A talk instead of tours of the Pine Grove Middle School greenhouses this year.
The greenhouses have a fungus just now because it is too moist
in them because of the amount of water they had to put on
during the freezes. Therefore there will be no tours this year.
However Jeff and Tony will be happy to give a talk.
I scheduled them for the last session at South Georgia Growing Local:
Hydroponic greenhouses and gardens are a viable method of growing in many Continue reading
Here’s the current draft schedule for the conference,
with all five tracks.
Bees, bugs, and oils; plants, planting, and soils!
Herbs, small fruits, and citrus; cooking, fermenting, and curing!
Goats, fish, and chickens; water, solar, and weaving!
Nutrition, seed saving, and permaculture!
The current updated schedule will always be in the main conference page.
| Session | Time | Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 | Track 4 | Track 5 |
| Welcome | 9:00-9:15 | |||||
| Session 1 | 9:30-10:30 | Local Cooking — Christine and Angela Hagen | Soil Building — Julia Gaskins | Small and Unusual Fruits and Vegetables — Dr. Bret Wagenhorst | TBD | Back Yard Hens — Dr. Claudia Dunkley |
| Session 2 | 10:45-11:45 | Local Oils — Clay Oliver | Planting by the Almanac — Terry Davis | Invasive Plants — Karan Rawlins | Permaculture and Sustainability — Stewart Douglas | Bees — Raynae Jones |
| Lunch | 12:00-1:00 | |||||
| Session 3 | 1:15-2:15 | Herbs — TBD | Fermenting — Janisse Ray | Citrus — Mark Crawford | Reducing Waste — Feeding America | Goats — Bobbie Golden |
| Session 4 | 2:30-3:30 | Nutrition — Karen Chapman | Aquaponics — Dr. Pat Duncan | Textiles — Lisa Smith | Solar — Ron Jackson | Curing Meats — Derrick Dawson |
| Session 5 | 3:45-4:45 | Essential Oils — Mary Clement | Bug Identification — David Riley | Water Collection — John S. Quarterman | Goat Milk Soaps — Tom Kuettner | Hydroponic Greenhouses — Jeff Morgan and Tony Mallory |
| Wrap Up | 4:50-5:00 |
Updated January 18
-gretchen
There are five tracks (final schedule coming soon) and
several people have asked if it is possible to go to all of
the talks at the conference. It is if you are 5 people.
The day will be something like this:
| 9-9:15 | Welcome |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Session I |
| 10:45-11:45 | Session II |
| 12-1 | Lunch |
| 1:15-2:15 | Session III |
| 2:30-3:30 | Session IV |
| 3:45-4:45 | Session V |
So that’s five sessions, each of which (except the Welcome) will have five tracks.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 24th.
-gretchen
Still thinking about what resolutions to make for the new year? Resolve
to come to
South Georgia Growing Local 2015 conference at Pine Grove
Middle. You can
register and pay on-line or mail a check and reserve
your place now.
Website including registration.
facebook event and community, but remember to register, too!
-jsq
I am looking for people to help coordinate the 24 January 2015 event in Lowndes County. Last year’s South Georgia Growing Local was a smashing success and this year will be even better I am sure.
-gretchen
PS: And don’t forget Southeast Georgia Growing Local 8 November 2014, Tatnall County High School, Reidsville, GA.
Even more fun and twice as many people at
my second canning class
at the Lowndes High School Canning Plant.
Thanks to James Perdue and the Valdosta Community Garden Group for organizing.
These pictures are also on
my facebook timeline.
See also shelling peas at the 19 June 2014 class.
-gretchen
One of the easiest “convenience foods” to make at home is mayonnaise. Once you make your own, to your own taste, you’ll never go back to store bought.
Some time back, I stumbled across the book Make Your Own Convenience Foods by Don and Joan German and my kitchen and pantry haven’t been the same since.
Basic Recipe:
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lecithin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (actually to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt (again to taste)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (depends upon size of yolks)
Actually making the mayo is really pretty easy.
Step one: get out ingredients
Step two: put yolks into blender with vinegar, mustard and salt
Step three: put top on blender and mix this up well.
Step four: take out little plug from top of blender and slowly add oil in pencil thin stream. (about 20-25 seconds)
Step five: scoop mayo out of blender into a jar and label
And now you have delicious home made mayo, no preservatives, no chemicals, and just the herbs and spices you like.
–gretchen
Our outing today to the canning plant was a grand success. We had peas shelled, blanched and bagged and canned some peaches!
The canning plant at Lowndes High School is a wonderful resource in Lowndes County open now to the public for shelling, canning and more. Behind the Lowndes High School on Norman Drive.
Here are pictures from the canning class I taught there yesterday, organized by the Valdosta Community Garden group. These pictures are also on facebook.
Perfect timing. The Valdosta Daily Times had Continue reading
The 64th Annual Ham and Eggs show is this week. The only one left in Georgia, it is not to be missed.
Where: Lowndes County Civic Center
2102 E Hill Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31601
When:
11am Tuesday, February 18th Judging.
Tuesday events will also include presentations on
1pm Wednesday, February 19th Auction.
I’ll be there. I hope to see you.
–gretchen Continue reading
Hello again,
We are now nearly at the conference and I can hardly tell you how excited I am. I had a final walk through of Pine Grove Middle School and Farm this week and got all the details for accessing their technologies and the Internet.
Farm Tours will be Friday, January 24th, including
produce at
Raisin’ Cane,
door yard citrus at
Loch Laurel Nursery,
olive oil and trees at
Georgia Olive Farms,
and
Katahdin sheep at
Hound River Farm.
Conference talks will be Saturday, January 25th, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(Doors open at 8 a.m.) at Pine Grove Middle School,
4159 River Rd, Valdosta, GA 31605.
We will be able to tour
the hydroponic green houses at the school that day!
The
preliminary schedule is posted.
Most of our speakers are local (how lucky are we that we have this wealth
of talent in our community) and a couple from out of the have indicated
that they need a room. We have arranged
a discounted rate at two local hotels.
There is still plenty of room, so by all means, please continue to
invite those that you think will be interested in attending. The
Pine Grove Middle School is a lovely facility and we are lucky to be
able to use it.
Don’t forget to register!
-Gretchen