Community CROPS Workshops -- 2013
Come learn with us! Classes and workshops are offered throughout the year on gardening and farming topics, cooking, and sustainable living. Do you have an idea for a class you'd like to teach? Call us at 402.474.9802 to discuss!
You can sign up to get regular e-mails about upcoming workshops.
Farming Classes --- Gardening Classes --- Cooking Classes
View past classes here. Many will be offered again!
Farm Classes
Farm classes, with the exception of Pruning, Trellising, and Mounding, will be held at Prairie Pines, 3110 N. 112th Street, Lincoln (map)
Organic Pest Management
Saturday June 15, 9:00AM-12:00PM, Prairie Pines
We'll explore a wide range of alternative, effective pest management techniques at this class, from barriers to home-made sprays. Taught by Sarah Browning, Lancaster County Extension, an expert on local pest management. Register for Organic Pest Management
Pruning, Trellising and Mounding
Saturday June 15, 1:00PM-4:00PM, Common Good Farm
Learn great crop maintenance with the help of a good pair of shears, bamboo, and, of course, soil. Taught by Evrett Lunquist, who is a tremendous resource on all topics related to small scale organic farming. Register for Pruning, Trellising and Mounding
Gardening Classes
Introduction to Permaculture
Saturday, June 15th, 9:00AM-12:00PM, Location will be e-mailed to registrants
Learn about permaculture and how to live sustainably and grow bounitful produce with less work and inputs. Permaculture is a design system which emulates and integrades natural ecosystems. Ingrid Kirst will introduce you to basic performance principles you can implement at home as we explore a home-scale permaculture garden. Register for Permaculture
Drip Irrigation
Saturday, June 29th, 9:00AM-12:00PM
Make your gardening more sustainable and eaiser to maintain with drip irrigation! Drip irrigation promotes healthy root systems, conserves water, and applies water directly to where it is needed all while requiring less effort than traditional hose or sprinkler watering. Learn about different drip irrigation systems and how to set up your own at a low cost.
Class registration for additional classes will be available soon. Here's a tentative calendar.
Cooking Classes
Cooking classes are $5 for CSA members, $10 for CROPS participants and $12 for anyone else in advance. Those receiving financial aid from CROPS may attend for free.
All cooking classes are held at Antelope Church of the Brethren, 3645 Sumner Street. (map)
Cooking with the Community: Vietnamese
Tuesday, June 18, 6:00-8:00pm, Antelope Church of the Brethren
Learn how to cook Vietnamese food. The Asian Center will help us celebrate spring and summer with Bun, a cold noodle dish served with fresh lettuce, sauteed carrot and jicama, cucumber, onion, and fresh herbs like mint and cilantro. Bun is served with a soy based sauce, and peanuts. They'll also show us how to use these same tasty ingredients in spring rolls.
Register for Cooking with the Vietnamese
Cooking with the Community: Karen
Tuesday, July 9, 6:00-8:00pm, Antelope Church of the Brethren
Learn how to cook Karen style food. In Karen culture, rice is the most important component of a meal and is eaten daily with vegetables, herbs, and spices such as turmeric, ginger, chili, and tamarind. We will learn how to cook a versatile rice porridge dish, which can be eaten with any seasonal vegetables and protein.
Register for Cooking with the Karen
DIY Kombucha
Tuesday, July 23, 6:00-8:00pm, Antelope Church of the Brethren Learn how to make Kombucha. Ancient elixer or just mad science? We'll cover the benefits of regular Kombucha consumption, detail culturing your SCOBY from scratch or an established critter, and talk flavoring.
CROPS Class Fees
Community CROPS classes are open to all. Prices below are standard unless otherwise notified. Classes through Southeast Community College prices vary.
- $15 - at the door
- $12 - pre-paid general registration
- $10 - pre-paid, program participant (Gardener, Farmer, CSA Member, Volunteer)
- free - program participants receiving financial assistance
Past Garden/Farm Classes
Composting with Worms
Have a small space? Want to compost inside over the winter? Let worms do the work for you! Make your own worm composting bin to use all year long in an indoor space to turn your kitchen scraps into natural fertilizer for your plants. Classroom participants had a great time learning about Vermicomposting and creating their own bin to take home.
Double Digging Workshop
More information on:
Double Digging and Biointensive gardening, (www.growbiointensive.org).
Drip Irrigation and Other Tools on the Market Farm
A class about how, when and why to use a variety of irrigation methods. We focused on drip irrigation and set up a system together. We also tried out several tools used by market farmers.
Small Engine Use, Selection and Maintenance
Basic maintenance and troubleshooting tips for small engines used on market farms were covered. We learned about how small engines work, and serviced a mower as a class.
Pruning, Trellising, Pinching and Mounding for Vegetable Crops
Ruth and Evrett of Common Good Farm discussed pros and cons of various plant management techniques, and demonstrated a variety of techniques commonly used on market farms. They also covered planning for succession plantings into the fall. And Ruth served her amazing lemon bars!
Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling
Class participants joined Kevin's crew at ShadowBrook Farm for the day to harvest, wash and pack an order for Whole Foods. This hands-on experience illustrated the importance of sanitation, efficiency and communication with work crews.
Kevin and Charuth have owned and operated ShadowBrook Farm for 15 seasons. ShadowBrook is a certified organic vegetable farm which sells through multiple area farmers' markets, runs a CSA and sells to many grocery stores and restaurants. They always bring high quality produce to market!
Organic Insect Pest Management
In this class we viewed many vegetable pests in action and covered principles of organic insect pest management. The class walked through the fields learning to scout for and identify pests.
Season Extension: High Tunnels, Cold Frames and Row Cover
This class outlined a variety of techniques to extend your growing
season without using fossil fuels for
heat.
Seed Saving Workshop
Saving seed is an ancient human activity. For thousands of years humans have diversified our diets with vegetable varieties that we have changed to reflect our environments, tastes, and cultures. This one hour seed saving workshop will cover the techniques and technologies of effective seed saving. Additionally, we will cover basic information concerning cross pollination, open pollinated heirloom varieties, genetic engineering, and garden biodiversity.
