Our Barking Cat Farm Day is part of HMI’s Open Gate Learning Series. Open Gates are peer-to-peer action-based learning days with short presentations and small group exercises geared for participants to share discoveries and management techniques with guidance from experienced facilitators and producers.
Whether you are an agricultural producer, permaculture fan or just interested in farming, land stewardship and healthy food, this is a day for you.
What to Expect
- See what fellow farmers are doing to maintain land health and profitability in a changing environment
- Learn how to aid water and nutrient cycles with good farming practices
- Discover indicators of good soil health and practice how to take a soil sample
- Better understand what the roots and the weeds reveal about the soil
- Develop skills to monitor land health to help ensure desired outcomes
- Explore the connections between soil health and nutrition
- Hear how Holistic Management enables producers to better manage risk, make better decisions and enjoy the benefits of sustainable agriculture
Registration
Advanced registration is $20 per person (includes lunch). Online registration closes September 4, 2015. Sorry, registration fees are non-refundable. Click here to go the HMI website to register.
Walk in registration is $30 per person, if available. Register soon as we have limited space available!
This is a rain or shine event and we will be spending much of our time out on the land. Please bring appropriate clothing, footwear, a water bottle and a sharp shooter shovel (a long, narrow shovel suitable for digging in rocky soil or cutting roots under a plant).
Agenda
9:00 Registration
9:30 Introductions & Orientation – P. Cole
9:40 Overview of Holistic Management & Land Monitoring – L. Celella & L. Bradbury
10:15 Permaculture Overview, Holistic Goal and Compost Tea Demonstration – L. Bostic & K. Martin
11:00 Experiential Exercise: Microscope Demo & Testing, Monitoring, Soil Sampling for Lab Testing – K. Martin, L. Bostic & B. Ross
12:00 Lunch: from Just Pie using Barking Cat Farm produce
1:00 Soil Health: How to get it and Q & A – B. Ross
2:30 Farm Tour: Incorporating Permaculture – K. Martin & L. Bostic
3:30 Break
3:45 Land Planning Brainstorm & Discussion
4:30 Summary & Evaluations, Adjourn