Grow your own food!

This year we will be offering a handful of events open to the public. The first is April 23 - It is a Starting your Own Vegetable Garden Class.

Great for either beginner gardeners or more experinced gardeners. We will cover lots of interesting topics. Click on the "Gardening Classes" link to be brought to our link.

The class is only $5, but please register early. We will have a series of items avilable for purchase including starts, row cover, organic garden products, row covers, and more. The class will run about 2 hours.

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).

Classes Posted!

I have finally posted our classes on our website.

Here are our Gardening Classes.

And here are our Preserving Workshops.

Class Series....

So we are thinking about this summer's classes... I am still working on details but here is the preliminary plans:

• Gardening Class Schedule: First Thursday of each month (evening)
  April Gardening Series: Seed Starting
  May Gardening Series: Laying out your garden
  June Gardening Series: Feeding your plants
  July Gardening Series: Organic pest & diseases control
  August Gardening Series: Succession planting
  September Gardening Series: Mid-summer questions
  October Gardening Series: First frosts & fall harvests
  November Gardening Series: First steps for next year

• Preserving Workshop Schedule: Third Saturday of each month
  June Preserving Workshop: Berry Jam
  July Preserving Workshop: Pickles
  August Preserving Workshop: Tomato Sauce
  September Preserving Workshop: Salsa & Summer Heat
  October Preserving Workshop: Apples
  November Preserving Workshop: Holiday Gifts

When I add them all up it looks like a lot! Especially on top of our season, but I am looking forward to them all... Please let us know if you have preliminary intrest.

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)
  

Coming in January...

Starting in January we will be offering occasional classes at the farm.

There are so many topics, we are still working on ideas, but the first will probably be right after the new year, as my resolution is to start our classes this year I thought what better first class then...

Resolution: GARDEN!

Starting a vegetable garden in your back yard. Learn the steps you can take now to prepare for a garden in your back yard this spring. We will explore the three "P's" of gardening: planning, preparation, and planting.

Class Level - Beginning.

Tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Jan 4th: 1:30-3:30

Cost for class - $25.00

Please email us at basketoflifefarm@yahoo.com if you are interested in the class. It will be offered if we receive enough interest.

Please visit our website for more details on classes. We will be posting these over the coming days. 2009 CLASSES

Wonder if there is intrest?

We are considering offering a series of gardening courses for people who want to grow more of their own food. It would go something like this the four P's of gardening:

• Fall class - Preparing your garden


• Winter class - Planning your garden


• Spring class - Planting your garden


• Summer class - Protecting your garden

They would then tie into the canning classes (which we still are hoping to offer this year!)