No Tomato Tastin' at this year's Como Cookout

I am sorry to report that the 2010 Tomato Tastin' Experience scheduled for Sept., 19th at the Como Cookout is canceled. The outlook for tomato availability is poor. Chalk it up to a wet season that lead to lots of disease, and not enough consistently high temperatures to ripen fruit. We have reports of vines producing a few here and there, but the rest remain green, or the plants have succumbed to blight. The homegrown tomato dearth is an unexpected outcome with all the excitement in April of Minnesota's early spring warm-up. To see the past 6 years of results of the Tomato Tastin' Experience, sponsored by the OWLS Community Garden, check out this past post.

Those folks who planted some early producing, and determinate tomato varieties have had better luck at getting a bumper crop. Growing a diversity of crops and varieties wins out again! If you would like to augment your own crop, look-up a nearby farmer's market.

If you want to learn more about tomato diseases, look over this U of MN Extension bulletins:

Tomato Diseases

		Early Blight of Tomatoes and Potatoes
		Late Blight of Potato and Tomato
		Nonparasitic Disorders of Tomatoes
		Parasitic Diseases of Tomato
		Tomato Anthracnose
		Septoria Leaf Spot of Tomato
		Verticillium Wilt of Tomato and Potato

Extension also has been supporting seed trials grown and reported by Master Gardeners. Tomatoes get a lot of attention during the seed trials and below summarizes their results which are published every year in The Northern Gardener magazine. Tomatoes of various kinds were tested against each other since 1988. Past winners are:

• 1988 (determinate early): Celebrity VFNT hybrid
• 1989 (determinate midseason): Mountain Pride VF hybrid
• 1990 (cherry): Sweet Million FNTL hybrid
• 1991 (paste): Square Paste
• 1993 (yellow, orange, gold): Lemon Boy hybrid
• 1994 (Beefsteak): Supersteak hybrid
• 1995 (main season hybrid large red determinate): Celebrity Hybrid
• 1998 (container types): Cherry Gold
• 2000 ((indeterminate red hybrid main season): (tie) Park's Whopper and Big Boy
• 2003 (heirloom varieties): Brandywine
• 2005 (grape types): (tie) Juliet and Yellow Jelly Bean
• 2007 (heirlooms): Pineapple
• 2008 (slicing types - past winners): Lemon Boy
• 2010 (paste): not yet evaluated
  

Several varieties selected as best by Master Gardeners have also been favorites at the Tomato Tastin' Experience (bolded above), a useful correlation for tomato fiends.

image credit: University of Minnesota

Entertainment, refreshments and photosynthesis all being arranged for the Parade of Community Gardens

This summer, I am assisting seven St. Paul and Minneapolis bring in neighbors, energy, entertainment, refreshments and photosynthesis together to celebrate and show-off as part of the Parade of Community Gardens. Why go to all this effort? Community gardeners are hard-working folks and by all means they need a day to reflect on their accomplishments and while we are at it, why not invite the neighborhood! The Parade is an awareness raising event, both for the state of Minnesota, and along the streets of each participating garden. Below is the media release from the event's organizer, Gardening Matters where the important role of community gardens in our neighborhoods is highlighted. See you on August 21st!

Gardening Matters Announces the 5^th Annual Parade of Community Gardens

On August 21^st, sixty-six community gardens in the Twin Cities Metro Area and Greater Minnesota will be on parade! Gardening Matters is proud to organize the 5^th Annual Parade of Community Gardens, a state-wide garden “open house” intended for the public to get to know these important community spaces. Participating community gardens invite visitors to take a self-guided tour through their gardens, where they will be hosting celebrations as diverse and vibrant as the gardens themselves. Parade activities in 2010 include food samples, cooking demos, bike repair and composting workshops, youth-led yoga, art, and much more! Download a Parade Brochure for a complete listing of gardens and activities.

This year’s Parade is bigger and better than ever! The Parade is going virtual with all sixty-six gardens mapped on Gardening Matters’ Online Parade Directory, and gardeners will be Tweeting live from the gardens on Parade by tagging #GardenParade. Gardening Matters is also proud to partner with Bike Walk Twin Cities to create several biking and walking routes to gardens. In addition, BWTC is sponsoring a photo contest for pictures of biking or walking to gardens! The Parade of Community Gardens is sponsored by Seward Co-op in Minneapolis and Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, who will be distributing coupons and prizes at participating community gardens in their areas. Info about these promotions is available at www.gardeningmatters.org

Interest in community gardening has soared nation-wide in 2010 in light of recent environmental, economic, and health concerns. Gardening offers individuals the opportunity to improve personal and community health and their local environment, as well as decrease household food budgets. The health impacts of community gardens are particularly important, as childhood and adult obesity are at pandemic proportions: a recent report released by Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Minnesota Department of Health revealed that 60% of adult Minnesotans are overweight or obese, and 75% do not eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. Community gardens provide a social atmosphere and hands-on opportunity for people of all backgrounds, abilities and experiences to get exercise and access to fresh produce for themselves and their households. In addition, community gardens provide a supportive environment that encourages healthy behavior change.

Community gardening has also become increasingly popular in Minnesota in recent years. Gardening Matters received over 350 requests for community garden space in 2010. The demand for gardening space far outpaces the space available, in spite of the fact that many new community gardens are started every year. In fact, the number of community gardens in Minnesota has increased by at least 50% in recent years, from 200 to over 300. In 2010, both Minneapolis and St. Paul made public land available for community gardening, illustrating the importance of/demand for community gardens to both citizens and municipalities.

Minnesota and the Twin Cities have a rich history of community gardening, with more people participating in gardens over the long-term than most regions nationally. Gardening is not a hobby. It, along with our food traditions, is an important part of our cultural heritage and should be celebrated. The community aspect of community gardening also helps people connect and preserve these important traditions, as well as providing an opportunity for long-time gardeners to teach and share with gardeners who are just getting started.

Join Gardening Matters and the sixty six community gardens on parade in celebrating these valuable neighborhood assets! Gardens on the Parade come in all shapes in sizes, and are located in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Community gardens truly offer something for everyone, and bring many benefits to their neighbors and neighborhoods – take advantage of these neighborhood spaces by celebrating in a community garden near you!

Gardening Matters is a non-profit organization dedicated to successful, sustainable community gardening and the enhancement of neighborhood-based urban agriculture. Gardening Matters programming supports community garden sustainability and places community gardens at the core of a support system for increased home-based food production and neighborhood beautification. In the last five years, Gardening Matters has helped over 2000 people start or join a community garden. Read more about the multiple benefits of community gardening and get a snapshot of community gardening in Minnesota.

Parade of Community Gardens

Date/time: Saturday, August 21^st from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Rain or shine.

Location: Community gardens throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area, Dakota County, Chaska, Rogers, and Mankato! Download the brochure for a map and listing of participating gardens.

Six Hamline-Midway Community Gardens participating in the 5th Annual Parade of Community Gardens!

Bike, walk, run, skate, drive if need be to explore and celebrate a variety of green spaces and the bugs that help them grow on the Hamline-Midway Bugs n’ Bikes Community Garden Tour! Saturday, August 21 10am-2pm, six Hamline-Midway community gardens will offer fun, educational, and creative activities and treats for all ages as part of the 5th annual Parade of Community Gardens. Stop by any location to start your tour and pick up a map and schedule of events. Locations include:

• Hamline-Thomas Community Garden at Hamline and Thomas Avenues
• Hamline United Methodist Church at 1514 Englewood Ave
• SPROUTS Community Gardens at 1514 Englewood Ave
• Horton Park at Minnehaha and Hamline Avenues
• Midway GreenSpirit Community Garden off of Pierce Butler between Hamline Avenue and Albert Street
• Snelling Avenue Planters at Hamline Hardware at 755 Snelling Ave N

For further information or to get involved with these Midway garden sites and their events, please email junelune1@gmail.com.

The importance of native pollinators

The Midway community gardens are hatching a plan for the August event called the Parade of Community gardens on 8/21/2010. Its too soon to let you know about all the fun details, but it will involve six Midway community garden sites, and will give visitors a peek at pollinators. Even in our urban area, pollinators are vital. In this photo, my Leadplant is being visited by bees. at the Midway Greenspirit garden, the beehive there are increasing yields of tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, , raspberries, apples, melons, sunflowers, pumpkins, plums, and squash both in the garden and for miles around. Native pollinators can be even more efficient at the job, such as bumblebees increasing yields even more. The Xerces Society is an organization looking into the importance of invertebrates. Below is some quality information from Xerces on how to encourage native pollinators which were developed for roadsides. While a small residential urban yard may need to be selective from this list of practices, most are applicable for our cities too. I see it in my own yard and in my community gardens regularly. Xerces research show that using native plants in a landscape can double the number of bee counts and increase the types of bees found there by 35%. So you want to get the most out of your food production gardens? Plant for the bees too!


From Xerces:

Eighty-seven of the world’s 124 most commonly cultivated crops are insect/animal pollinated. Between 60 to 80% of the world’s 250,000 flowering plants depend on animals for pollination.
In the United States, the National Research Council (2007) reported noteworthy losses of both managed and wild pollinators. Habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, parasites, and the spread of invasive species are the major causes of pollinator decline. Threats to pollinator communities affect not only pollinators themselves but also natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity.


Key design factors & practices to enhance flower diversity for bee habitat around farms, gardens or roadsides include:

Planting choices
1) Use native wildflowers and grasses, with high densities of flowers.
2) Plant a minimum of 3 blooming plant species during each season.
3) Aim for season-long blooming plants, early and late season blooming plants are especially important.
4) Plant a range of wildflowers of varying colors and shapes. Bees mainly visit blue, white, yellow, and purple flowers.
5) Plant flowers in single species clumps for best results.

Providing Nest Sites
6) Warm season, clump-forming grasses provide bumble bee nest sites.
7) Have a mix of forbs and shrubs.
8) Don’t mow or hay entire grassy meadows or roadsides, leave some for pollinators.
9) Conserve habitat for rabbit burrows and groundhog burrows for bee nesting sites.
10) Reduce tillage and avoid plastic sheeting for ground nesting bees.

Reducing the Impact of Mowing and Spraying
11) Intensive mowing or grazing impacts abundance of bees.
12) Avoid or minimize the use of insecticides.

Pagoda Dogwood planted at Library last fall by HMEG

I went to check on the pagoda dogwood at the Library today and was surprised to find that not only had it leafed out, but the baby tree had friends! The tree was planted during the fall 2009 Hamline Midway Library celebration event. HMEG was there with information about trees and emerald ash borer (EAB). We also brought along a tree and with fellow neighbors' help, planted in front of the library where the ground's crew had approved. I am not sure who planted the tulips, but the act of volunteers planting a tree proved to be contagious.

Pagoda dogwood is a native Minnesota tree that is smaller in stature and is often found in understory situations. It has a horizontal branching that give it a Japanese feel. This particular pagoda came from the Como Corner Community Garden in SE Minneapolis where the pagodas there often produce seedlings.

Watch the HMEG Blog for more opportunities to plant trees over the next season.

SECIA Student Group Earth Day Plans- Come join the ride!

The SECIA U of MN Student Group has received a grant to do Earth Day celebrations during the month of April. Come and join the Ride (Facebook event) or check out these other April 22nd happenings.


MIMO at U Spring Jam on Campus

Stop by and visit the SECIA Student Group on the University's Coffman Plaza during Spring Jam! The group will have information about SECIA's the Move-In, Move-Out (MIMO) initiative, other green activities, and give-aways. Also, registration for the MIMO bike ride will be located here. (12PM-4PM)


Gardening and More at SECIA

From 12PM-5PM, visitors to the SECIA office can learn about gardening information, solar ovens, green cleaners and more. Further, we will have hands on demonstration on how you can make your own GrowBox for your deck or patio (2PM-4PM). The MIMO bike ride can be joined from here at about 4:45pm.



Group Bike Ride & MIMO Kick-off

Bring your bike and participate in a group ride that leaves SECIA at 4:45 PM and arrives at the U of M ReUse Center at 883 29th Ave SE around 5PM. The route follows 15th Ave SE and Como Ave SE and can be picked up along the way. The U of MN ReUse Center has generously agreed to host our MIMO Free Store in May/June. Come along to see where it's located and be treated to FREE non-alcoholic Como MIMOsas and other snacks! You can pre-register (not required) with alison@comogreenvillage.info or at the MIMO booth earlier that day at the University's Coffman Plaza.


These events sponsored MPCA, University of MN Student Activities Grants Initiatives, Neighborhood Revitalization Program

Permaculture Research Institute offering classes nearby the Midway

"Permaculture Research Institute-Cold Climate" is certainly a mouthful, but they are in important volunteer supported organization here in the Twin Cities who teach sustainable small scale food production. Their instructors are well practiced and have a lot to share. I am profiling their current offerings here for a couple of reasons.

First off, they have a class series running in Frogtown starting this week, which is much closer for Midwayites than their usual venues. Secondly, this series is being taught by fellow HMEGer, Courtney Tchida! Courtney promised us last year she would get a St. Paul class series going and happily that has worked.

Note, PRI classes are not free. There may be some scholarship arrangements for some of their classes. However, these classes are an investment and will arm you with enough information to gain a return on your investment.

Below is the information recently sent by PRI to their email subscribers:

April 13, 20, 27 6-8:30 PM and May 4,11 6-8:30 PM Learn small-scale techniques for growing food in urban areas, for your own family’s use or for urban markets. In response to widespread demand, we are repeating this updated Urban Farming series taught by Courtney Tchida. Basics of Organic Growing, Biointensive Growing, SPIN Farming, Field Layout & Design for Production, and Marketing Strategies & Options … choose any or all! $15 per class ($20 at the door) or all 5 for $60. (Click a course topic above for more details and registration.) __________ May 1 9 AM - 4 PM In one day, learn all you need to successfully grow food in our cold temperate climate, with special focus on urban gardens and African crop varieties. $60 more details

April 16 7-9 PM Lecture by entomologist Neil Cunningham gives an overview of biological strategies for insect management in edible landscapes. $15 April 17 9AM - 3PM Neil Cunningham and Dan Halsey lead a day of combined classroom and hands-on experience. Learn more about options for organic and biological pest controls and how they work. Design and install habitat for beneficial insects. $35 Receive a $5 discount when you register for both the lecture and the workshop! more details __________ May 15 1-5 PM Join others in the Twin Cities area as we continue to shape the permaculture collaborative's role within PRI Cold Climate and bring small groups together around specific permaculture projects. Free and open to all. more details

See all Upcoming Events on the front page left column of the PRI Cold Climate website.

Rain barrel and compost bin sale on now through the Recycling Association of Minnesota

Rain barrels and/or compost bins are available for Twin Cities residents to purchase from the Recycling Association of Minnesota. For those folks living in the Hamline Midway, you can also take the additional CRWD discount found here (pdf).
Order by 4/22/2010 to pick up at the Living Green Expo at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand North Parking Lot
May 1, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or May 2, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Accepting orders until April 22, 2010.

Compost Bin Available $55

The Earth Machine Dimensions: 33" x 33" Capacity: 10 cubic feet

Rain Barrel Styles Available:

Both styles $65

The Rain Catcher Dimensions: 24" W x 34" H Capacity: 54 gallons

	The Systern Dimensions: 34" H, 26.1" in diameter Capacity: 55 gallons

Payment by credit card only. Prices listed above do not include sales tax.

Rebates offered for residents residing in: -Capitol Region Watershed District -Ramsey-Washington Watershed District To find out more, CLICK HERE (pdf).
DIRECTIONS FOR ORDERING: -ST. PAUL (Living Green Expo): May 1-2 (pdf)

Community Garden Spring Resource Fair on Sat., March 27

This year's line-up is shaping up to be one of the most exciting Resource Fairs to date. Ashley Atkinson from Greening of Detroit is coming! She is a very respected community organizer, with expertise in community gardening and urban agriculture. Ashley will share her story and experiences in the keynote speech kicking off the Fair, and then presenting at two workshops later in the day.

Ashley is part of a collaborative that has created an inspiring real-life example of how to enhance neighborhood-based food production and make our communities more resilient and our community gardens more sustainable. Detroit's Cluster Networks have inspired Twin Cities community gardeners to think about a metro area where there is strong support for gardening at the neighborhood level-

* where community gardens are at the core of this community-based food system...
* where flower gardens are crucial to the livability of our communities and food production system -- we're all in it together!
* where neighbors are creating an infrastructure and network so that everyone interested in participating in a community food system can do so...
* where there is ongoing support and learning to improve how we garden for the yummiest yields while improving the health of environment at the same time.

But that's not all -- strong workshops, diverse exhibitors -- learn about what's happening in Minneapolis and St. Paul are enhancing local foods, hear what Extension is up to and pick up a Urban Soils Guide.

You can download and print the flyer at www.gardeningmatters.org//Events/2010Fair/SRF2010.pdf


The Sixth Annual Community Garden Spring Resource Fair
Saturday March 27th, 2010
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sabathani Community Center, 310 East 38th St, Minneapolis
Free Parking $5 Suggested Donation at Door

Keynote Ashley Atkinson, Director of Project Development and Urban Agriculture, The Greening of Detroit: How Detroit Works Together to Strengthen Neighborhood-Based Food Production. Twelve workshops, activities for the kids, and engaging educational displays throughout the day! Details and directions at http://comgar.blogspot.com/p/community-garden-spring-resource-fair.html or call Gardening Matters at 612-492-8964.

Hamline SPROUTS and Frances Moore Lappé: Hunger and the Food System

The season of learning has begun now that the gardens are near buttoned up. Reading, attending lectures, conferences, meeting with other folks with good ideas are thankfully re-appearing on the calendar.

This week, a Panel Discussion about Hunger and the Food System was put on by Hamline University's SPROUTS. The conversation was meaty and the panelists from IATP, Gardening Matters, HECUA, and MN Food & Justice did a fine job of connecting climate change, cultural barriers, poor quality food, wasted food, hunger and the need for community based change.

The delivery person spotted my hens and he asked, "Are the worth it?". He meant are the costs of hens and their upkeep really less than store bought eggs? I shared with him that backyard chickens are not just about getting eggs. Just as valuable is their ability to consume most of the food waste our 4-person household creates, and then make significant nutrient contributions to our urban soils via composting. All very true, however, what I did not bring up was that my homegrown eggs do not have any of the hidden costs which industrial food prices ignore. In the case of factory farmed eggs, the hidden costs include environmental, public health and societal hidden costs which never appear into their retail price. For example, how much of the price of factory farmed eggs does the farmer see? The SPROUT panel discussed that in the case of our population in hunger, calories-for-the-sake-of-calories may fill empty stomachs, but the long term chronic disease encouraged by America's cheap diet is certainly wrought with further hidden costs.

SPROUT-ites also heard that food waste reduction is a goal worth obtaining in the efforts to reduce hunger. As Addie Broyles of the Austin American-Statesman reveals, 25-50% of the food produced in this country goes to waste! Food that is produced, transported, and gotten to a market, home refrigerator or restaurant and then wastefully allowed to go bad or tossed because it doesn't meet some standard. There are known interventions to change this. It does not require sophisticated knowledge to implement smart purchasing, gleaning, or local foods initiatives. When the food waste percentage is seriously attacked, our hunger concerns will lessen, and so will greenhouse gases emitted from food buried landfills.

Frances Moore Lappé hit this message well on the Friday evening session of the Wisdom Ways Soul Conference, It's all tied together-- the choices we make in our dinner table ripple into the our food system and directly influence those around us.

Celebration of all Things Tomato

This is the time of year to revel in the tomatoes. The last hanging-on days before the first frost brings it all to an end. The colors, flavors, shapes and sizes seem endless.

In SE Como, the annual Tomato Tastin' Experience exploits the annual tomato bounty. Here, attendees of the Como Cookout get a chance to taste dozens of different tomato varieties side-by-side and then vote for their favorites. This year's Como Cookout is on September 20th from 2-5pm at Van Cleve Park.

Winning results from the past years' tastings are found on the Como Green Village website. It is a handy list for future seed ordering.

Recently, I discovered this new book that profiles hundreds of tomatoes and provides beautiful images too. Check out The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit by By Amy Goldman, Victor Schrager.

August is National Community Garden Awareness Month and 4th Annual Parade of Community Gardens

The 4th Annual Parade of Community Gardens!!
August 22nd - 10:00am to 2:00pm

There is a great group of community gardens participating this year on the Parade, all are bringing attention to & celebrating in these vital greenspaces in our communities! Forty community gardens from across the Twin Cities & greater Minnesota open their gardens to the public. Experience the unique and individual gardening efforts happening around the state. Gardens will feature a variety of attractions including music, cool treats, a goat, heirloom tomato festival, a beehive and more! Here are a couple profiles:

• At the Accord Community Garden in SE Como Minneapolis, visitors will find viola music, birthday cake and ice cream along with beautiful native plants under a one-of-a-kind sculpture.

• At the Midway Greenspirit Garden in the Midway, the feature will be the bees! Community beekeepers will be on hand to describe the symbiosis of having a hive in a community garden and what it entails.

The event is a free & self-guided tour, rain or shine. Details and brochure maps, in English & English/Spanish, can be found at www.gardeningmatters.org or call Gardening Matters at 612-492-8964.

Find more information on National Community Garden Awareness Month at OBSNews.com.

Midway Community Greening and Gardening gets busy

The Midway is bursting with community greening and gardening events this weekend. Time to enjoy the spoils of summer, join any or all!

These events are reflected on the Hamline Midway Community Gardening Calendar (see the events box on the right sidebar).

• Horton Park Community Garden time Sun, July 12, 12:00pm – 2:30pm. We may do a bit of watering, continue the pursuit of identifying grasses, lookover the beauties such as butterfly weed and its usual monarch caterpillars (see photo). Group info is here at the community garden's googlegroup.
  

• HM Rain Garden Tours Sun, July 12, 12pm – 2pm Where: Meet at the Hamline United Methodist Church raingarden located near the church parking lot at the intersection of Minnehaha at Simpson (Tour-goers are very welcome to make a pass through the Horton Community Garden time too!) Taproots is hosting walking tours of neighborhood raingardens to discuss and share wisdom about gardening, plant lore, and hydrology. Raingardens are a great way to deal with drainage problems, reduce runoff, improve water quality downstream, and strengthen native plants and the local ecology. For more information about the tours or Taproots, visit the group's blog at or contact Jonathan Dregni, 651-207-3539 or jdregni@yahoo.com.
  

• Midway Barter Market Sun, July 12, 1pm – 3pm Where: 1724 Englewood Ave Bring something to share if you can, we've seen CSA produce, jam, bread, fruits, homemade candles and soap, jewelry, cassette tapes, clothes, anything that's in good condition that someone else may want. It's an informal gathering that's lots of fun, and you get to take home stuff you want that someone else has too much of. Midway Barter Market also runs on Wednesday evening- see the calendar for more information
  

With all these events, we are sure to see you- Right?

Como Green Village Day on Saturday April 18th- All invited

Celebrate the beginning of spring, Earth Week AND the first year of a successful Como Green Village with SECIA on

When: April 18^th, 2009 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, rain or shine!

Where: Van Cleve Park and Van Cleve Recreation Center (here)

What: Como Green Village Day

• Como Eco-Exchange, a re-use event where residents in the neighborhood will trade and barter used goods;

• Bicycle Auction, a rehabbed bike auction supplying very affordable green transportation to students and residents;

• Green Talk, a round of demonstrations and presentations from local experts and organizations, including rain barrel painting!

• Rain Gardens, information about this beautiful way to improve water quality and the resources available to install yours.

• Rain Barrels, See how they work and place an order for your low-cost barrel
  

• Resource Fair, organizations, including student groups, exhibit their cause to participants of the event!

The event is sponsored by SECIA, the Southeast Como Improvement Association; the Neighborhood Revitalization Project; The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization; Metro Blooms, and the McKnight Foundation.

Aquaponics and more at the Community Garden Resource Fair

I plan to be at this event. I will be listening carefully about home scale aquaponics. Aquaponics are a fish tank that have hydroponic vegetation growing above the tank. The fish fertilize the plants, and the plants cleanup the water for the fish. They can be designed so you can harvest from the top and bottom! Just what an urban homestead needs. Ask me more after this event:


5th Annual Community Garden Resource Fair
When: March 28, 2009 9am to 4pm
Where: Unity Church-Unitarian, 732 Holly Ave, St Paul

Keynote: Paula Westmoreland, Permaculture Research Institute-Cold Climate
Workshops:

• Aquaponics 101
• The Urban Barnyard
• Doing More with Less: Superabundant Small Gardens
• Preserving Food Safely
• Breaching Barriers to Just Food
• Farm Dreams: Assessing Risks and Resources to Start a Farm Business
• Organic Soil Building
• Creative Consensus Building for Community Gardens
  

Kids Activities, Music, Resource Fair, Seed pick-up.....
& closing the day with a Town Hall Meeting on local food systems! Stay tuned for more Resource Fair details!

www.gardeningmatters.org