Urban farming series begins in January at the Hendersonville Community Co-op

Press release

In January of 2014, the Hendersonville Community Co-op will once again offer an affordable and fun way to learn more about your own Urban Farming potential. We have gathered a few local experts to help us learn our way to backyard sustainability and we hope that you will make time in your 2014 realize your full farming potential~ however small it may be!

Beginning with the basics in Bee Keeping on Saturday, January 11th from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Stuart VanMeter (bee keeper and owner/proprietor of Gommin Acres Farm in Henderson County, will teach a workshop that will provide the information you need to determine if beekeeping is for you. This is the time of year to get ready. We’ll cover what equipment you need, how to get a colony of bees and the resources available in the community to be successful including the 2014 Winter Bee School on Monday evenings at the Mountain Horticulture Crops and Extension Center in Mills River, the Henderson County Beekeepers Association. Honey samples will be available.

The Dynamic Duo of Kay Campbell and Kerri Pelz will further educate based on their own successes (and failures- so you don’t have to) as they learned their way through thick and thin on Sweet Folly Farm in Etowah, NC.

Saturday, January 18 ~1-3 pm Chicken Keeping
What is chicken keeping?  Some call it urban or city chicken farming.  It’s simply doing what your grandparents or great-grandparents probably did – keeping chickens in the backyard.  But backyard chickens have moved from “the country” into cities big and small.  Did you know that it is perfectly legal to keep chickens within the Hendersonville city limits? You are allowed up to 6 hens and no roosters! Whether you live within the city limits or not, why not consider having your own backyard chickens?
Saturday, January 25 ~1-3 pm “Put your trash to work for you”- What more can we say? A class dedicated to the most basic principles of soil nutrients and getting started with vermicomposting.

Saturday, February 1st ~ 1- 3 pm Raised Bed and Container Gardening: Maybe you don’t have an acre to work with for your urban farm. Selecting seeds, preparing soil and getting started with raised beds and container gardening.

Cost is: $20 per class for non-owners, $15 for Co-op owners. Sign-up in the event book located in the store or call or email Gretchen at 693-8557 ext 102 outreach@hendersonville.coop

Classes will meet in the “annex” of the Hendersonville Community Co-op which is at 715 South Grove Street Hendersonville, NC