Tag Archives: Gardening

Minor food crops to consider for the hobby gardener or small scale farmer –Bret Wagenhorst @ SOGALO15

300x224 Starfruit pile, in Minor food crops to consider for the hobby gardener or small scale farmer, by Bret Wagenhorst, for OkraParadiseFarms.org, 14 December 2014 Chayote squash, feijoas, bananas, Jerusalem artichokes, roselle, chestnuts and black walnuts, kiwano melons, star fruit, grapefruit, Seminole pumpkins, papayas, Japanese persimmons, and rice: all these can be grown in south Georgia, says Bret Wagenhorst of Brighton Farms. He will talk about those crops at South Georgia Growing Local 2015, January 24, 2015, at Pine Grove Middle School in Lowndes County north of Valdosta. You can register now.

There are many food crops that aren’t typically grown commercially in south Georgia/north Florida that can do well on a small scale. This talk will Continue reading →

Registration is open for South Georgia Growing Local 2015

Saturday, January 24th at Pine Grove Middle School! You can register online or mail in the form. Follow the link for seed saving, oils, herbs, corn, rainwater, fish, beekeeping, goats, chickens, hams, and more.

-jsq

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 →

House of Hope: Gardening for Recovery –Sharon Wagner

Sharon Wagner, ex-Director, South Georgia House of Hope, will talk about “His Tomato Girls” from Seed to Salsa, at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

Why we started an organic garden.

How we grew heirloom tomatoes.

What we have learned about ourselves in the process.

Her conference bio:

Sharon Wagner — Executive Director

Sharon’s background includes a 15-year addiction to cocaine which she overcame in 1987 with the love of God and the discipline of Teen Challenge. While at the Walter Hoving home in New York, Sharon received a vision to provide a home for women — a place of safety and healing. In 2005, out of a passion to bring healing and freedom to women struggling with alcohol, drugs, and abuse, Sharon and her husband rick founded the South Georgia House of Hope here in Valdosta, Georgia. This began a journey of faith that will last a lifetime.

Sharon has personally experienced the healing power of organic foods as part of the recovery process. It is her desire to teach the ladies the importance of not only growing but also enjoying fresh and healthy food. This is an essential part of detoxification — replenishing nutrients that have been lost through years of drug and alcohol use. The organic garden at the House of Hope teaches the ladies how to work together as a team, while also building healthy minds and bodies.

Come to SOGALO2014 and hear Sharon Wagner talk about tomatoes and recovery!

-jsq

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

Multi-generational Growing –Gene Godfrey

Gene Godfrey will talk about Making Provisions From A Local Level at South Georgia Growing Local 2014 about:

Ways to get the church involved in gardening

Addressing challenges doing harvest time

Providing moments for show and tell

Supporting our mission throughout the year

Here’s his church website with additional information: Newsome Street Church of Christ in Hahira.

His church participates in Lowndes County Partnership for Health’s Gardens in the Community: Continue reading →

Door Yard Citrus at Loch Laurel Nursery

Update 2 Feb 2014: Citrus Resources.

In addition to many camelias, Loch Laurel Nursery has Door Yard Citrus:

Many gardners are not aware of the wonderful citrus that can be grown in North Florida and South Georgia. Loch Laurel Nursery is proud to offer varieties that are cold hardy and produce tasty fruit you would assume could only be grown in semi-tropical climates. In fact, many of our varieties that are well-suited to our region (USDA Zone 8b), produce inferior fruit in Central Florida.

Satsumas

—Mandarine Orange, The fruit is easily peeled and contains loose segments that are easily separated. They are sweet and a bright orange color when ripe and nearly seedless. Satsumas are believed to be native to southern China and are widely grown along the gulf coast of the US. Satsuma trees grow 10 to 15 feet tall. The most popular variety is Owari that ripens in mid to late November. Hardy to 20°F. The variety Miho, developed in Texas is much earlier ripening in early to mid-October. Grafted on trifoliate orange, (Poncirus trifoliata) for improved cold hardiness.

That same Loch Laurel Nursery web page also lists Continue reading →

Growing up Growing –Maria Arambula

Maria Arambula will speak at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

Gardening is an essential skill that every child and adult should learn. How can we work in our families and communities to ensure that young people understand how our food is grown? This workshop will share creative ideas and resources for gardening with youth of all ages at home and in the community. Attendees will be encouraged to share their own experiences through a fun and collaborative workshop format.

Her conference bio: Continue reading →

The five P’s of Grafting –Annie Barbas

Master Gardener Annie Barbas will speak at South Georgia Growing Local 2014:

The session will give an overview of planning, preparation, plant materials, tools and the process of various forms of grafting including some physical examples in differing stages of the process.

We will cover the the necessity of Planning, Preparation, Precision, Patience and Prayer needed for grafting success. We will not be grafting, but I will have some recently grafted material to view (last summer) as well as various grafting supplies that my husband and I use.

Her conference bio: Continue reading →