June 3rd Gardening Class.

I am getting excited about our June 3rd Feeding your Garden Class.

We are going to talk about different ways to get your plants all the nutrients they need, starting with feeding your soil and moving onto your plants. We will talk about different recipes for a garden.

We will talk about the big 3- NPK, and why they are important, but not the end of the story. We will talk about micro nutrients and more.

I am most excited about showing people how to make their own compost tea, a wonderful, inexpensive, and easy to make way to enhance the biological activity of your soil! A healthy plant starts with biological activity in your soil!

This past winter we went to a farming conference. The presenter made a joke about organic farmers (to which everyone in the room laughed,) and right after that he went on to say that he had done research on Compost Tea and was a strong believer in it!

Seed Saving Class...

Where are you going to get your heirloom tomatoes this year? Where can you find a selection including Hillbilly, Brandywine, Garden Peach, Box Car Willee, Black Krin, Purple Cherokee, Plum Lemon, San Marzaon, Matt's Wild Cheery and more then 15 others along with heirloom peppers, a selection of herbs, lettuce, cabbage, and more? And where can you get them for an average price of about 83 cents each?

Easy! You can take our seed saving class next Saturday (April 10th) and walk away with a tray of 72 seedlings you started and the confidence to care for them yourself...

Check out details here: and email us with any questions or to register. (Preregistration is required.)

Snow again...

See, I told you spring was not here yet! Not quite!

We do live in Ohio and although we have had an amazing mid March we do normally average (in Akron 8.9 inches of snow in March AND 2.5 inches in April.

We AVERAGE 0.1 inches in May and a trace in June!

Remember our last average frost day is still 7 weeks away! We still have plenty of time for ugly weather.

That being said, if you are feeling the gardening urge, maybe signing up for our Seed starting class April 10th would satisfy that urge!

Starting your own Seeds
April 10th 2:00 – 4:00

In this two hour class you will start your own seeds.
We will learn the basics of starting your own seeds, growing your own transplants, caring for the seedlings, and giving them a good start in the garden.
You will leave the class with a flat of 72 tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil, lettuce, cabbage, and more... The class includes all materials including tray, seeds, and humidity dome. A wide variety of seed, many heirloom, will be available for you to choose from. You are free to mix and match in any combination you desire. So if you do not like eggplants or hot peppers you will be free to make other choices.
$60 ($20.00 class & $40.00 Material fee)
$10 for second person when registering together and sharing all materials (including tray).

First canning class...

Today we had our first ever Canning Class at the farm. It went really well, but I learned a lot, like everything ALWAYS takes longer in real life then in your head or on paper. But my "Guinea Pigs" were very kind. I had said the class would start at 4 and end around 6. We started a couple minutes after 4 but did not end until 7:30.

In that time the 6 of us made 24 jars of pepper jelly and 16 jars of salsa. Everyone went home with 3 jars of pepper jelly and 2 jars of salsa.

All in all I think it went well. I think the group opinion was not to do less but to just plan on scheduling more time.

I hope everyone walked away with the confidence to try their own canning at home. I feel like Julie in Julie & Julia "No fear! No fear!" Easy and safe as long as you follow some basic rules.

I guess more classes are in our future! Need to buy more stuff!

Canceled class

I am sorry to anyone who has signed up for our "Starting Your Own Seeds" Classes on March 29 we are canceling the class due to a family emergency. We will probably also cancel the April 5th class depending on what the next few days bring.

I hope to offer the class on April 11th , which seems late for starting seeds but is really not. Tomatoes which should not go in the garden until late May should be started about 6 weeks before, which would be April 13! That is actually the week that we are scheduled to start them for our farm...

I will be sending individual emails out to people who already signed up tomorrow (I hope) as soon as I can get back to my home computer for a few hours where all my emails are. I will offer the option of taking the April 12th class or a refund.

I am sorry, if you signed up. The circumstances could not be helped.

Classes!

We have updated our class list! Please let us know if you are interested in our spring series... All classes are one day, a couple are offered twice.)

2009 Spring Series

• Resolution - Garden (March 5th & March 22nd)
  
• Starting Your Own Seeds (March 29th & April 5th)
  
• Backyard Organic Pest Control (May17th)
  
• Backyard Organic Fertilizers (May 5th)