Agricultural News
Market Gardening School to take place in Antlers
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:28:54 CDT
In an effort to provide fresh market producers with the most up-to-date information on management, production and marketing techniques, Oklahoma State University is teaming up with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, to host the 2010 Oklahoma Market Gardening School.
The eight-week course will begin Sept. 23 and meet weekly through Nov. 11 at the Antlers Community Building, 204 Southwest 4th St., Antlers. Classes will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Registration is $70 per individual or $85 per couple. Couples will receive one set of handouts.
Lynn Brandenberger, OSU Cooperative Extension horticulture food crops specialist, said the school is geared toward those who are established in the business as well as those who are interested in exploring a new enterprise.
“We continue to see the public’s interest increase for locally grown fresh produce. In addition, there are a growing number of public schools around the state that want to purchase fresh produce from local producers for their lunch programs,” Brandenberger said.
Produce that is grown, picked and sold in the same area has many benefits, including freshness, food safety due to a localized food production system and lower costs due to lack of transportation expenses.
“You don’t have to have a large operation in order to benefit from this course,” he said. “The information we’ll provide is valuable to both small and large producers.”
Each week’s session will focus on a different area related to fruit and vegetable production, such as getting organized, soils and fertilizer management, crop establishment and irrigation, guidelines for producing vegetable crops, season extension, pest management, food safety and marketing and fruit and nut production guidelines.
“We have a great bunch of specialists from the three groups hosting this event who will share their expertise during the eight sessions,” he said. “Whether you’re already established in your business or just starting out, we’ll be offering something for everyone.”
The class is limited to 100 participants and preregistration is required. Online registration is available- click here to do so.
To register by mail, send the registration form from the OSU’s department of horticulture and landscape architecture website (Click here for that website) along with the payment to Oklahoma Market Gardening Course, attn: Stephanie Larimer, 358 Ag Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078-6027 or call her at 405-744-5404.
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