Community CROPS Workshops

Community CROPS Workshops -- 2012

Come learn with us! Classes and workshops are offered throughout the year on gardening and farming topics, cooking, and sustainable living. Do you have an idea for a class you'd like to teach? Call us at 402.474.9802 to discuss!

Upcoming Classes

To register for CROPS classes, use the Paypal link below each class, or make out a check to Community CROPS and send it to us at 1551 S. 2nd, Lincoln, NE 68502, with the name of the class written in the memo line.

Click here to view the full schedule of classes targeted toward home gardeners. OR Click here to see the entire summer's worth of farm workshops. Registration is available below for classes during the next month.

View past classes here. Many will be offered again!

Drip Irrigation

Thursday, May 17 (date changed!), 9am - 12pm with Warren Kittler at Sunset Community Farm (SW 40th and F Street) (map)

Your vegetables need water, but who wants to spend two hours hand-watering every day? Drip irrigation systems can cut your water usage in half, save you time, and decrease weed pressure. Farm program manager Warren Kittler will show you how to create, install, use, and repair your own drip irrigation system for your farm or garden.

Simple Organic Gardening

Saturday, May 19, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Antelope Garden (3645 Sumner St.) (map)

Lacey Johnson, Community CROPS AmeriCorps Member will demonstrate various organic gardening techniques including composting, square foot gardening, soil management, pest management and companion gardening to make the most out of any kind of garden space.

Cover Crops

Tuesday, May 22, 9am - 12pm with Justin Jones at Sunset Community Farm (SW 40th and F Street) (map)

Do you want to increase your soil's fertility and health without hours of shovelling compost? Properly managed cover crops can reduce your need for outside sources of fertility, and they can be grown any time of the year. Come learn about different cover crop species and see several examples at Sunset Community Farm!

Soil Health: Double Digging & Hugelkultur Class

Saturday, June 2, 10am-12pm, Antelope Garden (3645 Sumner St.) (map)
Organic growers know that great gardens begin with soil. Join us at our Antelope Community Garden for a demonstration by Ross Brockley, experienced organic farmer, on double digging, a technique used to increase soil drainage and aeration. He'll also introduce the basics of 'hugelkultur', an old European gardening formula and how it can help build soil fertility.

Birding at Sunset Community Farm

Sunday, June 3, 7:30am-9am with John Quinn at Sunset Community Farm (SW 40th and F Street)

Please join us for a morning birding workshop exploring the community of birds at Sunset Farm. We will focus on identifying locally nesting species and discuss why sustainable and urban farm habitats are key to preservation of some of our most important, yet common, Nebraska bird species. The workshop is appropriate for beginning or advanced birders, and anyone who wishes to explore the intersection of birding, urban agriculture, and community.

Dr. John Quinn is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the UNL School of Natural Resources with research emphasizing concerns related to biodiversity conservation and sustainability; in particular avian ecology, agroecology, and the role of birding as a medium for environmental awareness and education. Of special interest is how agricultural landscapes in Nebraska can be structured & managed to maintain food production while conserving biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem services.

The bird workshop is free, but pre-registration is appreciated. E-mail barb@communitycrops.org or call CROPS at 402-474-9802.

Small Engine Selections, Use & Maintenance

Tuesday, June 5, Justin Jones, Sunset Community Farm (SW 40th and F Street) (map)
Are you tired of taking your tiller or mower to the shop every spring? Sunset's Site Manager, Justin Jones, will share basic maintenance and troubleshooting tips for various small engines, including tillers, mowers, weed whips, and more.

Pinching, Trellising, Pruning & Mounding for Vegetable Crops

Wednesday, June 13, Evrett Lundquist & Ruth Chantry, Common Good Farm

Do you trellis or cage your tomatoes? Do you hill your potatoes or just let them go? Ruth and Evrett will discuss pros and cons of various plant management techniques, and will demonstrate a variety of methods commonly used on market farms.

Introduction to Permaculture

Saturday, June 16th, 9:30am-12pm, Location TBD
Permaculture is a system for living sustainably. Ingrid Kirst, CROPS Executive Director, will demonstrate how, by learning from natural ecosystems, we can create growing systems that require less outside inputs and left effort to produce abundant foods. From this introduction, you will be able to put permaculture principles into action.

Cooking Classes

We have a full line up of some terrific cooking classes for 2012. Click here for the full list, including Greens, DIY Kraut, Pizza! and Cooking with a Farmer.

Cooking classes are $5 for CSA members, $10 for CROPS participants and $12 for anyone else in advance. Those receiving financial aid from CROPS may attend for free and can e-mail us at csa@communitycrops.org to pre-register.

Registration:

CSA 101 - FULL

Tuesday, May 15th, 6-8pm, Antelope Garden (3645 Sumner St.) (map)
Prepare yourself and your kitchen for the growing season. We'll cover storage, preservation, and most importantly, eating of all sorts of fresh vegetables that you'll see in your CSA box.

The class is FULL. If you'd like to be notified when we schedule a second class, e-mail us at csa@communitycrops.org

Cooking With Greens

Tuesday, May 29th 6-8pm, Antelope Garden (3645 Sumner St.) (map)
Spring is the season for greens! We'll cover the different types and how to store 'em, cook 'em, and love 'em.

DIY Kombucha Class

Tuesday, June 12, 6-8pm, Antelope Church (map)

Learn how to brew this energizing, amazing fermented tea drink! Get your own "tea beast" going!

CROPS Class Fees

Community CROPS classes are open to anyone who wants to come. Prices below are standard unless otherwise notified. Classes through Southeast Community College prices vary.

$15 - at the door

$12 - pre-paid general registration

$10 - pre-paid, program participant (Gardener, Farmer, CSA Member, Volunteer)

free - program participants receiving financial assistance

Use the Paypal link below each class to register, or make out a check to Community CROPS and send it to us at 1551 S. 2nd, Lincoln, NE 68502 with the name of the class written in the memo line.

If you qualify for free registration, call 402-474-9802 or e-mail info@communitycrops.org to pre-register.

Past Garden/Farm Classes

Composting with Worms

Have a small space? Want to compost inside over the winter? Let worms do the work for you! Make your own worm composting bin to use all year long in an indoor space to turn your kitchen scraps into natural fertilizer for your plants. Classroom participants had a great time learning about Vermicomposting and creating their own bin to take home.

Double Digging Workshop

More information on: Double Digging and Biointensive gardening, (www.growbiointensive.org).

Irrigation and Other Tools on the Market Farm

Presenter: Leslie Pillen, CROPS Farm Program Manager

A class about how, when and why to use a variety of irrigation methods. We focused on drip irrigation and set up a system together. We also tried out several tools used by market farmers.

Small Engine Use, Selection and Maintenance

Presenter: Justin Jones, CROPS Farm Site Coordinator

Basic maintenance and troubleshooting tips for small engines used on market farms were covered. We learned about how small engines work, and serviced a mower as a class.

Pruning, Trellising, Pinching and Mounding for Vegetable Crops

Presenters: Evrett Lunquist and Ruth Chantry, Common Good Farm

Ruth and Evrett discussed pros and cons of various plant management techniques, and demonstrated a variety of techniques commonly used on market farms. They also covered planning for succession plantings into the fall. And Ruth served her amazing lemon bars!

Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling

Presenters: Kevin and Charuth Loth, ShadowBrook Farm

Class participants joined Kevin's crew for the day to harvest, wash and pack an order for Whole Foods. This hands-on experience illustrated the importance of sanitation, efficiency and communication with work crews.

Kevin and Charuth have owned and operated ShadowBrook Farm for 15 seasons. ShadowBrook is a certified organic vegetable farm which sells through multiple area farmers' markets, runs a CSA and sells to many grocery stores and restaurants. They always bring high quality produce to market!

Organic Insect Pest Management

Presenter: Leslie Pillen, CROPS Farm Manager

In this class we viewed many vegetable pests in action and covered principles of organic insect pest management. The class walked through the fields learning to scout for and identify pests. Leslie has many years of experience both managing insects and teaching others to safely and effectively deal with them.

Season Extension: High Tunnels, Cold Frames and Row Cover

This class outlined a variety of techniques to extend your growing season without using fossil fuels for heat.

Past Cooking Classes

Put it on a Pizza! Cooking Class

Wednesday July 20th 6:30pm-8:00pm, “F” Street Recreation Center (13th & F Streets)

Hang up on the pizza delivery place- you're making your own tonight! This class covers the basics of dough making, sauce creation, and offers suggestions on how to use even the most obscure of veggies on a delicious pizza. We demonstrate different cooking methods, and make a side dish of fresh pesto. We use a wide variety of seasonal produce from Community CROPS; Sunset Community Farm.

Seed Saving Workshop

Led by former CROPS Staff - Brad Kindler

Saving seed is an ancient human activity. For thousands of years humans have diversified our diets with vegetable varieties that we have changed to reflect our environments, tastes, and cultures. This one hour seed saving workshop will cover the techniques and technologies of effective seed saving. Additionally, we will cover basic information concerning cross pollination, open pollinated heirloom varieties, genetic engineering, and garden biodiversity.