August 2009 Events: Food, Cooking, Farming, and Eating events in Ithaca and Tompkins County

Have an event to add?  Contact ithacasfoodweb@gmail.com (more farmers markets to come, and apologies for the weird formatting this month!).

Farm Trail Open House Weekend

Saturday & Sunday, August 1 & 2, 12:00-5:00 pm

Gather up friends and family and hit the Farm Trail!  Visit with local farmers, enjoy the scenery, taste the harvest and support local organic and sustainable farms. Bring a cooler and buy farm fresh products along the way. Farms to choose from feature organic veggies, apples, u-pick crops, pastured poultry, dairy, horses, alpacas, and even a camel! Your Farm Trail Tour Button ($2/person or $5/4 buttons) is your entry to the farms for one or both days. Buttons and maps are available at Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Greenstar Cooperative, or at the farms on the day of the tour. For a tour brochure and more information, call 607-272-2292!

Saturday, August 1st: Littletree Orchards in Newfield, White Dog Apiary, Newfield, Settlement Horse Stables, Spencer, Heaven Llama Farm (with llamas, alpaca, ducks, and a camel), Spencer, Locust Woods Blueberry Farm, Spencer, Plantasia Nursery, Spencer

Sunday, August 2nd: Cayuga Pure Organics Beanery, Brooktondale, Gardens of Earthly Mirth, Brooktondale, Three Sisters CSA Vegetable Farm, Ithaca, Quinn's Irish Hill Farm (pastured poultry), Freeville, Lew-Lin Dairy Farm, Dryden, Farmers' Choice Blueberries, Dryden

Ithaca Farmers' Market, August 1 and 2, 9 AM to 3 PM, Steamboat Landing, Third Street off Route 13 

Dilmun Hill-MacDaniels Nut Grove Farm Stand, August 4, 2009 - 3:00PM, Mann Library, Cornell University

Enjoy fresh veggies grown with enthusiasm? Come out and do your shopping at the student farm stand every week in front of Mann Library. You'll be supporting experiential learning in sustainable agriculture right here on Cornell's campus...check out our website for work days, visiting, events, etc.

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Tuesday August 4, 9 AM - 2 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets 

Farm Renewable Energy Field Day: Solar, Wind, and Water Energy at On Warren Pond Farm, August 5, 2009, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Trumansburg, NY.

Sam Warren has generated his own electricity on this off-the-grid farm since the mid-1990s using solar panels, windmills, and a water wheel. Light refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public. Pre-register by calling Violet Stone or Adrienne Masler at 607-255-9227, or send an e-mail to vws7@cornell.edu.  More info at: www.smallfarms.cornell.edu

Finger Lakes Culinary Annual Bounty Harvest Dinner, Thursday, August 6, 6:30-9:30 pm, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Geneva, NY, A locally sourced five course gourmet dinner paired with Finger Lakes Wines and stories of the farmers, producers, winemakers and the chefs themselves. Tickets required. For information, call Liz Karabinakis at 272-2292 or email evk4@cornell.edu. For reservations call 315-789-7190.

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Thursday August 6, 4 PM - 8 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

Ithaca Farmers' Market, August 8 and 9, 9 AM to 3 PM, Steamboat Landing, Third Street off Route 13 

Gardening in the City I , Tuesday, August 11, 6:30-8:00pm, 306 Utica Street, Ithaca 
FREE. At this address, four families gardening together have turned their entire back yard into a vegetable garden featuring raised beds, mulched rows, and a large variety of plants including artichokes, tomatoes, herbs, flowers, beans, peas and greens.  The garden is 40 ft x 60 ft. To mediate lead in the soil, 20 yards of composted manure and topsoil were added.  No chemicals used for pest management. NOTE: No formal tour is planned; meet the owners and speak with them informally about their gardens. So that we may track interest, please pre-register by calling Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County at (607) 272-2292. 

Freezing and Drying Foods, Tuesday, August 11 at 10:30am-12:30 pm, Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow St, Ithaca, NY  This $15 class will cover how to freeze fruits and vegetables to get the best results. Participants also will learn tips on blanching, packaging, and how to avoid the biggest freezing errors, as well as methods for dehydrating fruits, vegetables and jerky at home. Space is limited, and advance registration and pre-payment are required. For more information, please call Carole Fisher at 272-2292 or emailcrf11@cornell.edu.

Dilmun Hill-MacDaniels Nut Grove Farm Stand, August 11, 2009 - 3:00PM, Mann Library, Cornell University Enjoy fresh veggies grown with enthusiasm? Come out and do your shopping at the student farm stand every week in front of Mann Library. You'll be supporting experiential learning in sustainable agriculture right here on Cornell's campus...check out our website for work days, visiting, events, etc.

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Tuesday August 11, 9 AM - 2 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

‘Local Food Distribution’ At Empire Farm Days Local Food Summit, August 11^th from 10am-2pm, $30, Seneca Falls, The NYS Work Team on Local Foods and Local Markets will hold a summit on ‘Local Food Distribution’.  Cornell researcher Brian Henehan will talk about his distribution studies in the morning, followed by a panel of distribution experts from cooperative extension and the private sector. Pork BBQ lunch will be served about noon, followed by a presentation by Tom Strumolo of Greenmarket. Download an agenda at http://www.nyfarms.info/2009SummitAgenda.doc Download the registration at http://www.nyfarms.info/2009SummitRegistration.doc For further information contact Andrea at the NY Farms office, 607-535-9790. 

Empire Farm Days, August 11-13, 2009 - All day, Rodman Lott & Sons Farm, Rte. 414, Seneca Falls, NY, Empire Farm Days is the state's largest agricultural show with more than 600 exhibitors and 300 acres of displays and activities. The Cornell building will feature many exciting exhibits and activities promoting a variety of programs offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cooperative Extension, and the College of Veterinary Medicine built around the theme "Adding Value to NY Agriculture."

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Thursday August 13, 4 PM - 8 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets 

Ithaca Farmers' Market, August 15 and 16, 9 AM to 3 PM, Steamboat Landing, Third Street off Route 13

Organic Vegetable Research Farm Day, August 17 (Monday), 4-7PM Learn about organic seed varieties, season extension techniques, reduced tillage strategies and compost quality at the certified organic portion of Cornell Universitys Freeville Farm.  Researchers at the farm create specialized equipment for weed control and reduced tillage intensity, raise the bar in organic breeding for quality and disease resistance, investigate nutrient management through cover cropping, and explore early production of warm-season crops in high tunnel production.  The field day will begin with a brief overview of the farm projects will begin in the Thompson lab followed by in-field sessions with individual researchers designed for hands-on learning.   Questions?  Contact Melissa Madden, mam233@cornell.edu.   Directions:  The 30 acre Freeville Organic Research Farm is part of the Homer C. Thompson Vegetable Research Farm in Freeville, NY, located about 10 miles northeast of Cornell's Ithaca campus. (From the CU campus, follow Rt. 366 to Freeville and go straight through the 4-way stop to the farm about 1 mile beyond Freeville.  Turn left at Ed Hill Road and park in the Thompson lab lot.  The address is 133 Fall Creek Rd., Freeville 13068) 

Gardening in the City II 
Tuesday, August 18, 6:30-8:00pm, 3 gardens at N. Geneva & Cascadilla Streets in Ithaca
FREE.  Learn about intensive backyard gardening and a variety of sustainable gardening practices including water catchments, permaculture design, intensive raised beds, featuring herbs, vegetables and small fruits. NOTE: No formal tour is planned; meet the owners and speak with them informally about their gardens. Visitors should meet at 438 N. Geneva (second house from Cascadilla) and look for signs at each open garden. So that we may track interest, please pre-register by calling Cooperative Extension at (607) 272-2292. 

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Tuesday August 18, 9 AM - 2 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

Making and Canning Fresh Salsa, Tuesday, August 18 at 6:30-9:00 pm, Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow St, Ithaca, NY, This $15 course covers how to make salsa using fresh local ingredients, and how to preserve it by using a boiling water bath canner. Space is limited, and advance registration and pre-payment are required. For more information, please call Carole Fisher at 272-2292 or emailcrf11@cornell.edu.

Dilmun Hill-MacDaniels Nut Grove Farm Stand, August 18, 2009 - 3:00PM, Mann Library, Cornell University, Enjoy fresh veggies grown with enthusiasm? Come out and do your shopping at the student farm stand every week in front of Mann Library. You'll be supporting experiential learning in sustainable agriculture right here on Cornell's campus...check out our website for work days, visiting, events, etc.

Creative Agriculture: Approaches to Sustainability on the Farm, August 19-20th, The Inn on the Lake, Canandaigua, NY. Hosted by the Finger Lakes Sustainable Farming Center, this conference showcases creative ideas and practices in the Finger Lakes Region of New York to inspire the work of agriculture professionals and farmers in the Northeast. This conference is directed to everyone directly affiliated with agriculture: Extension, NRCS, SWCD, and other agriculture service agency personnel, farmers, land use professionals, community developers, and sustainability advocates throughout the Northeast.  More information about the conference and registration forms are available on-line at www.FingerLakesSustainableFarming.org

 Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Thursday August 20, 4 PM - 8 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

Ithaca Farmers' Market, August 22 and 23, 9 AM to 3 PM, Steamboat Landing, Third Street off Route 13

Late Blight Lecture, Tues, Aug 25 7-8:30 at CCE-TC  By now many gardeners have seen first-hand what the late blight fungus can do to ruin a tomato crop.  Perhaps your potatoes are also infected?  If you want to learn more about the fungus that causes this disease, how it is spread and overwinters, plan to attend a class with Cornell Plant Pathologist, Dr. William Fry, who has spent a career studying this fungus. Dr. Fry will be speaking at Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Avenue in Ithaca on Tuesday, August 25, from 7-8:30 PM. This informational meeting is FREE, however due to limited space, please call or email to let us know that you will attend - (607) 272-2292 or email growline@cornell.edu.

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Tuesday August 25, 9 AM - 2 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

Dilmun Hill-MacDaniels Nut Grove Farm Stand, August 25, 2009 - 3:00PM. Mann Library, Cornell University, Enjoy fresh veggies grown with enthusiasm? Come out and do your shopping at the student farm stand every week in front of Mann Library. You'll be supporting experiential learning in sustainable agriculture right here on Cornell's campus...check out our website for work days, visiting, events, etc.

Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Thursday August 27, 4 PM - 8 PM, Dewitt Park, Cayuga and Buffalo Streets

Ithaca Farmers' Market, August 29 and 30, 9 AM to 3 PM, Steamboat Landing, Third Street off Route 13