Boston Flora

Tag: Real Food Campaign

  • Sundays, February 12 and March 25, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm – Real Food Campaign Course

    The Real Food Campaign is announcing a two-session course, presented by Dan Kittredge, at the Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, in Mattapan on two Sundays, February 12 and March 25, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The course is designed for urban home and community gardeners, as well as growers from elsewhere who want to learn how to grow more bionutrient rich food crops so they and others can live healthier lives.

    Bionutrient rich crop production is a form of biological farming that works to balance and enliven the soil so that the crops growing in it provide all the necessary minerals, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and enzymes that humans and animals need in their bodies. The soil is stimulated by adding amendments containing the minerals in which the soil is deficient. Then, with close observation of the plants as they grow and by providing nutritional support with regularly applied drenches and foliar sprays, the vitality and energy of the soil and plants are enhanced to produce healthier crops, greater yields, extended seasons and longer shelf life. Insects cannot digest the complex compounds developed in healthier plants, and healthy plants are not as vulnerable to disease. As a result insect and disease problems diminish and can entirely disappear.

    The Boston Nature Center is easily accessible by the T. The course begins at 9:30 am and ends at 4:30 pm, The cost is $150, and it’s possible to register for that amount online with a credit card at www.realfoodcampaign.org.. Some scholarship aid may be available. For further information and to register by check or in installments for the course, please contact Douglas Williams, Course Administrator, at doug@realfoodcampaign.org or 603-924-7008.

  • Friday, October 7, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm – Practices and Principles of Growing Nutrient Dense Vegetables

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden course, for serious home vegetable gardeners as well as professionals caring for vegetable gardens, is an overview of how biological systems function and support you in addressing limiting factors in your garden. Examine soil testing and mineral balancing, biological inoculation, seed sizing and sorting, potting soil, tillage, fertility, in-season plant and soil monitoring and supplemental feeding based on plant needs. In-season monitoring will be based on conductivity and Brix monitoring with appropriate solutions including nutrient drenches and foliar spraying. The objective of this course is to support gardeners in growing vegetables that are pest- and disease-resistant as well as very flavorful and containing high levels of nutrition.  The course will take place Friday, October 7, from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, and will be repeated in the spring, on Friday, March 23.

    Dan Kittredge is an organic farmer and cofounder of the Real Food Campaign. As the son of two prominent leaders in the organic farming movement, Dan has been an organic farmer since childhood. His experience managing organic farms and developing sustainable agriculture techniques has connected him to farmers in Central America, Russia, India and the United States. Dan is passionate about raising the quality of nutrition in our food supply.  This hands-on workshop will cost $185, plus an additional $35 soil test fee, payable directly to the instructor. Participants are requested to have their soil test completed prior to the first class. For information on specifics, contact the garden, 413-298-3926, four weeks prior to the course.  To register, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org.