Category Archives: Okra Paradise Farms

Half way between Atlanta and Orlando and all the way to paradise!

Curing Ham –Derrick Dawson

Derrick Dawson will talk about a long-time tradition at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

The Lowndes County Ham and Eggs show is the only remaining Ham and Eggs show in Georgia and one of only two in the country.

Hams are cured by a local team that travels periodically to Fort Valley State University to work in USDA certified facilities. Hams are treated with a cure, turned, treated, turned, treated, turned, washed, bagged and finally smoked over the course of several weeks in preparation for judging and auction.

The Ham and Eggs show this year will be February 18 and 19.

Continue reading →

Grow Your Own Organic Small Fruits –Jerry Larson

Veteran organic instructor Jerald Larson will talk about how to grow organic fruits at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

Jerry’s presentation will focus on blackberries, blueberries, figs and muscadine grapes. He will explain and demonstrate practical, low cost methods for trellising and pruning; soil and bed preparation; weed suppression, irrigation, and harvesting.

His conference bio: Continue reading →

USDA & Rural Revitalization –Bryan J. Zulko

What the U.S. Department of Agriculture is doing about rural Georgia: Bryan Zulko will talk about that at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

I will go over a few initiatives I am currently working on, specifically the StrikeForce Initiative (persistent poverty 60 counties), SET (Stronger Economies Together), and the significance of RHIT (Rural Health Information Technology). In the 2nd part I will be discussing some of our funding programs, focusing on Rural infrastructure, local foods, downtown development, and essential community facilities.

His conference bio: Continue reading →

Farm Tours Sold Out! Remember to register for Saturday Talks @ SOGALO14

All places on the bus are full for the Friday Farm Tours.

There’s still plenty of room at Pine Grove Elementary, so remember to register for the Saturday Talks at South Georgia Growing Local 2014!

-jsq

Seed Saving –Janisse Ray

Janisse Ray wrote the book on seed saving, and will talk about that at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

From her book, The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food,

“If you haven’t heard what’s happening with seeds, let me tell you. They’re disappearing, about like every damn thing else…. But I’m not going to talk about anything that’s going to make us feel hopeless, or despairing, because there’s no despair in a seed.”

Her book bio, with picture by Raven Waters: Continue reading →

Schedule changes for South Georgia Growing Local 2014

Four talks have moved locations or times:

Jerald Larson needed an earlier slot, so Grow Your Own Organic Small Fruits has moved to 11:30 AM in Room 1.

Composting needs a room with a tile floor, so Composting: Red Wigglers and Soldier Flies by John Horton has moved to 3:15 PM in Commons.

A Walk with Dairy Goats: a lesson in humor and humility by Julia Shewchuk has moved to 3:15 PM in Commons.

From Fabulous Natural Fibers to Flamboyant Fabric: the craft and art of hand spinning and weaving by Amy Brown has moved to 11:30 AM in Room 2.

All these changes are in the revised schedule.

-jsq

Permaculture –Ben and Jennifer Vieth

The Vieths will talk about gardens that continue to grow season after season, at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

Permaculture is a regenerative and sustainable food production design system combining bio-mimicry with local food system knowledge. The scalability of permaculture lends itself applicable to everyone from beginner gardeners to seasoned farmers. Our presentation will focus on how we can apply permaculture principles to our homes and gardens, no matter the size of your space.

Their conference bios: Continue reading →

Speaker Schedule –South Georgia Growing Local 2014

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.

Friday Farm Tours

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.

Saturday Talks

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.

Lodging

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.

Registration

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

Katahdin sheep –Hound River Farm

Not for wool, for meat, they raise Katahdin sheep; we’ll visit Hound River Farm on our Friday Farm Tour at South Georgia Growing Local 2014.

We raise registered Katahdin Hair Sheep on 240 acres in the coastal plains region of South Georgia. We are approximately 30 miles north of the Georgia-Florida border with easy access from I-75. Our farm consists of Bermuda and Bahia pastures, woodlands, and wetlands. We harvest our own Continue reading →

First olives harvested east of the Mississippi since the 1800’s –Georgia Olive Farms

We’ll visit Georgia Olive Farms on our Friday Farm Tour at South Georgia Growing Local 2014.

Richard Villadoniga wrote for StAugustine.com 18 July 2012, Liguid gold rush,

There’s a new gold rush taking place in Georgia, and it’s not up in the mountains near Dahlonega as first happened back in 1828. This time around, people are buzzing with excitement over a liquid gold produced in Southern Georgia: extra virgin olive oil. You read that correctly — olive oil from Georgia. What was once an exclusively Mediterranean product is now being crafted with olives grown in Southern Georgia, and to a smaller extent, North Florida.

Georgia Olive Farms, a cooperative of about 10 regional olive growers, is based in Lakeland, Georgia, near Valdosta.

Jason Shaw, one of the company’s founders, comes Continue reading →