Mt Cuba Center
Morning sunrise illuminates the round garden at Mt. Cuba Center.
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Thanks for a great year! Mt. Cuba Center is closed for general admission for the season and will reopen on April 3, 2024.

An ecological gardening certificate student completes a Native Plants of Fall exam in Mt. Cuba Center's naturalistic gardens.
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Program Guide

Classes offered year-round. Learn to garden in harmony with nature, take an art or wellness class, and more!

Carex barrattii
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Trial Garden

Mt. Cuba Center evaluates native plants and related cultivars for horticultural and ecological value.

Mt. Cuba Center's natural lands pictured at sunset.
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Ecological Land Management

Mt. Cuba conserves and stewards more than 1,000 acres including meadows, forests, streams and riparian corridors.

Two guests walk down the West Slope path in spring at Mt. Cuba Center.
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Mt Cuba Center
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March 31 @ 10:00 am - 2:30 pm

Event

Enhancing Life in the Soil

Woman holding pile of dirt in her hands at Mt. Cuba Center
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Native plant communities are supported by healthy, balanced soils that contain a vast array of living organisms including microbes, insects, and other fauna. Learn the basics of soil science, the value of organic matter and its role in soil structure and nutrition, and the importance of soil organisms. Learn how to make and use compost and compost tea, and how sustainable gardening practices contribute to creating high quality garden soil. Go home with a greater understanding of the life in your soil and knowing why you won’t need to buy fertilizer ever again. Dress for the weather.

This program takes place in-person (at Mt. Cuba Center) three Fridays: March 31 through April 14, 2023

About the Instructor:
Mark Highland received an MS from the Longwood Graduate Program, focusing on compost and potting soil. He is the founder and president of The Organic Mechanic Soil Company, LLC, a local supplier of organic, peat?free soils. Mark is the author of the recently published Practical Organic Gardening: The No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally.

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COVID-19 Safety
Please click here to view our safety measures and guidelines before visiting Mt. Cuba Center.