Open to all youth, second grade and up. You don't need to be in 4-H to participate!

What will you learn?  How to match your yarn to the correct size crochet hook, how to make basic stitches, and how to figure out what a pattern is telling you.

What will you make?   A great hat to fit you or a friend that will be a great entry for next year's Ulster County Fair!

The class is $5 per participating youth to attend, payable by cash or a check made out to CCE-UC.

We will have crochet hooks available for you and an assortment of yarn for you to choose from. But, if you'd like to bring your own yarn, please choose a smooth, worsted weight yarn (medium weight number 4).

Please join us for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County 111th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Wednesday, December 18th at Coppola's Italian American Bistro in Hyde Park. We truly appreciate your support and involvement in our vital role in the lives of individuals, families, businesses, and communities throughout Dutchess County.

• Program Impact Updates
• Impact Stories: Russel Moss, Milea Estate Vineyard
• Special Recognition Ceremony: "Honor of the Year" Extension Award:
  Chris Drago, County Legislator, District 19
  Eoin Wrafter, AICP Commissioner Dutchess County Planning & Development Department
• Volunteer Appreciation Certificates

Dinner tickets purchased from previous sale will be honored!

Reserve your place today!

Learn how your CCE Dutchess County is “Growing Forward” in 2025 and how you have contributed!

Coppola's Italian American Bistro 4167 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538

Learn how to easily grow plants outside over winter with bigger, better, cold hardy results, on the cheap!  Grow cold hardy seedlings ready to pop right into your garden in spring—edibles like Kale, Spinach, Lettuce, Cauliflower, perennials like Bee balm, Coneflower, Delphinium and native plants of all kinds as well as annuals like Snapdragons and more. There are many benefits to winter sowing. There is no need to harden off these plants. Little to no watering and no worrying about when to plant. We supply everything you need to take home one prepared and planted jug ready to set out, and give you the knowledge to make many more.

This training is for all currently elected 4-H Club Officers and any 4-H youth interested in learning about the various club officer roles. You are invited to join Faith, our 4-H Educator, at Club Officer Training night. You'll learn the roles and responsibilities of the office you hold (or are interested in holding), basic meeting procedure, and leadership skills which you will bring back to your club!

Growing houseplants is a great way to start gardening, while enhancing the beauty of your home and creating an environment of health and well-being. This lecture will provide information on types of houseplants, growth requirements, identification and treatment of common diseases and pests, as well as ongoing maintenance tips. Whether you want a few special plants or an indoor oasis, this lecture will give you the tools you need.

The focus of this webinar is for beginner farmers and growers interested in cultivating their own Ginseng. We will go over the different options for growing Ginseng, with a concentration on Wild Simulated Ginseng. Topics will include why Ginseng, options for growing, site selection, site preparation, importance of seed care, seed stratification, planting, organic and Forest Grown Verification, pests and diseases, and harvesting.

Zoom webinar hosted by CCE Ulster with Ashley Schoenborn, Agriculture Educator at CCE Columbia-Greene leading this presentation on ginseng cultivation.

Silvopasture, the integration of livestock with trees, can address many of your farm’s resource concerns when done correctly. Learn how silvopasture can provide shade and fodder for livestock, increase your grazeable land, provide new income streams, and support the health and climate resilience of your land.

In this Zoom webinar hosted by CCE Ulster, Kathryn Brignac, Livestock and Natural Resources Educator, will give an overview of silvopasture and its benefits, approaches to transitioning to silvopasture, and resources and funding sources for these practices

When and why to prune can be a confusing and daunting task for the backyard gardener. Master Gardener Volunteer, Mike Piedmonte, will present a general overview of pruning strategies and techniques to help increase one’s self confidence with a lopper. Garden and pruning tool maintenance will also be featured.

This agroforestry practice intentionally combines water quality protection & conservation with sustainable food and forest production. In this webinar, participants will explore how to incorporate native, perennial, and often edible plant species into a fruitful buffer system that promotes healthy freshwater ecosystems and agroforestry products. The presentation will focus on basic stream function, buffer assessment, and establishment using a Multi-use Riparian Buffer Guide developed by CCE Columbia Greene, in partnership with the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Zoom webinar hosted by CCE Ulster with Tracey Testo, CCE Columbia-Greene‘s Agroforestry Program Manager presenting for the final session of our Winter 2025 Agroforestry series.

In this class, we will delve into the topic of cut flowers! Learn which flowers to grow in your cutting garden, how to harvest them, the components of a beautiful bouquet, and how to get the longest vase life out of your blooms. If you enjoy fresh bouquets and would love for them to come from your garden, this class is for you!

Do you want to get a jump on starting your garden this season?  This class will cover indoor seed starting. We will discuss what seeds to start indoors, we will mix our own seed starting medium, talk about what containers to use, the importance of heat and light and warn you of some of the troubles you may encounter when starting your seeds. You will have a hands on experience and take home a mini green house with your planted seeds.

The seed swap is a great opportunity to exchange your extra viable seeds and seek new varieties of vegetables and ornamentals.

Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions about growing plants from seed. By exchanging seeds you will also be able to save money and another gardener can use your unused but viable seeds.

This is great fun for the whole family!!!

Please review the Seed Swap Guidelines Below

Guidelines

• Please bring viable seeds, in an envelope, zip top bag, or original seed package, etc. We will have envelopes available to take seeds home in.

• Please Label your seeds, we recommend copying the label of seed packs, if saved seeds (At a minimum, each variety should have a notecard listing the name, type of plant, season collected, if open pollinated and source of the seed. Labels are even more useful if they also include information about the growing conditions, appearance, and flavor.)

• Please bring only viable seeds. Below is a list of seeds and how many seasons they are viable:

• 1 year: onions, parsnips, parsley, spinach, Anemone, Aster, Begonia’ Chives, Coneflower, Coreopsis, Delphinium, Larkspur, Nigella, Pansy, Phlox, Salvia, Vinca, Viola
• 2 years: corn, peas, beans, chives, okra, dandelion, Ageratum, Baby’s breath, Candytuft, Clarkia, Columbine, Coreopsis, Cyclamen, Dahlia, Dusty miller, Four o’clock, Foxglove, Gaillardia, Impatiens, Lisanthus, Lupin, Marigold, Nicotiana, Penstemon, Petunia, Portulaca, Rue, Statice, Strawflower, Tithonia
• 3 years: carrots, leeks, asparagus, turnips, rutabagas, Achillea, African daisy, Alyssum, Amaranth, Anise, Bachelor Button, Calendula, Campanula, Caraway, Cosmos, Dianthus, Didiscus, Dill, Fennel, Hollyhock, Lobelia, Marigold, Marjoram, Poppy, Sage, Savory, Scabiosa,Shasta daisy, Snapdragon, Stock, Sweet pea, Sunflower, Thyme, Verbena
• 4 years: peppers, chard, pumpkins, squash, watermelons, basil, artichokes, cardoons, Centaurea, Celosia, Lavatera, Morning glory, Nasturtium, Sweet alyssum
• 5 years: most brassicas, beets, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, muskmelons, celery, celeriac, lettuce, endive, chicory, Basil Borage Carnation Catnip Chrysanthemum, Cilantro, Hollyhock, Lavendar, Lemon Balm, Oregano, Zinnia

• How many seeds to bring Those new to seed saving and seed swaps might want some suggestions on how much seed should be exchanged. You want to take at least the minimum number of seed necessary to meet your home garden needs but at the same time you want to leave plenty of seed for other participants to try. Some general suggestions are to share larger quantities of smaller seeds and smaller quantities of larger seeds. For most home gardeners 12-20 tomato or pepper seeds, 20-25 bean or pea seeds, and 25-50 flower or herb seeds should more than suffice.

• If you want to take more seeds then you brought (or didn’t bring any seeds), we suggest a 0.50 donation for each pack you take