Masters answer questions on 'Weedy Wednesdays'

Got a question about getting started in gardening? Need to know about potatoes? Southeast Master Gardeners can help you plow ahead with answers.

A new program called “Weedy Wednesdays,” offered by the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners Association, will offer four one-hour online question-and-answer sessions with various areas of focus.

On March 16, gardening experts will answer previously submitted questions on potato growing in a session “Spuds 101.” March 23 will cover seed starting; March 30 will be about preparing a new garden for use; and April 6 will cover transplanting. Each Weedy Wednesday will be held from noon to 1 p.m.

“In the past, (we) held bag lunches. They were really popular. When I joined the association and the board, I talked about it, but they said it was a lot of work to set up and take down,” said Corinne Conlon, president of the association. “Because we can do things online, I thought we could do it again.”

Conlon said there will usually be four master gardeners in attendance, including herself, to answer questions sent in by attendees.

“There’s a lot of gardening experience in Southeast, so I think we’ll be able to answer most questions, but you always get those questions where you’re not completely sure,” she said. Members of the association will endeavor to find answers to the questions that stump them. Conlon herself wrote a gardening book about growing in Alaska called “Growing Near Glaciers.”

Transcripts of each Weedy Wednesday session will be available afterward on the association’s website for reference and follow-up.

Questions should be emailed to info@seak-mastergardeners.org before the sessions are held. A short presentation on the day’s topic will be held before a panel of master gardeners answer the submitted questions, whether in regard to the topic or on gardening in general. Those wanting to attend can sign up at seak-mastergardeners.org.

Beyond answering questions, Conlon is hoping the sessions create a place for networking gardeners of all skill levels throughout Southeast.

“I’m hoping to have a chat function to get a sense of where gardeners are from in areas of Southeast and get names and contact,” she said. Though there aren’t any plans to hold Weedy Wednesdays beyond April 6, Conlon said she hopes it at least becomes an annual event or more often depending on popularity and requests for information.