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Sign up now for ‘Spring Garden Basics’ classes
Master Gardeners lead 8-week course
2022SeptVictoryGarden
Volunteers create a victory garden at the Barton County Historical Society Village in this file photo from September 2022. After a layer of cardboard, alternating layers of compost and grass clippings were the main ingredients in the “lasagna build,” creating the foundation for a garden this spring.

Barton County Conservation District, in cooperation with the Cottonwood Extension District Master Gardeners, is offering an eight-week lunch and learn series called Spring Garden Basics.

Classes will be from noon to 12:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Feb. 8 through March 29, in the Barton County Historical Society Museum meeting room at 85 South U.S. 281, just south of the Arkansas River Bridge in Great Bend. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch. For enrollment information call 620-792-3346.

Classes are free but there is a limit of 10. 

Now is a great time to begin planning a spring garden, said Veronica Coons, district manager at the Conservation District. “We will take you through the basics of where to plant a garden, choosing what style of garden works best for you and what to plant. We’ll get into other gardening and conservation techniques as the eight weeks progress,” she said.

While this class takes place indoors, Coons noted that there will be other opportunities to get out and work the soil in the spring.

Last year, the Barton County Conservation District announced the kickoff of the Victory Garden of Barton County, a community learning garden located west of the Lustron House exhibit at the north end of the Barton County Historical Society Village. That project is a partnership with the local Master Gardeners and the historical society.

Work days in the garden will be announced in the spring as the project continues.

The original victory gardens during World War I and World War II were encouraged for their produce and to boost morale. The vision of the Barton County Victory Garden is to encourage and support the establishing of personal gardens for sustenance and for individual food sustainability.