Wednesday, April 22nd, 10am
Join us for a talk and discussion with Spero Latchis, founder of Living Soil Network. He’ll share how we can use simple practical methods to quickly cool the earth and create climate stability. Our planet functions as a symbiotic ecosystem. When we examine climate from this scientific perspective, solutions present themselves that are not apparent by focusing on carbon dioxide alone. By understanding the natural cycles of microbes, plants, soil, and water, we discover nature’s key to restoring a healthy living planet.
About the Presenter: Spero Latchis CCH. is the founder of Living Soil Network and longtime student of soil microbiologists Dr. Elaine Ingham and professor Walter Jehne. He regularly lectures on the profound relationship between soil health, human health, and planetary health.
Have you been wanting to learn how to make your own kombucha? Kombucha is a beverage filled with health promoting minerals, enzymes, and probiotics. Learn about the beneficial properties and how to make it yourself, taste test different flavors, and take home a “scoby” to begin making your own brew! Ages 12 and up
Come out to the farm and explore best practices for winter growing. Participants will tour our year-round growing infrastructure and then venture inside to talk about extension practices for the backyard grower (weather depending). There will also be a chance to purchase winter growing starters!
Topics covered include: What plants need to grow all winter, understanding photoperiod, microclimates, greenhouse components, maintaining soil fertility in a closed environment, designing your winter garden.
Explore herbal remedies specifically for the winter season that will help boost your immune system to keep the winter blues and colds away. We’ll discuss the medicinal uses of a variety of herbs, and you’ll choose an herb to concoct into an herbal vinegar to take home to enjoy! Ages 10 and up
As we approach colder weather and flu season, it’s time to get ready with your own herbal remedies. This Immune Berry Syrup will keep your body healthy by supporting your immune system. Craft your own syrup to take home using blackberries, ginger, farm-grown turmeric, and more! Ages 10 and up.
Come and make your own herbal tea right here on the farm! Head to the gardens for this workshop with one of our staff educators to learn about the different herbs we grow at Wolfe’s Neck Center. We will then use fresh and dried herbs to brew a cup to taste, and then bring home your own loose tea to enjoy with your family. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Featuring University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Learn the art and science of making farm fresh jam at Wolfe’s Neck Center with experts from University of Maine Cooperative Extension and our own master canner. We’ll use what’s in season to make jam together and sample with crackers. See how value-added products are an important component of our fruit and vegetable farming enterprise.
Explore the coast of Wolfe’s Neck in this workshop by learning about seaweed and its health benefits. Sample different varieties and leave with ideas on how to incorporate seaweed into your daily life. Ages 12 and up.
If you think you generate a lot of compost in your household, imagine what it looks like on a farm scale! In this workshop, we’ll discuss what it takes to manage food waste and biomass (leaf piles, grass clippings, etc.), both in your own gardens and on our farm. Learn the science behind what’s in your compost pile, followed by a walking tour of compost in action. The workshop will include both a lecture and a walk around barn and chicken tractor.
Join us for a walk through the woods to gather white pine needles and forage for other edible plants to make tea with. We’ll come together around our forest fire pit to make a big batch of “tree tea” and talk about the health benefits of our ingredients.
Not everyone is burning fuel and using tractors to get the job done around the farm. Some farmers still work their land the old fashioned way, with horses, oxen and walk-behind or ride-along equipment. In this workshop & demo, we will learn how the farmers communicate with, instruct and train oxen for farming from former Wolfe’s Neck educator and program participant Katie Josephs and her 4-H team. They will introduce their team of oxen to us and teach us how they are rigged up for work, and how they respond to commands. We’ll take a hay ride up to our vegetable plot and see the action begin as the oxen plow up a few rows!
Are the bugs and weeds in your garden getting you down? This workshop digs into integrated pest management and integrated weed suppression management practices. We’ll focus on organic solutions to help you get out of the weeds. Topics covered include: Pest identification, crop rotation & interplanting, deep organic pest control, and timing crops according to pest life cycle.