Spring Into Gardening, 3/29 at CCE Tompkins

Announcement:

Spring Into Gardening
Saturday March 29, 9 am - 5 pm
Cornell Cooperative Extension-Tompkins County
615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY

Had enough of winter yet? Start spring off on the right foot by learning skills to grow, cook and preserve your own fresh organic fruits and veggies!

This year's Spring Into Gardening theme is Gardening and Climate Change - learn how sound gardening practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while reducing your 'food miles'. There will also be classes on preserving the harvest and cooking with renewable energy sources.

Cost: $8.00 per workshop, or register for four different workshops for just $25!

Workshop descriptions and a downloadable brochure are available at http://ccetompkins.org/garden/spring-gardening

Spaces are limited! Call CCE's reception desk at 607-272-2292 to register or download a brochure and send it in with your workshop choices. For more information contact Chrys Gardener at cab69@cornell.edu

Spring Into Gardening 2014 – Workshop Descriptions
9:00 am – 10:30 am
Gardening in a Warmer Climate: Gardeners and farmers know that our climate is changing and we have to adapt our growing methods. Climate change means increased opportunities, such as a longer frost-free season and warmer temperatures for heat-loving crops, but it also can bring challenges such as droughts and new insect pests and diseases. The Master Gardeners will share some tips for taking advantage of the longer growing season and new plants to try out in your garden, as well as information on preparing your garden for longer dry spells and dealing with new insect pests and diseases.

Water-Wise Gardening: Climate change is altering the rainfall patterns – our region is predicted to receive fewer rain events of increased intensity. Gardeners need to be prepared to harvest and store rainwater to use during dry spells, and also to design gardens that can absorb run-off during heavy storms. Sharon Anderson, CCE Environmental Program Leader, will present information on using rainwater harvesting systems and planting 'rain gardens'.

10:45 am – 12:15 pm
Composting Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases: We all know how composting can reduce our trash disposal costs, but did you know that, when done properly, composting can also help reduce greenhouse gases? Composting helps sequester carbon in soils, improves the water-holding capacity of soils, and reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizers and pesticides. The Master Composters will share information on the best composting methods and techniques.

Extending the Growing Season: Learn about different strategies to extend the growing season into the fall and winter. Margo Hittleman and Richard Lansdowne will present information on constructing high tunnels and low tunnels to grow greens all winter, and Chrys Gardener will talk about solar greenhouses, which require no additional heat and can be used to grow salad greens in winter. There will also be a hands-on demonstration on constructing an inexpensive light stand from PVC to grow plants under fluorescent lights.

Canning Garden Fruits and Vegetables: Canning is a great way to preserve some of the garden harvest for winter. This class covers the science of food preservation and how to safely can high-acid foods,, such as tomatoes, fruits or pickles. Participants will receive up-to-date information and see a demonstration of canning by CCE Consumer Educator Carole Fisher.

12:15 pm – 1:14 pm: Lunch Bring a brown bag lunch to eat at CCE or go out to a restaurant or café downtown

1:15 pm - 2:45 pm
Unusual Fruits and Perennial Vegetables for the Ithaca Area: Sean Dembrosky, owner of Edible Acres in Trumansburg, will talk about less-common fruits such as paw-paw, persimmon, hardy kiwi , currant and jostaberry, and perennial vegetables such as cardoon, sea kale, skirret and air potato. Sean will also lead a hands-on demonstration on taking cuttings from jostaberry and hardy kiwi. Participants will take home cuttings from these plants for their own gardens.

Using Biochar as a Soil Amendment: There's a lot of buzz lately about biochar and its role in boosting soil fertility and sequestering carbon in soils. Created through a process called pyrolysis, biochar locks in and stabilizes carbon that decomposing green waste would otherwise release back into the atmosphere as CO2. In the form of biochar, that carbon can be returned to the soil where it will continue to store carbon while increasing water retention and air capacity as well as providing habitat for soil microbiology, which helps cycle nutrients. John Gaunt from GreenTree Garden Supplies will talk about what biochar is and how to use it, and he'll have biochar samples to show.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Worm Composting: No space for an outdoor compost pile? The Master Composters will teach you all you need to know about "vermicomposting," an indoor composting system that is easy and produces particularly rich compost for your garden and houseplants. Participants go home with a working worm bin. There is an additional materials fee of $15 per household (payable directly to the instructor on the day of the class).

Cooking with Renewable Energy : You have grown and harvested your garden vegetables in the most sustainable way possible, now learn to cook those vegetables using sustainable and renewable energy sources. Joey Gates, proprietor of Sol Kitchen, will show different types of solar cookers and talk about solar cooking techniques as well as cooking on a woodstove.

Freezing and Dehydrating Garden Fruits and Vegetables: Learn how to preserve your garden harvest to feed your family throughout the winter. Carole Fisher, CCE Consumer Educator, will demonstrate techniques on freezing fruits and vegetables to get the best results. You'll learn tips on blanching, packaging, and how to avoid freezing errors, as well as methods for dehydrating fruits and vegetables.

Finger Lakes LandLink aims to connect landowners with landless farmers

News from Groundswell:

Finger Lakes LandLink Inaugural Meeting March 18^th

The Finger Lakes LandLink website is live and ready for landowner and farmer listings.  Visit the website at www.fingerlakeslandlink.org.  Landowners willing to make land available for farming and farmers looking for land can sign up on the website to list their properties or farming profile. 

There will be an informational and networking meeting on March 18^th, 7 pm at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County office on Willow Ave. in Ithaca.  This meeting is geared towards farmers and landowners interested in participating in the LandLink program, and will provide an opportunity for them to connect.  In addition to an overview of the project and website, we will answer questions regarding how LandLink will work and resources that are available for successful arrangements.

Finger Lakes LandLink is a project of Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County and Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming.  The LandLink project is a free service to help landowners and farmers connect.  For more information contact, Ian Bailey, at idb6@cornell.edu or call Cooperative Extension (Monika Roth) at 607-272-2292.  Please confirm with CCE if you plan to attend the March 18 meeting. 

Class: Introduction to Seed Saving (3-11-14)

Class:

Introduction to Seed Saving
Tuesday, March 11, 6:30-8:30 pm

Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Avenue Ithaca

Cost: $5-$10 self-determined sliding scale

To register, please call 607-272-2292 or email cab69@cornell.edu

Saving your own seeds is a fascinating and rewarding skill that can help increase self-sufficiency and save money while increasing agricultural biodiversity. This class will cover basic information to get you started saving your own vegetable, herb and flower seeds this summer. Learn the difference between open pollinated and hybrid varieties, which types of seeds are easiest to save, cross-pollination vs. self-pollination, and how to easily incorporate seed saving into your food and flower gardens.

Garden Educators Networking meeting on 3/4 at Cooperative Extension

Announcement:

The Gardens 4 Humanity (G4H) program hopes to build a stronger school gardening community in Tompkins County, and could use your help in communicating with interested teachers, parents and school staff.  

G4H Garden Educators Network: School Gardens
Tuesday, March 4, 6:30-8:30pm
at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca 14850 

School gardens and youth agriculture projects offer a unique educational opportunity and Tompkins County is rich with successful examples. The Garden Educators Network seeks to bring current and aspiring school garden leaders together to share resources and ideas while building a strong local school gardens movement.  Learn about starting and sustaining a school garden  and how to integrate a school garden into Common Core Curriculum, with Wayne Gottlieb and Audrey Baker. Gottlieb is a 7th grade science at DeWitt Middle School who has used gardens in the curriculum for 14 years;  Baker is a Director and co-founder of Wood's Earth, a new farm to school organization in the Ithaca Area. Baker also works with imprisoned youth and adults on food issues. After the panel, time will be allotted for Q&A, networking and the sharing of ideas. Free and open to the public. Questions? Contact Josh Dolan, Gardens 4 Humanity, at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County  (607) 272-2292.

Interested teachers, parents and staff also can stay up to date on what's going on with the G4H Garden Educators Network by joining our Google Group at: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/garden-educators-network

Job Announcement: Farm Manager, School Food Production at Wood's Earth in Ithaca, NY

Job Announcement:

Farm Manager
School Food Production

Part-time, Seasonal

Wood's Earth
A Project of the Center for Transformative Action

Application Deadline: Monday, March 3, 2014
Position Summary:

We are looking for an outgoing person with a strong background in farm management and a commitment to community-based food systems to manage our 1.5 acre school food production farm in Ithaca, NY. The Farm Manager will manage production and distribution of specific crops to be sold to the Ithaca City School District's central kitchen. The bulk of the job will be seeding, soil preparation, planting, cultivation, harvest, processing, delivery, ordering supplies, and coordination and management of crews made up of teens and volunteers. The Farm Manager will also help lead hands-on farm field trips for a range of youth age groups.

Mid-March through October, approximately 15-20 hours per week.

Skills desired:

· Farm management

· Ease working with people of diverse ages and backgrounds

· Excellent organizational and time management skills

· Staff and volunteer management

· Planning and record keeping

· Independence and initiative

· Creativity, passion and positivity

· Youth engagement

Application Process:
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, résumé or CV, and a list of 3 professional references to: woodsearthclass@gmail.com.

The Center for Transformative Action is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applicants from all backgrounds.

More Information:
For more about Wood's Earth, visit www.woodsearth.com.

Upcoming farm classes at the Ovid Library

From the Ovid Library: 

The Ford Memorial Library will be hosing the following farm related classes sponsored by the Delavan Foundation in 2014: 

*Fruit Tree Pruning with John Reynolds of Daring Drake Farm.  Learn how to rejuvenate an older orchard.  Free, registration required. Sat. March 29, 10am-12:30pm.  Location in Lodi, contact the library for more information.

*Fruit Tree Grafting with John Reynolds of Daring Drake Farm.  Learn the history, lore and mechanics of fruit tree grafting and leave class with 2 apple trees to plant.  $3 class fee.  Registration required.  Thursday, April 10, 6-8:30pm.

*Shiitake Mushroom Workshop with Steve Sierigk.  Sat. April 26, 10am-1pm.  Learn the basics of growing Shiitake mushrooms on hardwood logs.  Steve will also discuss the medicinal uses of mushrooms and how to set up your own oyster totem.  Registration required.  Class fee $15 for an inoculated log.

*Library Plant Sale.  Sat. May 10.  9am-noon.  Flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruit trees and bushes, hanging baskets and more.  We love to receive community donations of plants.  Some great finds to be found at our 5th annual sale.  All proceeds benefit the library.

For more information, please contact:

Edith B. Ford Memorial Library

7169 N. Main Street, PO Box 410

Ovid, NY 14521

ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

www.ovidlibrary.org

Looking for local, organic seeds?

Check out Fruition Seeds in Naples, NY:


(note: this is their Kickstarter video, but their fundraising effort is complete)

Free online instructional videos feature Ithaca-area small farms and their production techniques

Announcement from Cornell Small Farms:

If you'd like to get an insider's glimpse at production techniques on local organic and sustainable farms, check out the beautiful videos made by Ithaca videographer Peter Carroll. All videos are posted on the Cornell Small Farms Program's YouTube channel. Featured local farms include: Kingbird, Northland Sheep Dairy, Muddy Fingers, Silver Queen, Westhaven, and Sweet Land.

If you think these videos are a great resource, please consider supporting Peter's effort to produce more free clips! Until Dec. 27, 2013, he's running crowdfunding campaign at http://igg.me/at/smallfarmingvideos/x/5063803. Peter already has a lot more footage that could be made into clips, including footage from Black Diamond installing a new orchard and demonstrating all aspects of tree fruit management, Northland Sheep Dairy farming with draft animal power, and Muddy Fingers and Sweet Land Farm building and growing veggies in a hoophouse.

Public Hearing to Examine Policies, Programs and Funding Promoting New York Farm Products

Notice of Public Hearing

New York State has been promoting New York foods and beverages for over 30 years, through various programs, mainly in the Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Such programs include:

Pride of NY

TasteNY 

FreshConnect 

Harvest Fest

Farm-to-School 

I Love NY (agri-tourism and local food and beverage festivals)

The Committee and Task Force on Food, Farm, and Nutrition Policy would like to receive testimony on the effectiveness and adequacy of the State's promotion efforts and how they could be enhanced.

To that end, a public hearing on promoting NY Farm products will be held by the:

ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
ASSEMBLY TASK FORCE ON FOOD, FARM AND NUTRITION POLICY

to review and examine policies, programs and funding promoting New York farm products.

ALBANY, NY
Tuesday
December 10, 2013
11:00 am
Roosevelt Hearing Room C
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248

To attend, submit comments, or sign up to receive future notices, see the online announcement here:

http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Agri/20131101/

Ithaca Community Seed Swap (11/24/13)

Announcement:

Ithaca Community Seed Swap
Sunday November 24, 10 am - 3 pm
Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY

Bring your home-saved seeds (or surplus purchased seeds) to share with others, pick up some seeds for spring planting, learn how to clean seeds, get tips on starting plants from seed for next year's garden, and join in on 'Seed Dating' to connect with other seed savers and gardeners! Cost: $5.00 donation, or free if you bring seeds to share.

For more information and guidelines on bringing seed to swap, go tohttp://ccetompkins.org/calendar/13/11/06/community-seed-swap-seed-workshops. For more information, contact Chrys Gardener at cab69@cornell.edu

Protecting Farmland to Grow Local Food Economies Focus of Albany Conference (11/20/13)

Announcement from the American Farmland Trust:

Dear Friend,

Emerging economic opportunities in New York—such as food hubs, Greek yogurt or farm-based beer, wine and spirits production—are closely tied with food and agriculture. Yet, the foundation of this robust industry is at risk as farmland is lost to real estate development. 450,000 acres of farmland—the equivalent of almost 5,000 farms—have been paved over by subdivisions and strip malls in New York since the early 1980s.

To address this threat, New York State established the Farmland Protection Program in 1996. The program has provided more than $100 million to permanently protect more than 200 farms across New York while enabling more than 50 counties and 75 towns to develop local strategies for protecting farmland and expanding economic opportunities for farmers.

But when funding for the Farmland Protection Program was slashed during the economic meltdown of 2008, the state was faced with funding commitments of more than $70 million to 61 farm families to aid them in protecting their land. Since then, no new funding applications have been sought by the Department of Agriculture and Markets. That was five years ago.

Today, things are much better. The State of New York, in partnership with local governments, land trusts and farmers, have completed most of these outstanding farmland protection projects. At the same time, growing numbers of farmers across New York are interested in permanently protecting their farmland from development with conservation easements. Many of these families who want to protect their farms plan to use these funds to reinvest in their agricultural operations by upgrading equipment, constructing new buildings, purchasing additional farmland and bringing a new generation into the farm business.

The future for protecting farmland in New York will be a primary focus of the upcoming Harvesting Opportunities in New York conference that will be held on November 20 in Albany. The conference focuses on growing local food economies and protecting farmland.





Workshops will address key topics such as strategies to keep farmland affordable for next generation farmers; funding and program priorities for local, state and federal farmland protection programs; community planning for wine, beer and spirits; engaging the public in saving farmland; and new research about the efforts of the federal government and land trusts to permanently protect farmland across America.


To learn more about growing local food economies and protecting farmland in New York register today for Harvesting Opportunities in New York, November 20.


Remember: No Farms No Food®!


Sincerely,






David Haight
New York State Director
American Farmland Trust

Event: Farming and Nature: Looking at It from Both Sides (11/4/13)

Announcement:

Farming and Nature: Looking at It from Both Sides
Monday, November 4, 2013 at 12:20pm to 1:10pm
Plant Science Building, 404
Dr. Conrad Vispo, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program

The Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program has spent 10 years exploring the semi-agricultural landscape of Columbia County. How do past and present agriculture shape the ecology of the land we see today? And how, in turn, may modern farming benefit from the wild organisms in the land around it? The talk reviews what we have learned and describes the future projects we are considering.
Department of Horticulture seminars meet 12:20 to 1:10 p.m. most Mondays when classes are in session in Plant Science Room 404 and via Polycom to Geneva A134 Barton Hall.
Seminars are open to all. Refreshments served.

Successful Trumansburg Farm for Sale

After seven years of successful farming and building a loyal CSA following, Sweetland Farm owners Evangeline and Paul have announced that their farm is for sale, citing personal reasons.

On the Sweetland Farm website, Evangeline wrote "Paul and I love Sweet Land.  Sweet Land Farm is a place of nourishment, beauty, and abundance for so many people, ourselves included. Often at the farm I would catch myself looking up and would not quite believe that the farm was real because it was so gorgeous, and because the time between inception to fruition was mind bogglingly fast as far as farms go.  It filled us with wonder to watch what we imagined and dreamed become reality." 

The price for the buildings, land, and fruit and garden plantings is $400,000. Farm equipment is available at an additional cost. More details at: Sweetland Farm for Sale.

Book Tour: "Resilient Farm and Homestead" by Ben Falk: Cortland 10/22; Cornell: 10/23; Hartwick: 10/24

Announcement:

Upcoming tour for author Ben Falk, a Vermont homesteader and permaculture expert. His newly released book is called The Resilient Farm and Homestead: An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach. He will be making the following stops at the end of the month:

Tues, Oct. 22 @ 7pm – SUNY Cortland, public lecture

Wed, Oct. 23 @ 4pm – Cornell, workshop at the Dilmun Hill Organic Student Farm

Thur, Oct. 24 @ 7pm – Hartwick College, public lecture

Fri, Oct. 25 – quick detour to speak at Bioneers by the Bay

Sat, Oct. 26 @ 3:30pm – UAlbany Harvest Festival, featured speaker

Ben Falk, M.A.L.D, developed Whole Systems Design, LLC, as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben's integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. His home landscape and the WSD studio site in Vermont's Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground for the innovative land developments featured in the projects of Whole Systems Design. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds master of arts in landscape design degree. He has taught design courses at the University of Vermont and Harvard's Arnold Arboretum as well as on permaculture design, microclimate design, and design for climate change. He recently served on the board of directors at the Yestermorrow Design-Build School, where he also teaches from time to time.

http://www.chelseagreen.com

West Hill Community Garden Plots Available

Announcement:

West Hill Community Garden Plots Available

West Hill Community Garden

Linderman Creek off of NYS Rt. 79
at the end of Conifer Drive

Water, Compost, Mulch and Tools provided
20 x 20 plots available
Need not be a Town Resident to Join.


Sign Up Meeting on Thursday, October 17, 2013
1PM-3PM and 5PM-7PM
Linderman Conference Room

Clean Up and Party at the Garden
Saturday, October 19, 2013 from 10AM-2PM
Rain date October 26, 2013 from 10AM-2PM

Website www.town.ithaca.ny.us
Contact: Paulette Terwilliger 273-1721 or townclerk@town.ithaca.ny.us

Class: Grow salad greens in winter

Announcement:

Growing Salad Greens in Winter

Thursday October 10, 6:30-8:30 pm

Cornell Cooperative Extension – 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca

Call 272-2292 to pre-register

The onset of cold weather does not necessarily mean an end to growing vegetables in upstate NY. Greens such as lettuce, mizuna, bok choi, arugula, kale, spinach and mustard are very cold-hardy and don't mind the short winter days. CCE educator Chrys Gardener will show slides of two types of winter salad green production using low outdoor tunnels and solar greenhouses. There will also be discussion on growing salad greens indoors using fluorescent lights, and a demonstration on constructing a low-cost PVC light stand for growing winter salads and starting spring seedlings.

Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale fee. Please call CCE at 272-2292 to pre-register, or email Chrys Gardener at cab69@cornell.edu.

- See more at: http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/13/09/25/growing-salad-greens-winter

Work Parties at MacDaniels Nut Grove

Announcement:

LEARN ABOUT AGROFORESTRY & FOREST FARMING…
during Fall Semester WORK PARTIES at Cornell's MacDaniels Nut Grove

THURSDAYS
Oct 10, Oct 17, Nov 7

4:30pm - 7pm

The MacDaniels Nut Grove is a forest farming and agroforestry research and education center located in the Cornell Plantations Upper Cascadilla Natural Area. The 5-acre site, just east of Cornell Orchards, was originally planted in the 1930s by pioneering horticulturist Dr. L.H. MacDaniels (1888-1986). Neglected for decades, researchers and students began renovating the site and establishing new research projects since 2002. The site currently boasts demonstrations of a wide range of crops that can be grown in the forest, including mushrooms, wild leeks, ginseng, ornamental plants, nuts, and fruits like paw paw.

Read more at: http://blogs.cornell.edu/mushrooms/nutgrove/

Work Parties will engage participants in a range of infrastructure and site improvements. We will gather and work from 4:30 - 7pm on a variety of projects including trail work, planting, mulching, mushroom inoculation, and more. In addition to conducting agroforestry research at Cornell,Steve and Ken are co-authoring a book on the subject, see www.FarmingTheWoods.com.

The event is FREE and open to the public, we ask that you come and be prepared to work in the fall weather, please wear close-toed shoes and bring water to drink.

Questions can be directed to Steve, sfg53@cornell.edu

Open House at MacDaniels Nut Grove, 10/6/13

Announcement:

MACDANIELS NUT GROVE OPEN HOUSE
Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 1:00pm to 4:30pm

Mushrooms, fruit, ginseng and other medicinal plants can all be farmed in the forest. Explore cornell's crops under the canopy, taste nuts and paw paws, and take home your own log inoculated with shiitake mushrooms!

The MacDaniels Nut Grove is a forest farming and agroforestry research and education center located in the Cornell Plantations Upper Cascadilla Natural Area. The 5-acre site, just east of Cornell Orchards, was originally planted in the 1930s by pioneering horticulturist Dr. L.H. MacDaniels (1888-1986).

Neglected for decades, researchers and students began renovating the site and establishing new research projects since 2002. The site currently boasts demonstrations of a wide range of crops that can be grown in the forest, including mushrooms, wild leeks, ginseng, ornamental plants, nuts, and fruits like Paw Paw.

MacDaniels Nut Grove is located near Cornell Orchards, behind the Library Annex. From Rt. 366, turn at the traffic light onto Palm Road, then take your first right onto Book Road to the Mann Library Annex parking lot.

See a Map and read more at: http://blogs.cornell.edu/mushrooms/nutgrove/
The event is FREE and open to the public.
Questions can be directed to Steve, sfg53@cornell.edu

Event: Food Sovereignty and Social Movements with Judite Stronzake (10/4/13)

Announcement:

 Local organizations will host dialogue and study on the issues of education, food justice and global social movements with Judite Stronzake of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) this fall.

Organized under the auspices of the Paulo Freire Engaged Practitioners Program of the Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR), Ms. Stronzake's visit will connect with rural, urban and student audiences in Central New York and along the East Coast for a month beginning September 20.

For more information:
http://www.elr.cornell.edu/news/cuslar-presents-landless-workers-movement

http://cuslar.org/

Conference: Organic and Sustainable Gardening in a Warmer Planet

Announcement: 

Organic and Sustainable Gardening in a Warmer Planet During this two-day conference presented by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, leading researchers from Cornell University will offer informative sessions on practical tools for successful gardening in the face of extreme weather events and a warmer climate.

Dates/times: Friday, October 4; 1:00 - 9:00 p.m, Saturday, October 5; 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fee: $75 two-day registration fee; Deadline for registration is Friday, September 27. Location: Cornell Plantations Botanical Garden and Kennedy Hall Call Auditorium Click here to learn more and register.