Nicci Radhe is the grower and producer of seeds and plants at Horny Toad Horticulture. An all organic urban seed farm at the base of Sentinel peak. We offer wholesale plants and seeds to nurseries and do direct sales to the public at markets and events! Horny Toad grows and produces locally adapted heirloom and open pollinated seeds right here in Tucson.

In this speaker series we will enjoy a very short 30 minute seed 101 talk by Nicci about starting seeds indoors and outdoors followed by a seed harvesting and processing workshop. We will talk about seed starting mediums, containers and best practices to ensure strong and vibrant seedlings. The second part of this meetup is a hands-on workshop that will be on the patio of the Knox room. Attendees can just watch but if you wish to participate please bring gloves, a mask and wear long sleeves. We will be processing Hollyhocks, Wild Luffa, Tithonia, Artichoke and Basil and everyone will get seeds to take home

How to Over-Summer Your Garden and keep your soil alive.

Lorien Tersey has been gardening year round in Tucson for 23 years, building a one acre urban farm using integrated organic practices. She spent three years on the grounds staff at Tohono Chul Park and was active for years with the Gardeners of Tucson. She sells plants and produce at the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market and from her gorgeous farm in midtown.

Over-summering the garden.  Lorien will share with us suggestions on how to prepare our gardens for the Tucson summer.  If you are a snow-bird who isn’t here over the summer or you are here and trying to coax along a summer garden, she will offer us tips on what we can do with plant selection and plant care, and most importantly, tips on how to keep your soil “alive” and best practices for watering.

Curious about the insects in your garden? Join us to discover some of the common insects you’re likely to encounter while gardening. As organic gardeners, it’s essential to identify and understand their life cycles so we can make informed decisions about whether action is necessary. We’ll explore both common beneficial and nuisance insects, helping you navigate the active and dynamic season ahead in our Tucson gardens. Insects being discussed:

• Green lacewing
• Assassin bugs
• Praying mantis
• Lady beetles
• Larvae of butterflies and moths
• Leaf footed bugs
• Aphids and other soft-bodied pests
• Grubs – really good guys
• The good termites

Deborah North is a native of Arizona. She started gardening in the ‘80’s while living and working in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, this did not prepare her for gardening in Tucson. Returning to Arizona in late 2003 she rapidly learned that to enjoy gardening in Tucson required significant re-training.  She entered the Master Gardener program through the University of Arizona in 2004 and has never looked back!  She is a subject matter expert in citrus, deciduous fruit trees and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) but loves to speak about any gardening topic.  One of her joys of being a master gardener is having the opportunity to help extend the science of the university with the community.

Our speaker, Courtney Christie, is a reptile and invertebrate enthusiast both in her personal
time and profession. She is a zookeeper in the Herpetology, Ichthyology and Invertebrate Zoology
department (HIIZ) at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where she’s worked for the past eight
years, and where she’s gained a bulk of her knowledge about reptiles and invertebrates. She is also
an avid hiker, aspiring naturalist and an artist, all of which have been greatly inspired by her love
for the Sonoran Desert. Through both her job and her art, she is passionate about representing
lesser-known critters that are generally misunderstood or unknown altogether. She’s had the
opportunity to work with a wide variety of Sonoran-Desert fauna ranging from rattlesnakes and
gila monsters, to horned lizards, turtles, various amphibians, and too many invertebrates to
name. Courtney went to the University of Arizona where she majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
which led to her getting an internship and then her current job at the Desert Museum. Through
conservation trips, mentors, educational programs, and personal outings like hikes, blacklights,
and herping expeditions, she has gained a deep appreciation for all the strange and fascinating
wildlife that calls our desert home.

In this talk Courtney will discuss strange critters that might call your garden home, or enjoy passing
through—especially at night—including reptiles, amphibians, and various invertebrates. She will
discuss the who, what, where, why, and when, with an emphasis on behavior.