Education
Twilight Grower Education Workshop Series
SEMAP’s Twilight Grower Education workshop series for farmers and home gardeners offers hands-on skill building led on-farm by local producers. These on-farm workshops are held March through November.
Past Workshops
Saturday, March 25, 10 am - 12 pm, Plant Propagation and Seed Starting, White Barn Farm, Wrentham, MA,White Barn Farm is a small vegetable farm located in Wrentham, Mass. The husband-wife team, Chris and Christy Kantlehner, use organic practices to supply a CSA, farmstand, and restaurant accounts with fresh produce. Many of the crops are produced by transplant – either with the water wheel transplanter or the paper pot transplanter. White Barn Farm also throws a crazy two-day Plant Sale the weekend before Memorial Day every year. Growing seedlings for that very financially significant sale is a major part of early season farmwork at WBF. Christy will share her experience and the methods currently used in her greenhouse.
Check out our photos from this event.
Saturday, May 6, 2 pm - 4pm, Raising Chickens, Marshfield Fairgrounds, Love the local food movement? Ever thought you might like to try keeping your own chickens? Come join “The Chickeness”, Khrysti Smyth, of Yardbirds Backyard Chickens for a rundown of popular breeds, housing needs and design, feeding and care, health, laws and zoning, info on how to effortlessly mix chickens and neighbors, and everything else you might want to know about keeping your own backyard chickens. Course materials will be provided, and each attendee will receive a signed Certificate of Course Completion. Come find out whether keeping chickens might be a good addition to your garden, your kitchen, and your family’s overall health and wellbeing, and meet a few of her feathered Chicken Ambassadors too!
Did you miss it? Check out Khrysti’s website for great information on keeping chickens!
Thursday, May 11, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Spring Season Extension in the Field, Langwater Farm, Easton, MA, Please join us at Langwater Farm on May 11th at 5:30pm to discuss pushing early Spring crops in the field. We’ll meet at our home farm at 209 Washington St. in North Easton and tour our plant propagation facility and then we’ll carpool across town to our other location at 520 Bay Rd. in South Easton to see the crops in the field. One of our yearly goals is to have as much produce ready as possible for the first weekend in May when we open our farmstand. To do this we’ve been timing our greenhouse seeding dates to ensure we have plants ready to transplant as soon as the weather permits in early April. Then we cover with acres of row cover, some with hoops for support and some on bare ground, depending on the crop. For some crops we’ll push the early season by planting on black plastic. In some cases the beds are made the previous Fall to expedite things even further in the Spring. Come and learn about our greenhouse seeding schedules, our specific cultures for all the early season veggies, and our techniques applying and securing row covers.
View pictures from our Langwater Twilight.
Thursday, May 25, 6 pm - 8pm, New England Alpaca Fiber Pool Tour, NEAFP, Fall River, MAInterested in Natural Fibers, Alpacas, or just Textiles in general? Well you are in luck as the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool (NEAFP) is opening its doors to educate the local community on all things alpaca, the fiber & products they produce, and how the growing U.S. Alpaca Fiber industry has had it’s roots planted in the Southcoast for the last 20 years! Learn what makes alpaca one of the best natural fibers in the world, how it’s helping spur growth in U.S. based textile mills, and how alpaca farms across the country are working together to service the growing Slow Fashion Movement.
View photos of our Fiber Pool Tour.
Thursday, June 15, 6 pm - 8 pm, Growing Cut Flowers, Weatherlow Florals, Westport, MA, Managing Production of Specialty Cut Flowers for Floral Design. Tour the flower fields and hoophouses at Weatherlow Farms and learn about the ins and outs of growing specialty cut flowers for use in floral design. We’ll discuss sourcing seeds and plugs, trialing new varieties, harvest and post-harvest tricks for extending vase life, and what fun flowers and foliages you might want to add to your cutting garden.
Check out pics from our Cut Flowers workshop!
Monday, June 26, 6 pm - 8pm, Setting the Stage for a Successful Season with Full Spectrum Fertility, Brix Bounty Farm, Dartmouth, MA, We’ll take a fieldwalk through the Brix Bounty Vegetable Fields surveying early season crop growth and focus our discussion on fertility steps we take at Brix Bounty to ensure crops are able to maximize growth during the longest days of the year. From boron to zinc we’ll cover the mineral foundations we invest in each season to promote healthy, vigorous crop growth. Included in the tour will be a deep dive into onion production, including: variety selection, enterprise analysis, cultivation strategies, fertility programs, and pest and disease management.
View event photos here!
Upcoming Workshops
Tuesday, August 15th, 3 pm - 5pm, Spiral Herb Garden Workshop, Gomes Elementary School, New Bedford, MAA spiral herb garden is a beautiful, functional, and sustainable feature used in home and public gardens. Using natural, native and abundant materials a spiral herb garden creates micro-environments that allow your favorite herbs to thrive, long term, for your enjoyment and health as well as your local pollinators. Come and explore the Gomes School community garden as GROW Education and SEMAP partner with a local mason Peter Simmons Masonry to build, fill and plant a spiral herb garden at the school. Adam Davenport of Grow Education will explain the basic steps and functions of building a spiral herb garden, as Peter Simmons constructs it. The event will conclude with a look into the future of all of the great work happening in the city of New Bedford surrounding urban agriculture and sustainable future! Preregistration Required.
REGISTER HERE!
Tuesday, October 17, 5 pm - 7 pm, Storage Crops, Freedom Food Farm, Raynham, MA, Details to come.
Registration opening soon.
Foodie & Local Libation Workshop Series
Coffee & Dessert, Speedwell Coffee, Plymouth, MA,Join us at Speedwell Coffee for perfect end to the week. Sample several delicious varieties of Speedwell Coffee and espresso, while also enjoying Pain D’Avignon desserts and bread, as well as some chocolate and biscotti. After sampling and learning a little about what it takes to be a barista, take a tour of the roasting facility! We might have an opportunity to enjoy some locally distilled Speedwell Coffee vodka!
Date to be rescheduled – Check back for details!
Local Wine Tasting, Plymouth Bay Winery, Plymouth, MA, Join us at Plymouth Bay Winery for a delicious evening! Sample cranberry wine and several other varieties on the gorgeous patio overlooking Plymouth Bay. Taste turkey meatballs, spreads, dips, and other snacks made with the Winery’s own wine jellies and sauces. All attendees will go home with a souvenir wine glass.
Date to be rescheduled – Check back for details!
Wednesday, August 9, 6 pm - 8 pm, Local Beer & Cheese Tasting, Shoveltown Brewery, Easton, MA, Dirty Water Distillery is a local distillery offering many great spirits including vodka, whiskey, gin, and rum! Local cranberries and locally roasted coffee are some of the great infusions found in these liquors. Come visit for a tour of the facility and learn how these tasty spirits are made. You’ll also have the opportunity to sample a variety of Dirty Water’s offerings and, of course, will able to purchase product to take home! Pizza will be served for dinner!
Register here!
Friday, September 8, 6 pm - 8 pm, Local Craft Spirits & Pizza, Dirty Water Distillery, Plymouth, MA, Details to come.
Sign up here!
Ag & Food Conference
SEMAP’s Annual Agriculture & Food Conference brings in experts to lead informative workshops and discussions on a range of topics. Past workshop topics have included which cover crops are best for weed suppression, nitrogen dynamics in organic cropping systems, how to start your own worm composting bin, and protecting genetic diversity within agriculture, just to name a few.
The annual conference attracts not just seasoned farmers, but beginning farmers, backyard gardeners, foodies, and youth. A delicious lunch featuring locally-sourced food is served, and a resource fair allows attendees to meet with local service providers, environmental non-profits, and other businesses.
Local Food 101
How do we define “local” and “sustainable”? What is a foodshed? How does growing and purchasing locally-produced food impact my local economy? How can I help my family eat more seasonally?
SEMAP’s Local Food 101 presentations aim to answer these questions and more. Contact us if you are interested in leading or hosting a Local Food 101 in your community.
We are happy to share SEMAP’s Local Food 101 PowerPoint presentation with you; Local Food 101.
