This workshop is an invitation for attendees to bring organic apples from their own trees, you-pick orchards, or the store to be pressed into apple cider to drink and keep. The more different types of apples that are brought the more complex and unique the flavor of the batch will be. If you don’t have apples you still welcome to attend.
We will talk about recipes for warm and cold cider drinks, storage, and composting of cider mash. Please bring containers for cider (plastic gallons work good if you would like to freeze your cider) or large mason jars, Nalgene bottles, and 5 gallon buckets also work.
Teacher Bio: Dana McCoskey is a hobby organic gardener and brewer that has been pressing cider for 7 years. She grew up in Michigan near apple orchards and cider mills and thinks that cider is one of the best things about fall. Dana is also a wildlife biologist who has traveled throughout the US and abroad to study birds and other animals.
Interested in growing fruit trees in DC? This class will cover all the fruit trees that can be grown in DC and how to maintain them organically. This class will cover pests, diseases, management practices, harvesting techniques, and a short intro to pruning.
Teacher Bio:
Josh Singer is the DPR Community Garden Specialist. He works to build new gardens, establish garden support systems, advocate for food security, and create garden education throughout the District. Josh is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director to Wangari Gardens, a 3 acre garden park. Josh is a certified arborist, master gardener, master composter, Bumba Apiarist, licensed teacher, and has a cerftificate in Permacutlure Design and EcoCity Farms Urban Gardening .
Urban soils are typically very poor– lacking in nutrients, organic matter, microbial activity and good soil structure. Biosolids are the nutrient-rich materials recovered during the treatment of waste water that are carefully processed to make a soil amendment that helps address these shortcomings and build great soils for growing plants. Biosolids have been used for decades throughout the District and surrounding areas in tree plantings, soil remediation, green infrastructure, urban gardens and residential yards. Come learn more about DC Water’s biosolids program and how you can be involved in the movement for better soils.
Teacher Bio: Bill is responsible for ensuring biosolids operations and services at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (or “Water Resource Recovery Facility”) run smoothly. He also looks for new outlets for this nutrient-rich soil amendment. Previously he worked on a water and sanitation project in Kenya at the World Bank and held various engineering positions. He has a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge.
Have you explored planting an edible organic garden with your kids yet? Come learn some basics on why growing organic is important, what resources are available in DC to grow with your kids and pick up some seeds to get started. Don’t Miss It!! Summer is here so the time is right to get your hands in the dirt and have some fun. Options for all types of living styles will be explored. Certified urban agriculture oficionados and youth camp organizers will share their love for organic food and how to grow it simply in a way that includes your kids as co-learners in a session that highlights the interdependence of us all with Mother Earth. Please dress comfortably and ready to get hands in the dirt. Materials will be provided. Very interactive!
This class will take place at the Casa Iris Intergenerational Garden at 2201 12th street NW at intersection of W street. (Columbia Heights)
Teacher
Angela Adrar Founder of Ecohermanas, a mother of two toddlers and a long time environmental activist and rural farm and food justice organizer with experience in the United States, Africa, and Asia. Through the Ecohermanas Agroecology and wellness initiative, she facilitates intergenerational power-sharing and co-learning sessions on farming, food, environmental justice, fun and good living for all ages. Kevin Cowan is a father and husband, he is also the founder of Knoble Farm and Gardens together with his wife (Angela) they run Dig n’ Fort Totten; a community backyard-farm initiative that helps families and neighbors take control of their food choices and grow their own, uplifting traditional knowledge and inviting youth of all ages. EcoHermanas is a re-imagined global collective of women that play a pivotal role in sharing, weaving, and reconnecting life to Mother Earth. Visit us at Ecohermanas.org
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.
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.
