The Penn State Extension of Carbon County held its sixth annual It’s Time to Plant workshop at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Slatington on Saturday.

This workshop was expertly designed to help home gardeners of all kinds prepare for the spring planting season. The curriculum at this year’s program featured presentations on rose plants, germination, and insects that appear in your garden.

More specifically, attendees learned how to care of various varieties of bramble and berry plants, the steps to take in spring to get roses off to a strong start, best practices for starting vegetable and flower seeds, and how to distinguish between beneficial insects and common garden pests.

The event cost $15, and about two dozen attendees were present in addition to various master gardeners.

“We’ve been holding the It’s Time to Plant Workshop since 2020. We enjoy meeting home gardeners of all skill levels,” said workshop coordinator and master gardener Shannon Arndt.

“We have first-time presenters here today, and we have master gardeners who have been involved for many years. We’re always happy to see new faces.”

Master gardeners are volunteers who receive training based on university research and curriculum through Carbon County Extension Programs. Anyone can apply to become a master gardener.

In their first year, master gardeners are required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of training and fulfill 50 hours of volunteer service. Maintaining master gardener status annually requires providing 20 hours a year of volunteer hours and attending 10 hours of continuing education.

Carbon County Master Gardeners will be holding their annual plant sale on May 16 and 17, at Country Harvest Family Market, located at 572 Delaware Ave. in Palmerton. Vegetables, herbs, houseplants, perennials, and annuals will be for sale.

The group will also be holding a fall event this September for the first time, called It’s Time to Harvest. This new program will be held at the Carbon County Environmental Center.

To learn more about the Master Gardener program, or to apply to become one, go to extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener or contact Joe Veshinfsky at the Carbon Office at 570-325-2788.

More for information about upcoming events, search for their Facebook page: Penn State Extension of Carbon County.