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Released: February 11, 2004 Workshops Being Offered on Basics of Growing Food MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas/Missouri Growing Growers Program is offering its first two in-depth, single-subject workshops this spring, as part of a goal to expand market-garden production in the Kansas City “food shed” – the land within 100 miles of the greater metropolitan area. “Soil Building for Vegetable and Fruit Crops” will be March 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lansing, Kan., 4-H Building. “Plant Production for the Vegetable Grower” will be April 12 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the St. Clair County Library in Osceola, Mo. “The training part of our program is designed to help people learn what they need to know to get into producing organic, sustainably grown fresh foods. We’re targeting both existing and aspiring growers,” said Ted Carey, program coordinator and an Olathe-based Kansas State University Research and Extension horticulturist. The workshops also are open to the public. “Advanced home gardeners and horticultural retailers might also be interested in learning more about this approach to growing food crops,” Carey said. The series that the two workshops introduce will be led by experienced growers, plus faculty from K-State and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Most of the sessions will include a related farm visit. Workshop registration information is on the Web (http://www.growinggrowers.org/). Additional information is available by calling 913-488-1270 or e-mailing <growers@ksu.edu>. Good soils are the basis for growing any organic, sustainable crop. So, they were a natural as the workshop series’ lead topic, Carey said. The first workshop will cover: * The basics of soils and soil tests, * The microscopic creatures that help create healthy soil, * The management practices that affect the availability of soil nutrients, and * Making and using compost and “compost tea.” The day-long session will end with a tour of a soil-building program in operation at Paul Conway’s Leavenworth, Kan., market-garden farm. The cost for attending, including lunch, is $30 in advance and $33 on March 6. April’s late-afternoon workshop on growing vegetable crops will cover the basics of getting horticultural plants started, as well as provide insights on how to select top-selling varieties and how to develop a season-long production calendar. It will conclude with a tour of Bear Creek Farm, an Osceola, Mo., certified-organic market garden that produces vegetables, fruits and herbs in a greenhouse, six “high tunnels” and five acres of land. Registration for the vegetable workshop is $15 in advance and $18 on April 12. Growing Growers is planning other workshops for each month through 2004, according to program manager Katherine Kelly. Details will be posted on the Growing Growers Web site as they become available for each workshop. The still-developing schedule now includes: May - Integrating Meat and Dairy Into Your Vegetable Operation June - Small Farm Health and Safety Practices. July - Slow Down and Taste Your Food August - Pests and Diseases and Weeds September - Post-Harvest Handling Practices November - Mechanization for Vegetable Production December - Selling Your Locally Produced Food Products in Kansas City. Funding for the Growing Growers Program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA-SARE). Cooperating in developing the program are K-State Research and Extension, University of Missouri Extension and Outreach, the Kansas Rural Center, and the growers’ group that calls itself the Kansas City Food Circle. -30- K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan. Story by: Katherine Kelly is at 913-488-1270 and Edward (Ted) Carey is at 913-645-0007 |