The Details-Farm in the City & Seedy Saturday
Join E.A.T. South on Saturday, January 27 for the first Farm in the City workshop of 2018, Tools and Tests. Farm in the City workshops provide the River Region with the information, resources and tools to grow healthy, sustainable food. The workshops are organized to teach skills relevant to gardening throughout the year. Starting with soil tests and choosing the right tool, the series continues with workshops about starting seeds, identifying pests, and how to make chickens a part of the family. We request a $5- $10 donation (please give more if you can!) to cover the costs of each workshop. Here’s the full schedule:
January 27 - Tools & Tests (9-11 am)
Get your garden started right with soil tests and tool sharpening. Soil tests take the mystery out of amending the soil. Get hands-on practice taking a soil sample, learn where to send it and practice reading soil test results. We’ll also experiment with some of our favorite tools and learn how to keep edges sharp and handles from splitting. Practice sharpening our tools or bring your own. (We don’t sharpen lawn mower blades, just shovels, hoes, pruners and loppers.)
February 17 - Planning & Propagation (9-11 am)
Dream your garden into being. We’ll talk about things to consider when planning your garden, garden record keeping and ideas for rotating crops in your garden. We’ll have paper, markers, pencils and crayons on hand if you want to start putting your dreams on paper. After drafting your plan, get hands-on experience starting seeds. We’ll cover sources for seeds and soil and ideas for starting plants at home.
Special Event!!!! February 24 - Seedy Saturday Seed Swap (10 am - 12 pm)
Do you save seeds? Have more seeds than you can plant this year? Want something to do on a Saturday in February? Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your seeds and join us for our first ever seed swap. We’ll have snacks, good company and stories and activities for kids.
March 24 - Get Planting - Organic Gardening 101 (9-11 am)
March is the time to plant your summer plan. We’ll cover techniques for preparing your garden beds, transplanting, compost, fertilizer and more.
April 21 - Kids Tell Kids what they need to know about Backyard Chickens (9-11 am)
Chickens are entertaining, fun, fairly easy to care for, AND they lay eggs. Is your family or household ready for chickens? Meet E.A.T. South’s chickens and learn about backyard chickens from chicken-keeping kids and families.
May 19 - Bugs & Weeds, Pests & Disease (9-11 am)
What’s eating my squash? In Alabama, a lot of things. With our garden beds as our classroom, we’ll hunt down and identify plant pests and weeds and talk about organic methods to control both.
June 16 - Garden Lasagna - Sheet Mulching Your Way to a Backyard Garden (9-11 am)
Sheet mulching or lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no construction method to create a new garden bed. Check out the progress of the lasagna bed we build in the fall, and build a lasagna garden bed with us. We’ll also plant the beds with fall pumpkins. Lots of hands-on fun for the family!
July 21 - What? Fall is Coming, Really? - Planning & Starting Your Fall Garden (9-11 am)
It’s sooooo hottttt!!! But, if you want to enjoy those tasty greens in September, you have to start planning your fall garden now. We’ll cover when to plant different fall crops, plant hardiness, how late you can plant, overcoming challenges with seeds and starts in the heat, and ways to extend your growing season.
August 18 - Harvest it Right, Store it Right (9-11 am)
When and how you harvest your vegetables and where you store them can make the difference in taste and how long they last. We’ll spend time in the gardening discussing harvest tools and techniques and find some shade to cover ways to keep your food fresh. Even if you don’t have a garden, this workshop will help you get the most out of your farmers market finds.
September 15 - Cottage Food and Farm Entrepreneurship (9 - 11 am)
Interested in turning your produce into value-added products? Are you dreaming up a food-based business? Have you started one? Share your dreams, ideas, and experiences while learning about Alabama’s Cottage Food Law.
October 20 - Planning Your Fruit Orchard (9 - 11 am)
E.A.T. South has a larger orchard in its future. Do you? We’ll talk about fruit varieties for southern Alabama and how to establish a healthy fruit and nut orchard.
November 10 - Harvest Party (9 - 11 am)
Food, friends and fun! Celebrate 2018 and the harvest. Share your successes and challenges for this year with farm-y friends.