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July's Hands-in-Dirt Learning Events for Chicago Area Growers
- Bob Benenson
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
Urban Growers Collective, U of I Extension, Contemporary Farmer Sharing Wisdom
Aspiring and rising farmers can gain a season's worth of knowledge by spending a few hours at Urban Growers Collective's farm in the South Chicago neighborhood on Saturday, July 12.
The organization, a leading urban agriculture producer and advocate , is presenting workshops between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in these three subject areas (descriptions from Urban Growers Collective):
Seasonal Harvest - Come learn how to set up your harvest day for success! We will introduce you to a simple processing station, harvest sequencing, the right tools for the job and our harvesting tips for efficiency and abundance. In each workshop we will practice harvesting and post-harvest handling a variety of seasonal produce growing on the farm.
Oyster Mushrooms - Oyster mushrooms produce quickly, require few resources, can be grown in easily accessible materials and don’t take up mushroom on the farm! In this workshop we’ll cover our fun-guide to diversifying your farm production throughout the year by incorporating mushrooms into your crop plan. You’ll leave with the hands-on experience and knowledge to start growing your own oyster mushrooms.
Food Safety on the Farm - In this workshop, we will introduce you to our food safety practices and how we ensure our produce is safe, healthy and the highest-quality possible for our community. From composting to harvest, we have training, techniques and recordkeeping built into our daily work flows. Don’t forget to sign in! Food safety starts when you arrive at the farm.
All of the workshops will be held at the South Chicago Farm (9009 S. Mackinaw), and include an introduction, demo, hands-on time, informational handout, and a free tour voucher.
Click the button below to register for the workshops.
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Also, University of Illinois Extension has scheduled two bilingual field days in July at individual locations in Chicago.
According to Jesse Schaeffer, IL Extension's Visiting Extension Outreach Associate for Urban and Innovative Agriculture:
We have back-to-back Bilingual Soil Health Field Days coming up in late July!
The first field day is happening at DePaul College Prep with Contemporary Farmer on Wednesday, July 23rd from 4:30-6:30 pm with a focus on raised beds.
Because of bad weather, we rescheduled our original La Villita Field Day for Wednesday, July 30th from 5-7pm, focused on in-ground beds.
We would love to see you at both field days or you can choose based on your soil health interests. Both events are free to attend but registration is required.
Here is a more detailed description of the July 23 event, which will be held at DePaul College Prep, 3333 N. Rockwell St. at the far western end of Chicago's Lakeview community:
As part of Illinois Extension's Summer Technical Assistance Field Day Series, in partnership with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), we are hosting a field day focused on soil health. This event and program is part one of a two-part series focused on Bilingual Soil Health, with Spanish interpretation available.
Extension educators, along with Farmer David Toledo will discuss soil stewardship and conservation practices implemented by Contemporary Farmer, Inc. at DePaul College Prep. We're thrilled to welcome Joseph Bridges and Alicia Lozano, the USDA NRCS Soil Conservationists for Cook County, who will be on site to meet farmers and answer your questions about applying for reimbursement programs. Reimbursable conservation practices related to soil health that are available to small scale urban growers will also be discussed.
And the details of the July 30 Field Day:
Extension educators, along with Farmers Nateo, Viviana, and others will discuss soil stewardship and conservation practices implemented at The La Villita Community Farm.
We're thrilled to welcome Joseph Bridges and Alicia Lozano, the USDA NRCS Soil Conservationists for Cook County, who will be on site to meet farmers and answer your questions about applying for reimbursement programs. Reimbursable conservation practices related to soil health that are available to small scale urban growers will also be discussed.
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