2012 – Homesteading on Whidbey Island

Sponsored by South Whidbey Tilth and Deer Lagoon Grange

Mondays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm and Wednesday s, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the month of February.

1^st class, Monday, February 13^st.  Last class, Monday, March 5th

Cost: $15/class or $90 for the whole course (Grange or Tilth members pay half price)

Learn from local farmers how to start a small sustainable farm. Learn some of the best and most productive techniques for growing fresh food for yourself and your family without using chemicals. This year Tilth and the Grange team up to offer a course that will make your small farming efforts a big success. This series of classes are appropriate for quick learning beginners and for the more advanced too. Much will be covered in a short number of classes.

Course outline:

Feb. 13^st:  Where to Start?  What types of animals do I raise?  Poultry, sheep/goats, hogs?  What type of fruit/nut trees, berries and vegetables?  How about bees?  Gary has been raising dairy goats for seven years, ducks longer.  Gary currently raises goats for meat and milk, ducks and chickens for eggs and meat – and has two pet geese.    (Gary)

Feb. 15^th: Building the infrastructure to raise animals. When raising animals and starting a garden, the largest cost is setting everything up, what we call infrastructure.  Eric will talk about housing for meat chickens and turkeys; Gary will talk about his goat barns, chicken palace and how he houses ducks, (Eric and Gary)

Feb. 18^th    (Saturday), alternative date if it is really stormy will be Saturday, March 3rd.   Pruning and tree care with certified arborist, Gary Ingram, at his farm in Greenbank.  Gary has a wide selection of fruit trees that we will work on.  In depth class on fruit trees and vines with lots of practical and hands on instruction.

 Feb. 20^th: Building the infrastructure to raise vegetables and fruit.  Do I use raised beds when growing vegetables – and if so, why?  How do I protect my crops from deer, rabbits and insects?  (Anza)

 Feb. 22^nd: How to make Cheese in the Homestead Kitchen.  What do you do with all of the goat milk?  Gary will demonstrate easy cheese making in the Grange kitchen.  He will take you through the full process of making mozzarella cheese (30 minutes from start to finish) and when he is finished we will eat what we make.  Gary will also discuss and share his recipe for Panir, a very popular cheese just about everywhere except in the USA.  Panir is a staple protein source for his homestead – Gary will cook a batch while making the mozzarella and we will sample.  He will also discuss the benefits of Kefir vs. Yogurt and have Kefir to sample.  He will discuss other easy cheese recipes.  (Gary)

 Feb 25^th:  (Saturday, 9-noon) Seed Saving Workshop and Seed Exchange.  from 9 -11 a.m. followed by a seed exchange until noon.  In this collaboration between South Whidbey Tilth and the Greenbank Farm Training Center, seed saving and growing techniques will be discussed by presenters Eric Conn and Sebastian Aguilar.   There will also be an opportunity to create a local seed growing and saving network, and determine how we as a community would like that to look like. After the workshop and discussion, there will be a community seed exchange, where you can share seed you have grown and get seed from other growers.  Everyone is welcome and there is no charge for this event, but donations will be accepted at the door. 

Register for this event at trainingcenter@greenbankfarm.com or call 360-222-3171.

 Feb. 29^th: Growing Grains and other calorie crops.  Although it is rare today, Western Washington was once a vibrant wheat-growing area. Between 1850 and 1950 at least 169 different wheats were grown in Washington, many in the Puget Sound region. In the fertile soil and luxurious rainfall on the Pacific side of the Cascades, wheat plants grew 5 to 7 feet tall. Today most wheat is produced on the large commodity scale; and today people have a problem digesting it (gluten intolerance).  Eric Conn has experimented growing grains and other calorie crops this year and will tell us about his experience.   Georgina has been growing Biodynamic grain on Ebey’s Prairie.  (Eric and Georgina Silby)

 March. 5^th:  How to Preserve and Profit from my bounty?  How to deal with all of that extra produce, eggs and meat that is produced on the farm.  Canning, root cellaring, freezing, drying, and marketing!  Group discussion lead by Marc, Anza, Eric and Gary