How do we adapt our gardening to remain successful with climate change?  Join in and learn from several specialists to understand what is ahead and tools to trouble-shoot the dynamics.

8:30 Registration and light refreshments
9:00 Welcome – Charlie Rohwer, Scientist
9:10 Veggie Gardens in a Changing Minnesota Climate Charlie Rohwer, Scientist
Heavier rains, warmer minimum temperatures, longer growing seasons… How might we adjust our veggie gardening practices to deal with these changes? Charlie will explore issues relating to
veggie growth, insects and diseases, and variety selection, with suggestions for resilient vegetable gardening.

10:10 Adapting Gardening Practices to a Changing Climate – What Do We Need to Know?
Jessica Gutknecht, Assistant Professor, UMN Department of Soil, Water, and Climate Food systems are facing many challenges including a need to better enhance ecosystem services
and to cope with increasingly altered weather patterns and changing climatic conditions. This talk will provide an overview of climate change impacts on agricultural systems and pose potential options for adaptation that also lead to improved environmental quality in general.11:10 Break
11:30 Growing Season – Year in Review – Jurgen Peters Peters, a retired UM Extension Educator and ag education teacher will provide an update to events that had an effect on the growing season last year. Peters will also provide some potential things to watch for in the coming season.
12:00 Lunch

12:45 The New Plant Cold Hardiness Paradigm: It’s Not All About How Low It Goes Stan C. Hokanson, Professor, UMN Department of Horticultural Science Stan will talk about considerations for plant cold hardiness in the face of warmer Minnesota winters and a changing climate.
1:45 Zoo Horticulture – Plants vs Animals Kim Thomas, Horticulture Curator MN Zoo Kim will delight us with thirty-five years of observations of the exotic collection of animals at the Minnesota Zoo through the eyes of a Horticulturist.
2:45 Q & A / door prizes

Pre-Registration required by Monday, February 24

For more information or with questions, call (507) 835-3620 email nelso191@umn.edu.
*Weather-related announcements will be sent by email notification to registered participants & posted on the SROC website at sroc.cfans.umn.edu.

Gardening With Climate Change 26th Annual Horticulture Day