Community CROPS January 2009 Newsletter
January is here and with it comes thoughts of spring. Well, at least for us, as we begin planning gardens and planting seeds for our hoophouse. We've got a great list of classes to share with you and some interesting resources. There's lots going on, so read on.
Community CROPS Workshops
Over the next few months, we'll be offering a variety of garden-related workshops to help you prepare for spring. First up will be a class on starting your own seeds indoors on Feb 10th, followed by classes on selling at farmers' markets and planning a garden. We also have a workshop series for those who want to farm. Workshops PageYour Help Needed to Grow Food
Thank you to the many people who have already made donations to Community CROPS over the last month. Your support is amazing. We know there are many more of you who know that our work is vital to Lincoln--we're making it possible for families to grow food--real, nutritious food. So we need your help--head over to the Donation Page and join us!360 Degree Views of CROPS Sites
The folks at Roundus have posted more great photos of our gardens and farm. Check out all of the ones belo, and be sure to click on 'More Views' for additional shots of each location.The photos of the farm show just how much was growing out there last summer. It looks nothing like this now! You can even virtually meet our chickens.
The Antelope Community Garden is always the most beautiful garden, thanks to a lot of great volunteers and awesome gardeners.
The Community CROPS Farmers' Market opened last summer on Thursday evenings at Pentzer Park. The market will open again for business the first Thursday in June.
Interesting Article
This article, How the city hurts your brain, was a great way of looking at how important natural areas are in our cities. Lincoln is blessed with a lot of urban green, but we all know there could be more. From the article: "Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control"
Other Courses
Through the university, two excellent classes are being offered as credit or non-credit courses, one on Monday evenings on Organic Farming and one on Wednesday evenings on The Urbanization of Rural Landscapes. Descriptions of past courses are at http://organic.unl.edu/classes.shtml. Contact Dr. Chuck Francis, the instructor for registration information.
Transitioning to Organic Farming will be the subject of two upcoming workshops in early February in David City and Tecumseh. Looks like they have a great panel lined up.
The excellent campus based Master Gardener Program is now accepting applications, but classes will fill up very quickly. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's campus-based Master Gardener program will give participants the opportunity to learn about horticulture and share their knowledge through volunteer work. Classes begin March 3 and run through May 19, every Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. on UNL's East Campus. Space is limited and applications will be accepted through Feb. 6. Cost is $150 and classes cover a wide range of aspects on growing. For more information, contact Terri James at (402) 472-8973 or e-mail tjames@unl.edu
Finally, the Winter Lecture Series begins Sunday, January 18. This year's topic is Cuba. They have an impressive line up of speakers.
