Food Drive & Awesome Prizes

All Pottery 25% off.

While you are here, enter to win prizes totaling over $600 in value!!!

Prize details:
1st Place Prize:


Tropical 'Stay-cation' Package

Includes $300 in patio furniture, a patio umbrella w/stand, $200 in Tropical plants and pottery, and tiki torches for that added island flair!

2nd Place Prize:

A $100 Gift Certificate to Fort Collins Nursery and a
$100 Gift Certificate to Okole Maluna Hawaiian Grill

3rd Place Prize:

A $50 Gift Certificate to Fort Collins Nursery and a
$50 Gift Certificate to The Island Grill

• Because every dollar you donate equals four meals for our local community in need.

Because 97 cents of every dollar donated goes toward hunger relief programs.


• Because, at 50 percent, the largest source of income at the Food Bank for Larimer County is from individual donors.



• Because an increasing population of the elderly with fixed incomes go hungry every day in our community...in fact, more than 50% of the individuals served at the Food Bank's food pantry are either children or the elderly.



• Because the fastest growing segment of the hungry is the working poor. Low wage jobs, lack of health insurance and high housing costs contribute dramatically to the demand for food from food bank warehouses.



• Because the average monthly income of food bank Food Share clients is just over $800/month



• Because on average clients seek food assistance 2 times each month



• Because no one in our community needs to go hungry!


No purchase necessary to enter drawing. One entry per customer please. Entries accepted through February 7th, 2010. Must be 18 to enter. Please see store for details

• THE BASICS OF BEE KEEPING
  

  Instructor: Bruce Brown
  10am–Noon
  Fee: $10
  All the basics of beekeeping, including bee biology, equipment and bee forage plants. Did you know that some plants require specific pollinators?
  
  Bruce Brown has been a beekeeper for nearly 20 years, a former president of the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association and a gardener and entomologist in Fort Collins for nearly 30 years. Trained as a biologist and entomologist, he has been an amateur naturalist, taught beekeeping and butterfly identification, assisted with numerous 4-H entomology projects and removed bees from homes.
  



• GARDENING FOR BEES
  

  Instructors: Beth Conrey and Charleen Barr
  1-3pm
  Fee: $10
  Beth will enlighten and entertain you with information regarding some of the more common and interesting Colorado pollinators. Charleen will then provide you with planting information to attract these species. They’ll finish with guidelines on integrated pest management for your garden.
  
  Beth Conrey is owner of Bee Squared Apiaries in Berthoud. She is a chemical free beekeeper with 40 hives and sells local honey and hand rolled bees wax candles. Beth is the president of the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association. Charleen Barr is a retired Librarian who has been a Master Gardener since 2001. Charleen writes articles for newspapers, works Farmer’s Markets, staffs booths at special events and mentors apprentices. She gives presentations specializing in hummimgbirds, honeybees and Native Plants for the Loveland Library series, clubs and schools.

• BEGINNING BONSAI
  

  Instructor: Harold Sasaki
  10am–Noon
  Fee: $75 (includes tree, ceramic pot, wire,soil and gravel)
  Class size limited to 12 students
  Are you mystified by this ancient Japanese art? An entertaining and informative talk by this local Bonsai Master will debunk the myths and misconceptions surrounding this living art form. Enjoy a hands-on experience of creating a finished bonsai to take home.
  
  Harold Sasaki is the Bonsai instructor at Denver Botanic Gardens. Harold conducts workshops and demonstrations across the United States and Canada. He is a frequent lecturer and international conventions and seminars. He is considered to be at the Master level in collecting, training and creating bonsai. In addition, Harold owns Colorado Bonsai Ltd., a wholesale/retail nursery with thousands of plants on site.
  



• PLANT SMART! SIX STEPS TO CHOOSING PERFECT PLANTS
  

  Instructor: Jocelyn Hays Chilvers
  1-3pm
  Fee: $10
  Are you a new gardener wary of making expensive mistakes (plants that will not grow, are the wrong size, too messy, etc.) or an experienced gardener tired of wasting money on plants that don’t enhance the visual statement you want to achieve (wrong flower color, leaf texture, plant form, etc.)? This presentation, based on Jocelyn’s new book, will take you through the step-by-step process of how to select plants that are culturally appropriate for a specific site and aesthetically and functionally appropriate for specific garden applications.
  
  Jocelyn Chilvers is a landscape designer with a passion for creating beautiful, functional landscapes. Chilvers has over 25 years of experience helping clients enhance their outdoor environments. She lectures and teaches a range of design related classes at Denver Botanic Gardens, ProGreen Expo, and garden centers throughout the region. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Sunset’s Backyard Makeovers.
  

• VEGETABLE GARDENING IN CONTAINERS
  

  Instructor: Amy Vogt
  10am–Noon / Fee: $10
  You don’t need a plot of land to grow fresh vegetables and flowers! Amy will cover the basics of gardening in containers including selecting the best varieties of plants, soil considerations, container types, planting techniques and tips for caring for your container garden!
  
  Amy Vogt is the perennial department supervisor at Fort Collins Nursery. Amy has several years of retail nursery experience, she is a Colorado Certified Nursery Professional and maintains a wealth of vegetable gardening knowledge passed down from her grandmother! In addition Amy has first hand knowledge of high altitude gardening.
  



• FROM SEEDLING TO SAUTÉ WITH GROWER AND CHEF
  

  Instructors: Sue Oberle and Linda Hoffman
  1-3pm
  Fee: $15
  Ideas and flavors from the garden! Linda and Sue will discuss tips for growing great herbs and produce as well as elegant and simple ways to bring out their best at the table. Bring your questions…from seedlings to sauté! Scrumptious samples will stimulate your gardening and culinary creativity.
  
  Sue Oberle is a Fort Collins grower and horticultural educator. She and her husband Matt own Oberle Botanical an urban market garden with a focus toward sustainability, fresh food and long lasting cut flowers. Linda Hoffman is a graduate of the Professional Program at Cooking School of the Rockies in Boulder, and has worked throughout northern Colorado as a Personal Chef. As part of her education, she studied in France, learning the value of using fresh, local, high quality ingredients as much as possible.
  

• ADAPTED GARDENING
  Instructor: Karen Spencer
  10am–Noon / Fee: $10
  

  Do you want to stay active in the garden or do you want to help a loved one stay active? Learn tips & tools for people of all ages and abilities to continue gardening even when health, energy and mobility are challenges.
  
  Karen Spencer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Colorado State University. Karen has published more than twenty articles and book chapters. She has served in leadership roles within the Department, the Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado (OTAC), and the American Occupational Therapy Association. During her non-work hours Karen enjoys spending time with her family and friends, is active in the community, and participates in a variety of outdoor activities.
  



• VERMICULTURE – COMPOSTING WITH WORMS!
  

  Instructor: Sandi Wiese
  1-3pm
  Fee: $10
  Learn everything you need to know to grow worms at home! They eat your garbage, fertilize your plants and are very low maintenance. A fun and interesting class taught by an experienced commercial vermicomposter.
  
  Sandi Wiese teaches vermiculture at Denver Urban Homesteading an urban agriculture center near downtown Denver and owns a small scale worm farm! She is personally responsible for having recycled several tons of food and other organic waste. Familiar with all aspects of worms and worm growing from personal experience and research, Sandi graduated from the CSU Rocky Mountain Compost School (yep, there is such a thing!) and has composted and gardened since she was knee high to a grasshopper.
  



• GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES!
  

  Instructor: Mary Miller
  3:30-5:30pm
  Fee: $10
  Start your own food-producing garden at home. Mary will include tips on garden size, container possibilities, selection of seeds and transplants as well as the how and when of planting, tending and
  harvesting.
  
  Mary Miller has been growing food for many years in the Fort Collins area, always placing an emphasis on sustaining workability, integrating function and creating abundance. Mary is currently providing coordination for the Gardens on Spring Creek’s ‘Garden of Eatin’, she also has a fabulous home garden!
  

• SOIL SAVVY: AN ESSENTIAL FOR GARDENING SUCCESS
  

  Instructor: Jean Reeder
  10am–Noon / Fee: $10
  Front Range gardeners face many challenges in trying to grow plants in our semi-arid climate, but the most common inciting factor to plant disorders on the Front Range is the condition of the soil. Learn how to decrease landscape problems by improving the health of your soil. This workshop will include an introduction to soil properties and will cover basic management principles for watering; using compost, manure, cover crops and mulches; and understanding organic and inorganic fertilizers and calculating fertilizer rates.
  
  Dr. Reeder has spent over 30 years conducting research on the soil properties of rangeland ecosystems. She is now retired and thoroughly enjoying her garden!
  



• PRUNING
  

  Instructor: Tom Throgmorton
  1-3pm
  Fee: $10
  Learn basic pruning of woody plants including tools and techniques. Tom will detail pruning small fruit for maximized harvest considering the natural form of various fruit plants. This is a timely workshop because late winter and early spring are the seasons to prune fruit.
  
  Tom Throgmorton has gardened in the High Plains for over twenty-five years. He is a partner in the company Throgmorton Plant Management - a garden consultation, installation and maintenance company. Tom can be heard every Saturday morning on KUNC.