Home gardeners enjoy the robust flavors and enhanced nutrition of homegrown vegetables and fruits, but tending a garden can be back-breaking work. Raised-bed gardening is not only easier on the back, but it can also increase a garden’s productivity, extend the growing season and help keep pests at bay.

In a free class offered at California State University, Northridge, Farmscape Head Farmer Matthew Geldin will explain how to plan, install and maintain raised beds for easier, more productive gardening. The class will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Geldin is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona’s Landscape Architecture program. Previously a gardener at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, Geldin is the head farmer at Farmscape, the largest urban farming venture in California. In the class, Geldin will share seasonal growing tips and advice on maximizing garden harvest with raised-bed gardening.

The CSUN Botanic Garden is operated by the university’s department of biology and serves as a field site for botany, entomology, photography, painting and other classes. In addition to outdoor landscapes and botanic environments, the garden also features greenhouses where noteworthy botanical specimens are grown. The garden is open to the community.

The Aug. 29 raised-bed gardening class is free, but registration is required. E-mail botanicgarden@csun.edu to request a space in the class or for more information. Driving and parking instructions, as well as the class meeting location, will be sent upon registration. For more information about the Botanic Garden, visit www.csun.edu/botanicgarden.

CSUN-al Gardening, Department of Biology, raised bed gardening