Learning Gardening Online With Phipps Conservatory Classes

Published by Angie. Last Updated on August 25, 2020.

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Phipps Conservatory has recently launched online classes where you can learn about a wide variety of gardening and horticulture topics all from the comfort of your own home. We recently attended a seed starting class where we learned tons of helpful tips specific to starting seeds in Pittsburgh, left with a great slide deck of information, and benefited from a helpful Q&A session at the end of class.

Learning How to Garden Remotely with Phipps

Online Classes at Phipps Conservatory

Topics range from broad ones like Botany for Gardeners or Basic Horticulture to very specific ones like Carnivorous Plants or Orchids 101. Some classes are part of a series that meet once a week for several weeks (like Principles for Natural Garden Design) while others are one-time sessions (like Perennial Fruits for the Home Garden).

The classes use the Zoom platform, and once you sign up for the class you'll receive the Zoom link and a slide deck of the presentation that will be used in class.

Online Classes at Phipps Conservatory

The seed starting class that we took had two instructors who are part of Phipps' education programs. One of the instructors gave the presentation while the other monitored the chat area for questions from attendees. This was helpful because there were a lot of attendees (more than 50) and there were many questions being fired away. The chat function enabled one instructor to respond to the questions in the chat feature without interrupting the flow of the presentation.

We stumbled upon the Phipps classes right around the time we purchased a bunch of different flower and vegetable seeds, and we were super excited to learn how to dive into the world of seed starting.

Online Classes at Phipps Conservatory

The presentation was organized well and gave lots of great tips. Although we had read a little about seed starting, we still learned a lot including that different seeds germinate at different temperatures. When we learned that tomatoes and peppers need much warmer temperatures than most other veggies to germinate, it gave us some ideas for things to try since our tomato and pepper seeds haven't germinated that successfully.

We also liked that the class gave ideas for multiple ways of doing things. For example, lots of different options were presented for types of containers to use for seed starting, how to get your seedlings enough light, etc.

At the end of the class there was an open Q&A session where you could either type questions in the chat box or use your microphone to ask questions. It was great to hear other people's questions and the instructors gave really thoughtful and helpful responses.

Although the current schedule of classes only goes through May 2020, during our class the instructors mentioned that there may be more classes coming. So be on the lookout for even more topics in the future for these informative and helpful classes!

To check out more online classes from Phipps, click here.

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