January 16, 2012

Winter gardening classes start Tuesday

The Dryden Community Garden isn't letting winter slip by unused:

When and Where:
Tuesday January 17
Tuesday February 21
Tuesday March 20
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Dryden Community Center Cafe, 1 West Main st.

What and Who:
January's class will be all about Dryden Community Garden's group seed order from Fedco Seeds. Last year was our first group order and it went very well for everyone - we got a 20% discount! There are many reasons to choose Fedco Seeds, including, "Welcome to Fedco Seeds, your source for cold-hardy selections especially adapted to our demanding Northeast climate. Each year we observe hundreds of varieties, selecting only the best for inclusion in our catalogs. Through our product lines and cultural hints, we encourage sustainable growing methods. We offer a large selection of certified organic cultivars and regional heirloom varieties. We buy products from all over the world."

Join us this month to learn how to place your order either online or using Fedco's lovely paper catalog and placing a handwritten order with us. We will also talk about the idea many people have had for having a seed and plant exchange club.

February's class is Planning a Garden, very good for the new gardeners who are unsure of what and how much to grow, when to plant, how much space they will need, what challenges to expect and how to handle them. This will partly be a Q&A type group so we really hope that experienced gardeners join us to share their knowledge.

For March we'll be having the Big Spring Community Garden Sign-up where Jean and Kerra and other garden members can answer questions about the community garden, we can share ideas, voice problems encountered last year, etc. We'd also like to get some ideas for future classes.

Also, we have a class topic we'd like to cover but are still looking for a speaker. There have been some questions lately about what different labels mean on foods, seeds and household items. What are the different Fair Trade certifications, Organic, Natural, All Natural, Certified Organic by____, etc. ? We would call the topic Understanding Eco Labels. Yeah, that sounds good. Now I just need to find someone to answer our questions.

Why:
To teach and learn and meet new people, to build connections in the community, to have organic air-popped popcorn with nutritional yeast and sea salt (or plain, or bring your own topping), to have locally grown and/or wild harvested herbal teas, to get out on a Tuesday night, to be part of the great, beautiful, wonderful thing that is our community and our food.

And:
All ages are welcome, there are toys and books for little ones.
Donations are gratefully accepted to help us cover the cost of materials, snacks, and advertising.

Posted by simon at January 16, 2012 10:55 AM in
Note on photos