Growing Perennial Vegetables

The WSU Extension Island County Master Gardener program is pleased to welcome King County Master Gardener Bruce Bennett who will give a free presentation on growing perennial vegetables.

Perennial vegetables are not widely recognized as such in the USA. But who wouldn’t like to grow a plant that, once established, can be harvested for a short five years up to twenty-five (or more) years? We’ll discuss plants good for the Pacific Northwest, soil amending, growing conditions, popular plant varieties and common insect and disease issues. You gotta love these long- term relationships! This lecture is part of Washington State University Extension’s Growing Groceries Program.

Bruce Bennett is a Seattle-based garden designer, consultant and lecturer who has plied his craft in the Pacific Northwest for nearly thirty years.

He trained as a Washington State University Master Gardener and Rain Garden Educator, a Washington Certified Professional Horticulturalist and a University of Georgia Certified Nursery Consultant. After retiring from the University of Washington Sociology Department as Director of Instructional Programs, he served as the Director of Education for the Master Gardener Program Foundation of King County for several years. Bruce is currently the managing partner of his own landscape design company. He is also an occasional visiting instructor in WSU Extension’s ‘Growing Groceries Program’ for King County.

Bruce serves as a contributing gardening columnist for King County’s Master Gardener newsletter as well as for several area newspapers, magazines and blogs. Beyond lecturing in King County, he and his wife spend parts of the year as volunteer interpretive rangers at national and state park systems where he has created classes for park visitors and lectured at local Master Gardener programs. Plant observations from many of these trips become the basis for future gardening columns.

Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication or program information or reasonable accommodation need to contact Loren Imes at WSU Extension Island County, 406 North Main St, Coupeville WA 98239, loren.imes@wsu.edu or 360-678-2343 at least two weeks prior to the event.