Winter Conference Teaser: Improving Food Access, Raised Bed Gardens and Seed Saving!

The Winter Conference is 3 1/2 months away!

We will begin counting down to CT NOFA's largest celebration of local and organic food, farming and community with a glimpse into to line-up each week showcasing a few workshops we have recently announced.  

Improving Food Access Through Farmers Markets, CSAs, and Mobile MarketsDan Gregory & Pauline Zaldonis
"In this workshop, we will give an overview of Hartford Food System's efforts to improve food access in the City of Hartford. We will also go over various low-income inclusive CSA models and how to increase market revenue by accessing state and federal initiatives such as SNAP, WIC, and FMNP."

Dan Gregory is the farm manager for the urban farm, Grow Hartford. The farm offers subsidized low-income CSA shares and sells at local farmers markets in Hartford. Pauline Zaldonis is the program coordinator of the Hartford Mobile Market and policy analyst for Hartford Food System.


Raised Bed Gardens - Design and Care
John Carlson,Homefront Farmers
Learn the basics of raised bed vegetables gardens, including location, design, structure, planning, and care. Discussion will cover top 10 mistakes to avoid and top 10 overlooked opportunities in edible gardening.

John Carlson is a former marketing consultant turned small businessman and organic growing enthusiast. He founded Homefront Farmers in 2011 to help clients produce their own food organically. In addition to building and maintaining organic vegetable gardens, the company helps with berries, fruit trees, beekeeping and maple sugaring






The Art and Practice of Seed Saving
Shanyn Siegel, Thresh and Winnow
This class provides gardeners and farmers with the information needed to begin saving true-to-type seeds from their favorite vegetable varieties. Topics covered include plant classification, open-pollinated vs. hybrid varieties, floral anatomy, pollination methods and mating systems, isolation, and plant population sizes. Also discussed are seed harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storage.

Through her business, Thresh and Winnow, Shanyn Siegel teaches and consults on organic gardening and seed saving. Previously, as Curator for Seed Savers Exchange, she managed the nation’s largest non-profit seed bank, and grew, evaluated, and saved seeds from thousands of heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable varieties.

See all the confirmed workshops and register for the conference at ctnofa.org/winterconference