In April 2020, during the height of the pandemic, a group of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Horticulture agents saw an opportunity in crisis. With in-person learning on hold and gardening interest surging, they launched Horticulture Webinar Wednesday—a weekly live Zoom series covering a wide range of gardening topics. To reach an even wider audience, each session was recorded and shared on a newly created YouTube channel.

What began as a response to social distancing has since grown into a thriving, nationwide digital learning hub for home gardeners and Master Gardeners.

The goal of the project was to provide accessible, research-based horticulture education to home gardeners and Master Gardeners. The team hosts weekly live webinars during the growing season and upload recordings to a centralized YouTube channel. All topics focus on seasonal, trending, and high-interest gardening practices.

By the Numbers (Channel Lifetime):

• 2,076 subscribers
• 176 videos
• 168,600 total views
• 23,300 hours of total watch time
• 4,400 views in the past 28 days alone

Top-performing videos of 2025 demonstrate strong national relevance:

• “Growing Pawpaws” (2022) – 3,082 views
• “How to Start a Community Garden” (2020) – 1,697 views
• “Gooseberries and Currants” (2022) – 1,477 views
• “Growing Giant Pumpkins” (2024) – 1,228 views
• “Chaos Gardening” (2024) – 1,125 views

Participants are not only watching, they’re engaging and taking action:

“This helps me greatly! Thank you. I have searched for instruction that is NOT the duplicate of an audiobook. It is refreshing and needed to learn with an authentic presentation.”
 — Viewer, Tree Risk Assessment

“Looking to start a green space project in Wichita, KS with a local group of like-minded individuals. This was very helpful. Thank you.”
 — Viewer, How to Start a Community Garden

What started as a Kentucky-based outreach tool has become a national resource, supporting new and seasoned gardeners across the U.S. Webinar Wednesday continues to demonstrate the power of collaboration, consistency, and adaptability in Extension programming.