South Georgia Growing Local Conference Schedule

The detailed schedule for the South Georgia Growing Local Conference is posted now on the on the facebook event. It’s also below.

-jsq

Pre-Conference Tour & Potluck
Friday, Jan. 13, 2012

4 p.m. Tour of Snug Hill Farm, Garfield, Ga. This 120-acre farm features over 700 fruit/nut trees, including over 50 varieties, in an impressive permaculture operation, as well as an organically managed pecan orchard.
5:30 p.m. Potluck at Snug Hill Farm

Conference
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012

8:00 a.m. -5 p.m. Morning sessions Morning Location:
UGA’s Vidalia Onion & Vegetable Research Center, between Lyons & Reidsville, Ga. (www.caes.uga.edu/center/vidalia.html)
8 a.m. Registration Coffee, Tea, Fruit & Baked Goods
9 a.m.-9:15 Welcome
9:15-10:15 Concurrent Sessions
How to Successfully Grow Lots of Good Food on Marginal Land,
Presentation by Herman Holley & Louise Divine, Turkey Hill Farm, Tallahassee, Fla.
Every minute spent with these two big-hearted, energetic, and visionary people will be a minute very well spent. You will be amazed by the agroecology system that they have set up on their north Florida farm. Start with the soil and end with online marketing – Louise and Herman have it covered! (Meeting Room) 		Fermentation Basics: Kombucha, Kefir, Water Kefir, & Salt Fermentation of Vegetables,
Janisse Ray, Reidsville, Ga.
Two of Janisse’s favorite books are Wild Fermentation and Nourishing Traditions. Come learn how to add natural probiotics to your diet & your soil. (Kitchen)
10:15-11:00 Perennial Crops for Food Security: What Grows in South Georgia,
Cindy Dill, Snug Hill Farm, Garfield, Ga.
Do you know what taro is? Artist and permaculture farmer Cindy Dill will lead us through the lowdown of perennial food crops able to be grown in our sub-tropical climate. (Meeting Room) 		Meal Planning for the Modern Locavore,
Leeann Culbreath, Risen, Tifton, Ga.
Learn how this modern homesteader, slow-food cook, and mother of two young boys takes whole ingredients and turns them into healthy food her family and friends savor. (Kitchen)
15 min. Break, Beverages & Snacks
11:15-12 The Economics of Transition: What Money Is and What it Means to You,
Larry Kopczak, Snug Hill Farm, Garfield, Ga.
An engineer by training, Larry is a self-schooled expert on the monetary system. Here’s a great chance to learn what money is, what the recession spells, and alternative economies in the changing times ahead. (Meeting Room) 		Tour, Organic Vidalia Onion Study Plots,
with Dr. Carroll Johnson, Tifton, Ga.
USDA research agronomist Dr. Carroll Johnson conducts applied and basic studies on integrated management for weed control and the biology of weeds in organic crops. He is working with Vidalia onions at the research station.
12-12:45 How the Olive Came to Georgia,
Kevin Shaw and/or Sam Shaw, Homerville, Ga.
Hear the amazing story of how a group of growers decided that the South could become the new Italy and learn how to grow an olive tree and turn the fruit into edible olives and healthy local oil. (Meeting Room) 		So You Want to Be a Farmer,
with Relinda Walker, Sylvania, Ga.
This amazing, pioneering woman has helped many people get started in organic farming and has also helped them keep going. In this intimate space, Relinda will talk about her experiences, economics, agronomics, pitfalls, and what crops have been sucessful. (Kitchen) 		Tour, Experimental Organic Trial Plot,
with Julia Gaskin, Athens, Ga.
The Sustainable Agriculture Chairperson at UGA will carry you into her organic trial plots at the research station; she will also talk about soil amendments, including her interest in biochar. (Field)
12:45 Adjourn to Red Earth Farm for Lunch & Afternoon Workshops Afternoon Location:
895 Catherine T. Sanders Road, Reidsville, Ga. 30453. Located 5 miles from research center.
1-2 p.m. Lunch (See Solar Cooker at work)
2-3 p.m. Concurrent Sessions:
Tour: Diversified Farming,
Raven Waters.
This tour of Red Earth Farm will demonstrate how to move toward sustainability, including the incorporation of animals in a growing system, on a low budget. (Outdoors) 		Wilt-free Tomatoes, Compost, Hand Tools & Other Organic Advice,
Frank Wimberly, Norristown, Ga.
Frank Wimberly’s extremely effective method of growing tomatoes in an era of wilt virus can also be employed for other crops. In addition, there’s a lot to learn in general from Mr. Wimberly. (Galley)
3-4 p.m. Pruning Your Fruit Trees.
Jerald Larsen, Swainsboro, Ga.
The extension agent for Emanuel County and an expert in small fruit production, Jerald Larsen will guide you through the basics of pruning apple, peach, pear, and persimmon trees, as well as blueberry bushes. (Outdoors) 		Vermiculture: What Worm Castings Can Do for You,
Amy Schuster, Little St. Simons Island, Ga.
Gardener shares her expertise on how easy it truly is to incorporate composting into the everyday home, turning kitchen scraps to rich “black gold,” with simple steps to create an at-home vermicomposting system. (Galley)
4-5 p.m. Plenary Dialogue: Success Stories of Our Movement & Where Do We Go From Here? Facilitated by Ellen Corrie,
a long-time supporter of organic agriculture and agrarian economies, and a member of the board of Tifton’s farmers market. (Galley)
5 p.m. Closing
5-6 Postscript Short Course: Pruning Muscadines: Jerald Larsen has offered to demonstrate muscadine pruning at a farm a few miles away.