Don't Miss This Opportunity to Start a Great Garden!

Farmer Shannon Raider and Gardener
Bettylou Sandy demonstrate how to
fill seedling cells with soil in our last
workshop at Common Ground.

Our Organic Gardening Workshop at Common Ground High School is less than a week away! This educational event offers instruction and seasonal tips on what can be planted in your garden now and what must wait for warmer weather. Learn how to prep your garden beds, plan your plantings, deal with early garden pests, and improve soil fertility using organic methods. At only $10 a person, this is a great way to help yourself save a lot of money on groceries this season while being able to enjoy the freshest produce you can possibly get - produce picked right from your own backyard!

Our last workshop at Common Ground, Starting Seedlings, provided hands-on instruction on how to sprout, grow, and transplant seedlings into an organic garden.  This Saturday, May 5, learn what to do with your seedlings once they have sprouted before they get too big for their containers.  Give our office a call at 203.888.5146 to register.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for another upcoming workshop on Monday May 21. Join us along with the owners of Footsteps Farm, Craig and Sheryl Floyd, to learn about humane certified and sustainable livestock farming. Since 2002, Craig and Sheryl have produce humanely raised, grass fed pork, chickens, turkeys, beef and other farm products on the 15 acre Footsteps Farm in Stonington.

And stay tuned for information on more workshops we have in the works for this growing season. You won't want to miss out on these great opportunities to expand your knowledge in the garden and on the farm!

Humane and Sustainable Livestock Farming Workshop

May 21 4:00pm – 7:00pm - 11 Laurence Eleanor Street | Stonington, CT

Join the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA) and the owners of Footsteps Farm, Craig and Sheryl Floyd, to learn about human certified and sustainable livestock farming on May 21 from 4pm – 7pm.  Since 2002, Craig and Sheryl have produce humanely raised, grass fed pork, chickens, turkeys, beef and other farm products on the 15 acre Footsteps Farm in Stonington.

In 2006 Craig and Sheryl earned the Humane Certification for their poultry (turkeys, layer chickens and broilers) and their pigs.  The certification is a consumer certification and labeling program and Footsteps Farm is the first and only Humane Certified farm in Connecticut. The label means that eggs, dairy or meat were produced with the welfare of the farm animal in mind.  Craig describes his livestock as “free range all day, every day.”  Craig will also explain Management Intensive Grazing, a rotational grazing system.  These practices while ecological and humane also create high quality meats, dairy and eggs.  Even Martha Stewart chose Bourbon Red Turkey from Footsteps Farm for her Thanksgiving Dinner.

The workshop is for farmers, homesteaders, or anyone interested in livestock production with a focus on heritage breed turkeys, Scottish Highlander cattle, Footsteps Farm’s own breed of pig, the Large Shireworth, laying hens and broiler chickens (though they will not be on the farm at the time of the workshop).

After the workshop there will be a beginning farmer dinner and gathering for those who have farmed for ten years or fewer.  The workshop and beginning farmer mixer are made possible by a grant from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture through the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.  Workshop registration is $20 for members and beginning farmers (ten years or fewer of farming experience) and $30 for non-members.  To register in advance call our office at 203-888-5146 or visit www.ctnofa.org. 

CT NOFA is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the practices of ecologically sound farming and gardening, and to the development of local sustainable agriculture.

For more information:

-          Footsteps Farm Website

-          Footsteps Farm’s Humane Certification

-          “Keeping the Livestock Comfortable” by Gail Braccidiferro, published January 21, 2007 in the New York Times.

-          An interview with Craig in “You Are What You Eat” by Leslie Rovetti published in 2004 the Mystic Times

To register, visit CT NOFA's event page or call our office at  203-888-5146!