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Register for an upcoming webinar below, or check out:

2025 Webinar Schedule

December 10, 3:00 pm- Asian Pears with Jason Mattson of Saunders Brothers, Inc. (RESCHEDULED from December 8)

Eager to add the crisp, juicy textures of Asian Pears to your backyard orchard?  Unlike their European counterparts, Asian pears ripen fully on the tree and are ready to eat at harvest.  This webinar will cover the essentials for successfully cultivating these unique and rewarding fruits in a home garden setting. Jason Mattson, field production horticulturist for Saunders Brothers Nursery and Orchard, will discuss critical topics, from selecting the best varieties and ensuring proper pollination to mastering the unique—and vital—technique of fruit thinning to achieve a desirable size and quality crop. Join us to learn how to nurture healthy trees and enjoy an abundant harvest.

Register for the Dec. 10 webinar now.

Webinar Archive

2025 Webinars

Invasive Plants, Restoration and the Sound of Urban Streams with Gabrielle Ripa

Gabrielle Ripa is a PhD student at Virginia Tech who is studying how to limit invasive plants on stream restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Because of her background in wildlife ecology, Gabrielle is also seeking to connect the changes to the stream environment, due to invasion and restoration, to the animal community through acoustic monitoring. She hopes her work can inform the design of restoration projects that are better at recovering both plant and animal communities. In this presentation, Gabrielle will present her PhD work on acoustic monitoring of stream ecosystems and the impact invasive species have on the acoustic landscape.

Invasion Biology Wrap-Up with Jacob Barney

Jacob Barney currently serves as the Director of the Invasive Species Collaborative (ISC). The ISC is a faculty collaborative that began in the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech with support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The ISWG nurtures transdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, industry, and communities to promote a deep understanding of the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems and society, and foster an inclusive environment where science and policy meet to tackle this global challenge.

Resources:

• Presentation Slides (PDF)
• IPBES

Articles:

• “Interactions between resource availability and enemy release in plant invasion.” Blumenthal 2006
• “System-level changes following invasion caused by disruption of functional relationships among plant and soil properties.” Tekiela and Barney 2015
• “Grass invasion increases top-down pressure on an amphibian via structurally mediated effects on an intraguild predator.” DeVore and Maerz
• “Nonnative plants reduce population growth of an insectivorous bird.”Narango et al
• “Economic and environmental threats of alien plant, animal, and microbe invasions.”Pimental et al

Growing Peaches at Home with Andy Rollins

In this session, Andy Rollins of South Carolina Extension covers peach growing basics for home gardeners. Peaches are a great choice for Virginia gardeners interested in fruit production–Andy will give us all tips for a successful peach crop!

About the Speaker: Andy Rollins is the Horticultural Agent for the upstate of SC. He is specialized in commercial fruit and vegetable production and assists new growers with problem diagnosis and multiple decisions including soil testing/preparation, location/size of the planting, spray choices, calibration, and variety selection. Andy is actively involved in research projects with Clemson University as well as USDA-ARS specialists, and also does some new product testing.

Resources

• “Growing Peaches and Nectarines in Virginia”
• “2024 Home Grounds and Animals Pest Management Guide”

The Coreopsis That Died Probably Wasn’t Your Fault: Growing Reliable Perennials In and For the Garden with Paul Westervelt

In this session, Paul Westervelt of Saunders Brothers Inc. will share his extensive knowledge and expertise on choosing perennials for your landscape. Paul will discuss perennials for fall planting and/or fall color.

About the Speaker: Paul Westervelt is a professional plant geek who has run the annual and perennial program for Saunders Brothers Nursery in Piney River, Virginia since 2004, where he grows over 800 varieties across 13 programs. As Director of New Plant Research and Development, he oversees production and ground trials of new varieties for the nursery. In addition to speaking at industry events around the country, Paul’s written for Fine Gardening and GrowerTalks. His photography appears in New Naturalism by Kelly Norris and Prairie Up by Benjamin Vogt.

Plant list (.docx)

Tree Pruning Seminar with Jim McGlone

In your basic training you learned how to prune trees and shrubs. Although some of the ways we prune different types of plants seem contradictory, these methods are all based on manipulating the plants’ biology. This class will cover how the evolution and biology of woody plants drives the ways we prune woody plants. Knowing the why may make it easier to remember the how. The focus of the class will be on dicot trees. 

Control and Management of Invasive Plants with Lauren Taylor, Executive Director, Blue Ridge PRISM

During this online workshop, you will learn how to best manage invasive plants during the specific season. Slide deck (Canva)

• Best seasonal practices for specific invasive plants
• The right tools
• Using manual & mechanical control methods
• Methods for controlling invasive plants with careful use of herbicides
• Planning a work schedule with best timings for multiple plants

Additional resources:

• Virginia Invasive Plants ID & Control Tool (new app)
• Blue Ridge PRISM Control & Management Resources
• Blue Ridge PRISM Fact Sheets
• Virginia Invasive Plant Coalition – ID & Control Resources

Social Media Basics with Hayley Conrad

Are you responsible for your local unit Facebook page? Want to learn to help with social media content. Hayley Conrad, Social Media Manager for CALS and VCE joins us to provide basic information on social media for EMGs.

Overview of Invasive Forest Insect Pests in VA with Liv Andrews

PhD candidate Liv Andrews shares her exciting work on biological control of the hemlock woolly adelgid and more news on forest pests in Virginia.

Piedmont EMGs and Habitat for Humanity Partnership with Ralph Morini and Rozanne Oliver, Piedmont Extension Master Gardener

Piedmont EMGs have successfully worked with their local Habitat for Humanity to ensure that new homeowners have the skills and materials they need to succeed with their new landscapes. Learn about their program and partnership.

Additional resources:

• Native plant list (.docx)
• Native landscaping plant recommendations (.xlsx)

Gravel Bed Planting Project with Barb Bailey, Loudoun Extension Master Gardener Coordinator

Loudoun Extension Master Gardeners maintain a gravel bed planting project where they raise trees that will be planted at Tree Steward sites. Gravel beds are irrigated bed or pile of gravel where woody plants are planted for several months to increase fibrous root systems.

Additional resources:

All you need to know about community gravel beds Busiahn, Jacob; Peterson, Sean (2013)

“Better root systems with gravel beds” Eric Kuehler, USDA Forest Service

Virginia Native Trees with Adam Downing

Adam Downing, joins us to celebrate Virginia Native Trees!

Fall into your lawn with Dr. Mike Goatley

What are the most important steps in rejuvenating cool season lawns and preparing warm season lawns for the winter?

Calling Dr. Turf series

Forest Health Update with Lori Chamberlin VDOF

Learn about the most common pests and diseases in Virginia’s forests. This presentation will teach participants how to identify forest health disturbance agents, and how to prevent damage. Our speaker, Lori Chamberlin, is the Forest Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Hydroponics: Industry to Home Use with Josh Kardos

This talk will introduce hydroponics, discuss the pros and cons, describe various systems used and crops grown, highlight the industry, and describe how you can grow hydroponically at home.

Invasive Plant Management  with Laurie Fox and Ed Olsen

Dr. Laurie Fox and Ed Olsen will give a presentation on invasive plant management and answer questions on the topic. This presentation will be available as a MG resource after the webinar.

Invasive plant handout DOCX

Presentation slides PPTX

Compost Basics and Beyond, Panorama Paydirt with Margaret and Noah Bloom

Join Margaret and Noah Bloom of Panorama Paydirt for a deep dive into compost!

The Value of Trees with Laurie Fox

Dr. Laurie Fox gives tips and an overview of a presentation template that EMGs can customize and use for talks to civic leagues, homeowner associations, garden clubs, etc.

Presentation Template PPTX

Presentation Handout PDF

Virginia’s Natural Heritage Program with Tyler Urgo

Join Tyler Urgo, the Shenandoah Valley Regional Steward for the Virginia Natural Heritage Program shares how this program is conserving Virginia’s biodiversity through inventory, protection, and stewardship.

EMG Online Training with Canvas with Fairfax EMGs

oin Fairfax EMGs as they discuss their switch to online training for new EMGs, what lessons they’ve learned, and share recommendations for other units taking on virtual training. This session will focus on the use of Canvas.

Vegetable Grafting for the Home Gardener with Josh Kardos

Why & How to Graft Your Own Transplants with Josh Kardos of VT SPES. Dr. Kardos has also provided this demo video of vegetable grafting, click here.

Building Strong EMG Mentor Programs

This webinar focuses on the importance of mentoring programs and how you can build one for your unit.

• Dr. Leonard Githinji, VSU – How to create and maintain a productive raised bed garden in your backyard
• Alex Hessler, VT SPES – Successful seeding and transplanting in the home garden”
• Ed Olsen – Container Gardening
• Dr. Marcus comer, Gardening Beyond the Backyard
• Michelle Prysby, Gardening For Wildlife
• Joel Koci, Intro to woody plants
• Chris Epes, Watering
• Evan O’Niell, Tomatoes
• Laura Maxey Nay, garden insects
• Susan Cheek, cut flowers

• Adria Bordas – Disease
• Amy – Garden safety
• Jayesh Samtani -Small fruits
• Josh Kardos – Hydrangeas
• Gaylynn Johnson – Fall garden
• Dawn Barnes – Processing: canning, water bath
• Sandy Stoneman – Processing: canning, pressure
• Susan Prillaman – Processing: freezing
• Dave Close – Firewise landscaping
• Mark Reiter – Cover Crops
• Chris Mullins – Season extenders
• Kathleen Reed – Succulents and propagation