FAIRMONT — University of Minnesota (UMN) Extension Master Gardeners, horticulturalist volunteers, will present a free two-part workshop, ‘Sharpen Your Pruning Skills’, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, in Fairmont. The workshop will include presentations by Food Systems/Fruit Production Extension Educator Madeline Wimmer at the Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center’s Community Room, followed by a pruning demo and orchard tour by Alden Zeitz at Timberlake Orchard.

“It’s the mission of the group to bring research-based education about gardening to the public,” said Martin County Master Gardener and longtime gardener/farmer Dianne Bettin.

According to the UMN Extension, pruning is the act of manually removing plant parts injured by disease, insect infestation, animals, weather phenomena or other damage-inflicting factors. Pruning promotes plant development, health, appearance and safety. More to-be-discussed topics include the fundamentals of pruning, when to prune, its significance, what to remove, how much to remove, proper cuts, pruning tools and the anatomy of trees, shrubs and vines.

“I’ve been pruning my own fruit trees, but I know I have a lot to learn as well. Learning from experts is just something that excites me. I think it’s a great opportunity and then more of our outreach within the community and seeing what other classes people want to see us present,” Bettin said.

She and fellow Master Gardeners meet monthly to discuss plans for quarterly classes to benefit local gardeners. With a notable number of people involved with plants, the pruning season approaching and community requests for pruning discussions, the Master Gardeners knew it was a fitting area of focus for the workshop.

“We wanted to have it so that people could get ready to prune during the winter. A lot of people grow fruit and I know I was one before I became a Master Gardener. I had my fruit trees, but I really wasn’t sure how to go about pruning them properly. You should really prune every year, and it’s too expensive to have someone come in and prune your trees for you every year. If you understand the basics and keep up with it, it’s really not that difficult. So it’s just to help home gardeners, home fruit growers, learn how to do it on their own and get started, just to improve their trees and improve their crops,” Bettin said.

When hosting workshops surrounding gardening enrichment, the Master Gardeners’ goal is to be ‘garden partners’ to the community, encouraging learning, and overall helping individuals shape themselves into becoming the best gardeners they can be.

“I’m a firm believer of life-long learning,” Bettin said. “It’s just very beneficial to always be learning, and gardening is one of those things that, you know, especially with our changing weather, it’s important to just stay up with what’s happening and learn from other people and bringing gardeners together. Gardeners can be very passionate about what they do. You know, so being able to get those experiences and answers can be really helpful.”

Lakeview Methodist and Timberlake Orchard are located at 610 Summit Drive and 176 200th Avenue in Fairmont. To register for the workshop by Wednesday, Feb. 4, or for more information about Master Gardeners, contact martincomg56031@gmail.com.