Sunday, March 28, 2010

GANG Workshops - Year 2



GANA and ARC are pleased to announce the 2010 GANG Workshop Series. Details of the workshops follow. See you there!

GANG WORKSHOPS 2010
A Project of the Green Acres Neighborhood Association
And an educational project of the Association of Regnerative Culture
At the Green Acres Neighborhood Garden (GANG), 2601 DeKist St.

Workshop space is limited. To pre-register, please contact Ann Kreilkamp 812-334-1987 or arkcrone@gmail.com. Suggested donation per class: $5 to $15.

[April 17: Compost design system Construction: Melissa Clark’s SPEA class: others are welcome to observe and/or participate.]

Less is More: Pruning For Fruit
Sunday, April 18, 2-4 p.m.

This workshop, led by Nathan Harman, will be a strolling explanation and demonstration of techniques for keeping backyard fruit trees healthy and productive. We will work on assorted ages, sizes, and types of fruit trees within a one block walk of the GANG site, including apples, peaches and pears as well as bush and cane fruit. Pruning is by far the most important factor in the health and production of a fruit tree, after soil and climate, and is an essential task every year. We will not prune in the rain, so the rain date is Sunday the 25th.

Get Growing, GANG: Start The Garden
Sunday, May 15, 1-5 p.m.

Led by Rhonda Baird and Nathan Harman, this workshop will provide an overview of spring garden tasks. The first half of the workshop will be indoors and the second half, hands on in the garden. Let's see how those raised, heavily mulched, lasagna beds we built last year are coming along and build a few more, too. We will cover starting seeds in flats and direct seeding, transplanting starts, using the cold frame, checking for weeds, damage and problems, as well as soil analysis and amendment. Snacks and beverages provided.

How's It Going? Problem Solving and Re-design
Saturday, June 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This workshop, led by Rhonda Baird, will ask the all-important questions "Is this working?" and "How can it work better?" We will use permaculture thinking to re-evaluate the design and function of various elements of the GANG site. We may make small physical changes and work in the garden, but this design workshop is intended as a thought pattern exercise that can be applied to any landscape. This is an all-day workshop so BYO lunch. Snacks and beverages provided.

Summer Begets Fall: Planting the Fall Garden
Sunday, August 1, 1-5 p.m.

Just as summer crops are planted in spring, fall crops are planted in summer. This workshop will focus both on caring for the garden in the high heat of summer and on planting the foods that will be harvested through the coming cool. This is the hay-day of the garden and we will hopefully have yields galore. But, the weeds and insects and drying sun are also trying to make their way, so mulch, shade cloth, row cover and other techniques will be employed as we keep the summer crops vibrant and give our fall crops a running start. Snacks and beverages provided.

So... Much... Food! Storing the Harvest
Sunday, August 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In the midst of summer, it's easy to think the zucchini and tomato flow will never quit. But cease they shall, and that's when we turn to the cupboard full of the years stored sunlight in the form of canned, dried, frozen and fermented garden foods. This workshop will teach a variety of preservation methods useful to the home gardener. We will spend an hour with slides and handouts and then harvest, process and sample. Learn how to reduce food costs while increasing nutrition and flavor through the winter. BYO lunch.

Putting the Garden to Bed and Celebration
Sunday, November 7, 2-5 p.m., then celebrate

Though there are still winter-hardy plants in the ground, this is the time to clean up and compost any garden wastes, mulch well, tidy up, and put season-extending hoop-houses and cold frames over more tender greens. Learn what plants require what degree of care in this risky weather and just how far into winter they can go. We will also spend time putting our tools to bed, cleaning, sharpening, oiling and storing to be sure they last as long and work as well as possible. It's difficult to get excited about spending less time in the garden and that's why we'll enjoy our second annual harvest potluck dinner and celebration afterwards!

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