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Or Join the DC Urban Grower Network Google Group
This group is a platform for urban growers in greater DC to ask questions, partner on projects and bulk purchases, and share resources and events about urban growing in greater DC.
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DPR Advanced Grower Webinar Series
Now more than ever people are understanding the importance of growing our own food. That’s why DC Parks and Rec (DPR) created the FREE Advance Grower Webinar Series. This series includes over 20 free webinars taught by over a dozen local experts on a variety of advance gardening techniques and skills.
Where
Webex Video Conference Room – Will send log in information to first 100 registered participants for each class. Most webinars will be recorded and sent to everyone on the waiting list. Please register for each individual webinar you are interested in attending or receiving the recordings.
Time
Every Tuesday and Thursday 6-7 or 6-8pm from May 12 to July 28
Must Registered for Each Class at this Link
(On the registration page look for the “+” on the left column to register for each class interested.)
Schedule
5/12 – Urban Foraging in DC – Josh Singer, DPR Community Garden Specialist
5/14 – Optimizing Time and Space in the Urban Garden – Neil Hoffman, Urban Gardener
5/19 – Chickens in the City; Bringing DC’s Healthy Living Initiatives to our Schools, Homes, & Community Gardens – Kate Mcylnn, Urban Gardener
5/21 – Growing Herbs and Greens Indoors with Kratky Hydroponics – Neil Hoffman, Urban Gardener
5/26 – Growing and Brewing with Hops– Dana McCoskey, Hobby Organic Gardener/Brewer
5/28 –Intro to Drip Irrigation – Kate Lee, DOEE Office of Urban Agriculture Director
6/2 – Connecting with Plants in a Climate of Disconnection – Holly Poole-Kavana, Little Red Bird Botanicals
6/4 – Overview of Food Recovery in DC – Josh Singer, DC Food Recovery Working Group
6/9 – Foraging Mushrooms – Drew Drozynski, Tara Geiger, Hobby Foragers
6/11 – Intro to Canning and Food Preservation – Regina Anderson, Executive Director of Food Recovery Network.
6/16 – Urban Stealth Composting; Bokashi, Compost Hiding-Pots, Garden Towers, Worm Towers, Kambha Stacks and More – Kate Mcylnn, Urban Gardener
6/18 – Growing Mushrooms in the City – Drew Drozynski, Hobby Mushroom Grower
6/23 – Beekeeping Basics – Izzy Hill, USDA Honey Bee and Pollinator Research Coordinator
6/25 – DIY Organic Home Products – Regina Anderson, Executive Director of Food Recovery Network.
6/30 – Forgotten Foods; Cooking from Garden and Field with all the Taste but None of the Waste! – Kate Mcylnn, Urban Gardener
7/2 – Finding Land and Organizing Gardens in DC – Josh Singer, DPR Community Garden Specialist
7/7 – Website Optimization – Howard Lee, Marketing Manager
7/9 – Design and Build a Trommel Compost Sifter – Neil Hoffman, Urban Gardener
7/14 – Intro to Cover Crops – Andy Clark, USDA sustainable agriculture program
7/16 – Intro to Seed Saving – Xavier Brown, DPR Small Parks Specialist
7/21 – Intro to Soil Microbiology – Erika Larsen, Soil Scientist
7/23 – Gardening & Cooking the Harvest with Kids – City Blossoms Crew
7/28 – Roots of Food Apartheid – Josh Singer, Peoples School of DC
7/30 – A Greenhouse and STEM Activity for Educators (we are all educators) – Tara McNerney a nd Willa Pohlman from City Blossoms and Lee Coykendall from U.S. Botanic Gardens
(Schedule subject to change. Please register to receive any updates)
For any additional questions or if you’re are interested in teaching future webinars with DPR please contact Joshua.singer@dc.gov
Class Presentations
Each presentation will be loaded before the start of each webinar class.
*** These presentations are the property of Josh Singer or other teachers. Its okay to share for personal use but please contact joshsinger3070@gmail.com for permission to publish in any way ***
DPR Urban Grower Webinar Presentations
Class Recordings
Closed Captioning (cc) is either prerecorded or available through Youtube at the button on the bottom right of each video screen labeled “cc”
Intro to Urban Foraging in DC
Topics
Preparing to Forage
Month to Month Foraging Calendar
Resources
***Whenever foraging something new***
- Be 100% sure you have properly identified it (When in doubt leave it)
- Get a second opinion (lots of groups and apps in the presentation to help you)
- Once 100% sure with a second opinion try a little bit first. Even if you properly identified something you’re stomach may not like it;) Best to try a little bit and wait while.
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Optimizing Time and Space in the Urban Garden
Topics
Limited Space: biointensive, vertical, crop selection
Time: triple cropping, season extension, seedling nursery crop selection
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Chickens in the City; Bringing DC’s Healthy Living Initiatives to our Schools, Homes, & Gardens
Topics
Getting Started, Definitions
Care, Safety, and Chicken Health
Structures and Materials
Collaboration with a Local School
Program Management
Resources
Chicken Management Plan
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Growing Herbs and Greens Indoors with Kratky Hydroponics
Topics
What is Kratky Hydroponics
What Can You Grow
Materials Needed
How to Grow
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Growing and Brewing Hops
Topics
History
Uses
Brewing and Bottling Beer
The Hops Plant
Growing Info
Varieties
Resources
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Intro to Drip Irrigation
Topics
Types of Irrigation
Getting Started
Installation
Maintenance
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Creating Relationship with Plants in a Time of Disconnection
Topics
The Context: Cultural Forces
Humans and Plants
Creating Connections
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Overview of Food Recovery in DC
Topics
Food Waste Overview
Food Waste During COVID
DC Food Recovery Working Group
Liability, Laws, Regulations and Incentives
Date Labels
Places to Donate Food in DC
Transportation Programs
Food Recovery for Businesses
School Food Recovery Options
Gleaning Programs
Food Safety
Composting Options
Food Recovery Apps and Websites
Organic Waste Ban
Infographics, Guides, Resource
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Foraging Mushrooms
Topics
Disclaimer / risks of mushroom hunting
Fungal facts and their role in the environment
How and where to start collecting
Choice edibles
Proper cooking techniques
Legality of harvesting mushrooms
Resources to continue learning
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Intro to Canning and Food Preservation
No lecture topics – All demonstration class on canning and food preserving
Additional resources mentioned in class
– 500 Preserving Delights by Clippy McKenna
– Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine
– Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff
– Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan, and we use the pickled zucchini recipe as the example product in her book
– Mrs. Wages NEW Home Canning Guide by Gale R. Ammerma
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Urban Stealth Composting
Topics
Bokashi
Compost Hiding Pots
Garden Towers
Worm Towers
Kambha Stacks
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Mushroom Growing 101
Topics
What is a mushroom
Fungi Life Cycle
Culture, Spawn, Substrate, Fruiting
Outdoor and indoor Fruiting Options
Types of Outdoor Grows
Species Choice
Resources
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DIY Organic Home Beauty Products
Topics
Oils and Essential Oils
Fresh and dried herbs
Salt and sugars
Additional
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Forgotten Foods; Cooking from Garden and Field with all the Taste but None of the Waste!
Topics
Come learn ways to eat better, waste less and enjoy it more. Some reports show that in the U.S. we waste 40% of the food produced and most of that comes from our homes. Meanwhile, many of us have unhealthy diets, obesity is on the rise and over 12 % of households reman food insecure. Even when we garden, we tend to grow only foods we see in the supermarkets, to the exclusion of less shippable foods that our ancestors raised/foraged for that are both flavorful & nutritionally-dense. In chefs’ kitchens nothing is wasted. Let’s bring all that to our tables at home!
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Website Optimization
This webinar will review the technical and marketing techniques you can use on your website to help increase traffic, grow your audience and increase conversion to paying customers.
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Design and Build a Trommel Sifter
Anyone producing compost will benefit from a tool to sift the compost. The class will cover various design options to build a diy compost sifter including a discussion of building materials, energy sources, and how to couple the energy to do the work.
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Intro to Cover Crops
Topics
Why Plant Cover Crops?
Types of Cover Crops
How to Plant
How to Terminate
Details on best cover crops
Cover crop rotation scenario
Soil Fertility/Soil Biology
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Intro to Seed Saving
Topic
Background on Seed Keeping
Key Terms
Technical Skills
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Intro to Fermentation
Are you curious about what fermentation is and why it’s healthy for you to consume fermented foods? This class is aimed at teaching a few different fermentation methods, how it works, and will describe two different fermentation recipes, including one for fermented blueberry “soda.”
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Gardening & Cooking the Harvest with Kids
City Blossoms will share our tips and tricks for engaging children early childhood through elementary in gardening and easy cooking activities.
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Roots of Food Aparthied
When a community lacks access to healthy and affordable food it’s often labeled as a “food desert”. One problem with this label is it implies that food deserts, much like real deserts, just naturally occurred all on its own. There’s an effort in the food justice movement to use a better label that captures the very intentional systems, policies and history responsible for segregating communities from legitimate food access. This new label is called “Food Apartheid”. Food Apartheid goes beyond spatial food access and dives into historical and current systems and policies that intentionally segregate people spatially and economically from healthy food, among many other important things. This class will explore SOME of these historic and current systems such as systemic racism, housing discrimination, segregation/desegregation/re-segregation movements, affordable housing crisis, eviction crisis, gentrification and more
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Greenhouse and STEM Activity for Educators
Topics
The Greenhouse Manual
Lesson: Growing your greenhouse pizza garden
Mighty Greens’ High School Cooperative Busines
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Soil Microbiology 101
Topics
Soil Science 101
Soil Microbiology
Soil Food Web
Types of Microbes
Organic Matter
Soil Nutrient Cycling
Applying Soil Food Web Science and Microbiology to your Garden
Soil Testing
Environmental/Public Health Implications
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Check Out Other DPR Urban Growing Webinars
