methods. Workshops will consist of a 30-to-45-minute presentations in the park shelter
followed by a 20-to-30-minute demonstration or hands-on experience.
Garden Shelter at 15500 SE 16th St, Bellevue, WA 98007

Topic: Maximizing Your Tomato Yield at End of Season
Speaker: Sharon Peach
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025
Time: 10:00am-11:30am
Location

Bellevue Demo Garden
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue, WA 98006

REGISTER
