Garden workshop at MCC will help you live closer to nature

Rich Tobiasz's love for gardening was sown in the fertile soil of childhood, when he was just a little sprout.

The Spring Grove resident has photos of himself as a 1-year-old, playing in his grandmother's garden.

"My mother and father would go to work, and I would spend the day with my grandmother," Tobiasz said. "I spent the day in the garden, and it became a way of life."

Grandma taught him a lot over the years, and by the time he was 11, Tobiasz was growing his own tomatoes, vegetables and dahlias.

The intangible fruit of that labor -- the lessons learned and experience gained -- continue yielding benefits today, not only for Tobiasz, but also for many others who reap from his storehouse of knowledge.

A master gardener, organic farmer, storyteller -- and, incidentally, also the full-time fire chief of Spring Grove -- Tobiasz will be the keynote speaker at Gardenfest 2008 this Saturday at McHenry County College.

Hosted annually by the University of Illinois Extension Service and McHenry County Master Gardeners, the daylong workshop series runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the MCC Conference Center, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake.

There's a wide range of workshop topics, including rain gardens, shade gardens, roses, butterflies and tree care. Participants choose two to four workshops from the 27 offered and can learn about seeds, soils, daylilies and fairy gardens. Hands-on lab classes include floral arranging, container gardening and making a hypertufa, or faux stone, planter.

Among pre-registration favorites are Managing Home Lawn Headaches, Native Plants and The 30-Something Garden, "for folks with a fast-paced lifestyle and a low budget who still want to have a beautiful garden," said Molly Walsh, conference center coordinator.

The speakers come from MCC's horticulture department, the university extension office and the Master Gardener program. "The master gardeners are very knowledgeable, and they provide most of our speakers for the day," Walsh said. "It's a pretty extensive gardening education that they have to go through to get that certification."

Bruce Spangenberg, the horticulture chairman and an instructor at MCC, will lead three workshops himself.

In Understanding the N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) of Fertilizers, he covers the kinds available and how to figure out what you need; in Ornamental Grasses, he talks about selection and care.

"Over the last decade or so, their popularity has gone way up," Spangenberg said.

"Certainly they're attractive, but the other thing is that as a group they're fairly low-maintenance.

"But just like anything else, you have to pick the right one for the right site, and that's one of the main things we'll talk about."

Spangenberg also tackles the subject of uncooperative lawns.

"It's really not as difficult as people think, that if you want a picture-perfect lawn, it's going to take a lot of work," he said.

"In reality, there's just a few simple guidelines that will go a long way."

In the keynote address, "Make Mine Green," Tobiasz will focus largely on the eco-friendliness of buying from local farmers. He said homegrown fruits and vegetables support the environment by reducing the need for gas-guzzling cross-country trucking.

McHenry County offers a number of alternatives to shipping produce from Florida or California, Tobiasz said. About 100 specialty growers farm inside county lines, and many communities host farmers markets to showcase the harvest for shoppers.

A traditional Illinois farmer raises corn, beans, alfalfa or hay, Tobiasz said. He defines a specialty grower as one who maintains an orchard or plants other kinds of produce, flowers or herbs.

Among McHenry County specialties are pumpkins, peaches, apples and berries, and you can even get locally grown blueberries, "which are rare for this area because of the acidic soil needed," Tobiasz said.

The outdoor markets give consumers a chance to meet the farmers who put food on their tables.

But McHenry County offers other ways to get even closer to the land, including pick-your-own orchards and CSAs -- community-supported agriculture -- that get buyers all the way out to the farm.

Popular on the East Coast and gaining interest in the Fox Valley, CSAs are produce subscription services.

"You make a contract with a farmer, and for the growing season you're going to get a basket of vegetables every week for that money," Tobiasz said.

"It's a more intimate relationship with the consumer, instead of just picking up vegetables from a stand."

"Make Mine Green" also will touch on the most effective way of all to reduce energy requirements for shipping food -- grow it yourself.

With a 5-acre farm that includes an orchard, an herb garden and an acre of vegetables, Rich and Wendy Tobiasz are living that life.

They also raise chickens, goats and sheep to provide eggs, meat, milk, cheese and wool. He makes the cheese and shears the sheep; she spins and knits the wool.

"We grow just about everything," Tobiasz said. "We still shop some. I don't make good wine, so I have to buy a bottle of wine now and then."

Gardenfest 2008 costs $35 per person, or $15 for MCC students; the fee includes a sandwich wrap lunch. An extra $15 is charged for lab sessions.

Registration is accepted at the door, but advance registration -- by calling (815) 455-8697 -- offers a better chance of getting the workshops you want. Go to www.mchenry.edu/garden fest for a complete list and descriptions.

"We have people who come back year after year because you can always learn something new about gardening," Walsh said. "It's very forgiving. No matter what you do the summer before, you get a fresh start."

If you go

What: Gardenfest 2008, featuring Master Gardeners, demonstrations, lectures and lab classes

When: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: McHenry County College, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake

Cost: $35 general admission; $15 for MCC students

Info: Call (815) 455-8697 or visit www.mchenryedu/gardenfest