SDSU Extension to host off-season Garden Hour series Tuesday; November show has holiday plants theme

South Dakota State University Extension will continue its popular Garden Hour series during the off-season with webinars every other month.

Garden Hour runs weekly during the growing season, typically from May through August. The off-season episodes are scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m. Central time on Nov. 25, 2025, and Feb. 3 and April 7, 2026.

They are free to attend, but registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, visit extension.sdstate.edu/events and search “garden”.

Each session includes two presentations and ample time for questions from attendees.

“We’ve learned over many seasons of garden hour that gardening doesn’t stop with a frost,” said Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Urban Entomology Field Specialist. “We’ve got topics to talk about all winter, especially when people are thinking about next year’s garden.”

Bachmann co-hosts the series, along with John Ball, professor, SDSU Extension Forestry Specialist and South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Forest Health Specialist; Kristine Lang, assistant professor and SDSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist; Robin Buterbaugh, SDSU Extension Horticulture Field Specialist; and Sydney Trio, McCrory Gardens Education Coordinator and SDSU Extension Horticulture Assistant.

November is a holiday plants-themed episode, with Ball talking about Christmas trees and co-hosts providing additional information on caring for other holiday plants.

In February, Prairey Walkling, SDSU Extension Master Gardener Field Specialist, will talk about upcoming Master Gardener training, and Buterbaugh will discuss best practices for starting plants from seeds.

For the final off-season webinar in April, Sydney Trio, McCrory Gardens Education Coordinator and SDSU Extension Horticulture Assistant, will give a sneak peek of the McCrory Gardens 2026 spring and summer schedule, and Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension State Climatologist, will provide a spring climate outlook.

Bachmann said both the regular and off-season Garden Hour webinars are also a great way to get your plant and garden-related questions answered by experts.

Gardeners can also submit garden and yard questions at extension.sdstate.edu/garden-yard/problems-and-solutions. An SDSU Extension expert or Master Gardener will reply, typically within 48 hours if the inquiry is made on a weekday.

For more information, contact Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Urban Entomology Field Specialist, at 605-773-8120 or Amanda.Bachmann@sdstate.edu.