The Urban Garden Season Extension class will focus on strategies to extend your growing season such as tips for winter gardening, garden calendar planning, low tunnels, hoop houses, cold frames, shade tents, and many more strategies. This class will help you make the most of your garden and its production while preparing you towards the ultimate “4 season” garden.
Teacher Bio: Josh Singer is the DC Parks and Rec(DPR) Community Garden Specialist. He creates new community gardens and urban agricultural projects while developing and managing garden support systems such as a 70 class urban garden workshop series, a city wide compost network, a garden toolshare and a greenhouse cooperative. Josh also is the Co-Founder and Excecutive Director of the 501c3 non profit garden park called Wangari Gardens.
Growing organically is trying to grow in harmony with nature, without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other synthetic products. We will learn that an important ‘rule’ in organic gardening is feed the soil, not the plant. To feed the soil, we organic gardeners must return the resources our gardens consume by adding organic matter such as compost and or cover crops. We also allow for a certain level of pest damage to our plants and we will learn which bugs are beneficial, which are destructive, when they are likely to arrive and what we can do about them.
Registration required: http://caseytrees.org/event/non-native-invasive-plant-removal/
Come learn about non-native, invasive plants and how they are threatening our native landscapes. Participants will learn how to identify and control species of non-native, invasive plants found in the Washington, D.C. area including porcelainberry (Ampelopsis glandulosa), Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) and mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata). Native alternatives to common and incoming invasive plants will also be discussed.
The course consists of two parts on two different days: a 2.5 hour classroom session at the Casey Trees headquarters (Wednesday, June 8th) followed by a 2.5 hour field session (Saturday, June 11th from 9:00am-11:30am) in Rock Creek Park.
Instructors
Ana Chuquin, Rock Creek National Park
Jorge Bogantes Montero, Anacostia Watershed Society
Damien Ossi, Department of Energy & Environment
Who Should Attend?
Open to the general public for those interested in learning to identify non-native, invasive plants found in the region and how to control these species.
Meals
All attendees will be provided with a light dinner. Please note your dietary preferences and/or allergies when registering so we can attempt to accommodate your needs.
Continuing Education Credits
ISA Continuing Education Credits available.
Getting There
The Metrorail station is Brookland-CUA (Red Line) which is a 10 minute walk. The Metrobus stop is near the intersection of 12th and Irving Street NE (served by the H8) or the Brookland-CUA Metro station (served by the H2, H4, H6, G8, R4 and 80). At our office, there is ample street parking and we accommodate bicycles on-site.
Description
This workshop will cover the basics of plant identification. Participants will learn which flower characteristics are important for using a botanical key and how to recognize the most common plant families in the DC area.
Teacher Bio
Holly Poole-Kavana is an herbalist practicing in Washington DC. In 2010 she founded Little Red Bird Botanicals, offering herbal consultations, an herbal medicine CSA, and workshops on growing and using medicinal herbs. She also works as a health educator and birth assistant.
Through powerpoint and discussion, we will look at “pests” a little differently than most gardeners do: they are telling us that we are doing something wrong! Let’s dig deeper into truly organic and sustainable agriculture and learn to listen to what the “pests” and ecosystem are telling us. Sprays, whether organic or homemade, are not long-term solutions and can have undesirable side effects. We will start learning to identify all sorts of insects in the garden and learn how they work in order to better design our gardens to achieve balance amongst the wildlife, and still put food on our table! Finally, we will conclude with a visual review of common diseases too and what one can be done to prevent and manage them.
Teacher Bio:
Christian spent the last few years as Farm Manager at ECO City Farms, a few miles outside DC in Prince George’s County, MD. On this 1-acre urban farm (or “big garden”), the farm used organic methods, compost, and season extension tools to provide fresh vegetables, fruits, and sprouts to our 25-person CSA and farmers market. More importantly, as a non-profit educational organization, is the mission to help urban communities use agriculture to positively develop their communities.
Free workshop series to learn how to plan healthy meals for your family! You will also become eligible to take the Food Handler’s certification class for free at University of the District of Columbia (UDC).
This six (6) week course will be offered Saturdays 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm on January 16, 23 and 30, and February 6, 13, 20.
Free. To register contact Chef T at 202-495-9473 or thenson@udc.edu.
Co-sponsored by UDC CAUSES and Washington Parks and People.
Join Casey Trees for this introductory course covering tree anatomy, tree identification, and an overview of the benefits of Washington’s urban forest. The session will culminate with a street tree identification walk led by Casey Trees staff. Free. Register online.
This is a Citizen Forester-qualifying course. 
Get a jump on the season, save money, grow what you want and maximize production! Class will cover everything from lights to soils to seed starting strategies to get you started for 2016. Instructor: Gordon Clark, Montgomery Victory Gardens
Free workshop series to learn how to plan healthy meals for your family! You will also become eligible to take the Food Handler’s certification class for free at University of the District of Columbia (UDC).
This six (6) week course will be offered Saturdays 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm on January 16, 23 and 30, and February 6, 13, 20.
Free. To register contact Chef T at 202-495-9473 or thenson@udc.edu.
Co-sponsored by UDC CAUSES and Washington Parks and People.
Free workshop series to learn how to plan healthy meals for your family! You will also become eligible to take the Food Handler’s certification class for free at University of the District of Columbia (UDC).
This six (6) week course will be offered Saturdays 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm on January 16, 23 and 30, and February 6, 13, 20.
Free. To register contact Chef T at 202-495-9473 or thenson@udc.edu.
Co-sponsored by UDC CAUSES and Washington Parks and People.
The Veteran Farmer Reserve Program is for those interested in exploring agriculture without committing to a full-time training program. This 12-month program will meet one weekend a month, with an additional service learning commitment of 80 hours of hands-on farm work at Arcadia during 2016. Reserve Farmers will:
- receive hands-on training at Arcadia’s expanding farm in Alexandria, Va.;
- visit working livestock, greenhouse, organic, and other farms on field trips
- receive classroom instruction on topics ranging from pest control to marketing and farm business planning
- complete independent reading, research and writing assignments.
First Cohort Date: January 2016 to December 2016
Projected Workshop Dates: 1/23-24 (note this change), 2/20-21,3/19-20,4/23-24,5/21-22, 6/18-19,7/23-24,8/20-21,9/17-18, 10/22-23, 11/19-20, 12/10-11
The Veteran Farmer Reserve Program is a fee based program with needs=based scholarships offered to qualified veterans.Tuition: $1,995 – fee includes breakfast and lunch during monthly training weekends.
Application: To apply for the Farmer Reserve Program, please download and fill out the application
One of the region’s largest farm and food gaterings. Organized by Future Harvest CASA Participate in workshops, attend Local Fare Fair and interact during pre-conference skill-building workshops for farmers and food lovers alike. Volunteer and scholarship applications for the 2016 Cultivate the Chesapeake Foodshed conference .
Turmeric root has joined ginger root on many grocery shelves, but how to use it? Learn about the nutritional value of these two powerhouse roots and how to incorporate them for maximum flavor impact in delicious original recipes.
Adrienne Cook, Garden and Cooking Writer Danielle Cook, Holistic Nutritionist and Cooking Instructor
Ever wondered how you can have your yard and eat it too? Join author and edible landscape designer Michael Judd in an exploration of creating edible landscapes that combine form, function, and production. Focus will be on creating food forests, building herb spirals, choosing uncommon fruits, outdoor mushroom cultivation, and much more. This will be a fun-filled presentation for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike. Concluded with a book signing.
Come learn the fundamentals of pruning young trees using hand tools to encourage healthy structural development at the National Park Service’s American Elm Nursery. Instructor is Barry Stahl, Horticulturist/Nursery Manager, National Park Service. Open to the general public for anyone interested in learning how to prune young trees using hand tools. Free. Register online.
