Gardens at Yellow Barn Farm

07/16/2025

Well, its been a VERY challenging growing season so far! Early rain and new unexpected critters have kept us searching for viable strategies.

But today we finally got to harvest! These radishes and green beans are on the free produce stand outside the Federated Church of East Arlington. NOTE: some of the radishes are pretty large but edible. The very middle may be mealy. We left the greens on because they make a really interesting pesto! Stay tuned for many more harvest runs, most going to the Arlington Food shelf, Kids Summer Lunch Program, and senior lunches.

06/12/2025

Ask a Master Gardener Info Table & Plant Sale Sat. 6/14, Martha Canfield Memorial Library, Arlington

Quick reminder:
UVM Extension Master Gardeners, Bennington County Chapter, Annual Perennial Plant Sale
The Martha Canfield Memorial Library, 528 E. Arlington Rd., Arlington, VT.
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Saturday, June 14
We are also hosting an Ask A Master Gardener information table and a children's activity area - with a plant-related theme! The kids can play while you shop the plant sale.
Current plant list includes: Ajuga, Astilbe, Bearded Irises (yellow, light purple, dark purple, burgundy), Beardtongue (Penstemon), Bee Balm (Monarda/Bergamot), Cranesbill, Daylilies (red, yellow, Stella, Frans Hals), Echinacea, Foxglove, Hosta (multiple varieties), Knautia, Lady's Mantle, Lamb's Ear, Lungwort, Nepeta (catmint), Obedient Plant, Phlox, Rudbeckia, Shasta Daisies, Siberian Iris (purple), white Yarrow, plus more.
Also, bushes/trees: Lilac (white, purple), Spirea, American Hawthorne, Forsythia, and Annabelle Hydrangea.
The proceeds of our sale support scholarships for you, your neighbors and friends to enroll in the excellent University of Vermont Extension's Master Gardener course taught online every winter by UVM faculty and staff and Vermont horticulture professionals.
Plant prices range from $7 (one-gallon pots - largest quantity) to $21 for some trees and shrubs. We only accept cash and checks. No credit cards.
Location: This year's location is easily accessible for all of Bennington County– halfway between Bennington and Manchester, the Arlington Library is adjacent to the Fischer Elementary school where there is ample parking. From the north - turn left off of Route 7A just after Stewart's onto E. Arlington Rd. The library is 1/2 mile up on the right. From the South, turn right off of Route 7A onto E. Arlington Rd before Stewarts. The library is 1/2 a mile up on the right. Wagons/people will be available to help you get your plants to your car.

03/26/2025

SAVE the DATE - April 12, HOW TO LOVE A FOREST

On Saturday, April 12th from 3 to 5 at the Unitarian facility 108 School Street Bennington, Ethan Tapper will give a talk, How to Love a Forest. It is sponsored by Bennington Chapter of UVM Ext. Master Gardeners and The Fund for North Bennington.

His work focuses on what forests are and what it means to care for them. This world, Tapper writes, is degraded by people who do too much and by those who do nothing. Offering a more multifaceted vision, Tapper argues that the actions we must take to protect ecosystems are often counterintuitive and even uncomfortable but needed if we are to preserve our environment. And, with the pending defunding of much of the Forest Service, the National Parks Service and potential elimination of climate change initiatives, it is even more critical that citizens learn how to care for forests on their land and within the community.

Speaker info: A graduate of UVM, Ethan was the Chittenden County Forester from 2016-2024, writing a quarterly column in Northern Woodlands magazine and leading hundreds of public events. In this role, he was named the Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance’s Forester of the Year, and the American Tree Farm Systems National Outstanding Inspector (forester) of the Year. His recently published and popular book How to Love a Forest. The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. It has been endorsed by prominent nature writers including Bill McKibben, Doug Tallamy, and Ben Goldfarb.

In order to ensure sufficient seating, please RSVP:

Event Address: 108 School ST., Bennington, VT 05201 Contact us at: [email protected]

12/10/2024

Do you love to garden but would like to know more, or just want to get started?

Registration for UVM Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program is open! The 16-week online gardening course runs January 29 through May 14. It covers a wide array of up-to-date & useful topics such as vegetable, fruit & ornamental gardening; integrated pest management of insects & diseases; soils; tree care; sustainable landscaping, and more.

You can select one of two tracks:
Track 1 is for Vermont residents interested in becoming a certified Extension Master Gardener. Students will attend real-time Zoom sessions with instructors, offered on every Wed. from 6 to 7:30 p.m. After successfully completing the course and volunteer hours with their local Chapter they will receive EMG certification.

Track 2 is for non-residents and Vermont gardeners not wishing certification. Students have access to all course content but pursue the course at their leisure. Upon successful completion they receive a Home Horticulture Certificate of Completion that may be used for personal or professional advancement purposes.

The registration deadline is Jan. 17, with a $400 fee for Vermont residents, $550 for non-residents.

To learn more and register, visit http://go.uvm.edu/mastergardener.

Scholarships are available!

The Bennington County Chapter of UVM-EMGs is offering $250 scholarships to qualified individuals.

To be eligible you must:
• Reside in Bennington County
• Enroll in Track 1 (Volunteer Certification Track)
• Volunteer to work on the Chapter's Plant Sales (which fund the scholarship)
• Complete a 40-hour internship with UVM EMG-sponsored projects, within 2 years.

Scholarship Deadline:
Go to: https://go.uvm.edu/emgcourse.

Complete, sign and email the application to Deborah Benoit: [email protected] by 5:00 pm E.T. on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.

All applicants will be notified of the results by Jan. 10, 2025.

Send a message to learn more

11/21/2024

2024 UVM Extension Master Gardener Conference
Gardening with Nature in Mind

Saturday, December 7, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET
Registration is Now Open!

Do you love to garden but would like to know more?

Registration for UVM Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program is now open! The highly regarded 16-week online gardening course starts January 29 and runs until May 14. It covers a wide array of up-to-date & useful topics such as vegetable, fruit & ornamental gardening; integrated pest management of insects & diseases; soils; tree care; sustainable landscaping, and more.

You can select one of two tracks:
Track 1 is for Vermont residents interested in becoming a certified Extension Master Gardener. Students will attend real-time Zoom sessions with instructors, offered on every Wed. from 6 to 7:30 p.m. After successfully completing the course and volunteer hours with their local Chapter they will receive EMG certification.
Track 2 is for non-residents and Vermont gardeners not wishing certification. Students have access to all course content but pursue the course at their leisure. Upon successful completion they receive a Home Horticulture Certificate of Completion that may be used for personal or professional advancement purposes.

The registration deadline is Jan. 17, with a $400 fee for Vermont residents, $550 for non-residents. To learn more and register, visit http://go.uvm.edu/mastergardener.
Scholarships are available!

The Bennington County Chapter of UVM-EMGs is offering $250 scholarships to qualified individuals.
To be eligible you must:
• Reside in Bennington County
• Enroll in Track 1 (Volunteer Certification Track)
• Volunteer to work on the Chapter's Plant Sales (which fund the scholarship)
• Complete a 40-hour internship with UVM EMG-sponsored projects, within 2 years.

Scholarship Application Deadline:
Go to: https://go.uvm.edu/emgcourse. Complete, sign and email the application to Deborah Benoit: [email protected] by 5:00 pm E.T. on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered. All applicants will be notified of the results by Jan. 10, 2025.

Send a message to learn more

09/22/2024

Happy Monday iNatters! Hopefully your weekend has left you refreshed, reinvigorated. This week, we noticed that our beloved asters are beginning to bloom in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Asters are arguably one of our most precious fall wildflowers in Ohio. To be clear, we are not talking about the...

09/13/2024

"What's the Buzz In Your Garden?”, 9/17, 5 pm Arlington

Join us for a program presented by UVM's Dr. Vic Izzo. He holds a PhD in Plant and Soil Science from UVM and is Head of Undergraduate Education at the Institute for Agroecology there. His research interests are varied and, most recently, his projects have centered upon developing novel techniques, with farmers, for sustainable pest management in Vermont.

He will be discussing insects in our gardens and how to grow with them.

The program is sponsored by:
The Bennington Chapter of UVM Extension Master Gardeners and
by the Arlington Garden Club

It will take place at:
The Performance Hall at the Arlington Common
3938 Route 7A
Arlington, VT 05250

08/20/2024

Learn how to compost in upcoming online course

Registration is still open through August 23 for UVM Extension's Vermont Master Composter course, designed to teach the basics of backyard composting.

Topics to be covered include compost ecology, benefits of composting, site design & management, compost systems & tools, using compost, community composting, volunteerism, and Vermont recycling policies.

The online course runs for eight weeks starting August 30; course materials will be available to participants until Nov 15. Two tracks are offered to meet participant needs: An at-your-pace track that allows participants to move through the course at their own leisure, and a volunteer certification track where participants are trained to become certified Vermont Master Composter volunteers and attend an in-person workshop and live discussion sessions with instructors offered via Zoom on Thursdays from 6-7:30 p.m., beginning September 5.

The cost is $50 for Vermonters and $150 for out-of-state residents. Register by 8/23. To register or learn more, visit: https://go.uvm.edu/mastercomposter.

To request a disability-related accommodation to participate, contact Deb Heleba at [email protected] or (802) 656-1777 by August 9. The course is sponsored by the UVM Extension Community Horticulture Program with financial support from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

08/20/2024

We have been very busy this summer! We have grown and donated hundreds of pounds of produce to the Children's Summer Lunch Program, the RSVP senior luncheons, the Arlington Food Pantry, and any extra produce was placed on the free produce stand right outside the Federated Church of East Arlington. And there's still much more to come!

06/28/2024

We just placed some freshly picked radishes on the free produce stand right outside the Federated Church of East Arlington, on Ice Pond Rd. Did you know that radish greens are edible? You can sauté them, eat them raw, and a staff favorite; radish greens pesto! Enjoy!

06/21/2024

The beginning of a new growing season is always exciting, but we have some really fabulous things happening in our gardens this year! We've added honey bees to the mix, planted a new asparagus plot, and have new plants in our pollinator, Victory, and giving gardens! Special thanks go to the tireless efforts of our staff of volunteers, as well as our new and occasional volunteers! Stay tuned for more updates this season.