Sugar Maple Tapping is Scheduled for Bendix Woods

Maple sugaring activities are scheduled to begin at Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle, Indiana on Saturday, February 18, at 9:30 a.m. Trees will be tapped for the upcoming sugaring season.

Volunteers will help tap the trees and install the tubing system, which allows the tree’s sap to flow directly to the sugar house. Volunteers will also clean sap storage tanks, organize supplies, stack firewood and clean the sugar house. 

Tapping activities will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Sauk Trail Shelter. Participants are encouraged to bring a hammer and a brace with a 5/16” bit. (Cordless power drills with a 5/16” bit will also work.) The park will provide tools as well. Volunteers should arrive no later than 10:30 a.m. to ensure they will get the chance to tap trees. Dress for the weather. Light snacks will be provided for all volunteers.

Later in the month, visiting school groups will hang buckets in an adjacent area of the sugar camp.

The park’s annual Sugar Camp Days festival will be held Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18, 2012.

The main entrance for Bendix Woods County Park is located on Timothy Road in New Carlisle, 8 miles west of the U.S. 31 bypass from the State Road 2 Exit. For more information, phone 574/654-3155.

Tuttle Orchards Wins "Best Cider in Indiana" Award

Tuttle Orchards, a popular central Indiana apple orchard, was awarded the “Best Cider in Indiana” award on January 19, 2012 at the Indiana Horticulture Congress for placing first in the cider judging contest. Apple ciders from orchards all over Indiana entered the competition.

Owner, Tom Roney who has been making cider for over 50 years says, “The best apple cider is made from a quality mix of apples. Here at Tuttles we go out of our way to maintain a good mix of sweet and tart apples leading to the superior flavor our cider is known for.” Tuttle's employee and cider maker, Luke Knotts notes, “It's all in the mix. Making cider in smaller batches allows for a more diverse mix of apples.”

Tuttle Orchards, a fourth generation family owned and operated farm, has been growing apples in Indiana since 1928.

South Shore Local Foods Connections e-Newsletter

Whether you live in northern Indiana or not, the South Shore Local Foods Connections e-newsletter is one of the best reads around.

Written by Kris Parker, Economic & Community Development Educator, Purdue Extension, Porter County the newsletter is full of information about local food issues, grants, educational programs and other information that would be useful to any local food lover or Indiana producer. Check out this month's issue below:

South Shore Local Foods Connections

Issue 45, January 2011

This e-newsletter is designed to strengthen local foods connections in Northwest Indiana. Please submit items to Kris Parker at parkerkj@purdue.edu

Past issues of SSLF Connections can be viewed at www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/porter/pages/southshorelocalfoods.aspx

Local Foods

The FamilyFarmed EXPO has grown to become the national Good Food Festival & Conference – Chicago. Save the date! March 15-17 at UIC. http://goodfoodfestivals.com/chicago/

Hoosier Farmer?  Emerging Food Systems in Indiana, a new study commissioned by the Indiana State Department of Health, is available. The work was written by Ken Meter of Crossroads Resource Center, who has produced food system assessments in 79 regions in 30 states and one Canadian province. http://www.crcworks.org/infood.pdf.

Grant Opportunities

The Frontera Farmer Foundation will award grants for capital improvements of up to $12,000 to individually owned small farms and medium-size farms that sell their local food products to customers in the Chicago area. Due February 28, 2012. http://www.rickbayless.com/foundation/downloadapp.html

USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program offers grants and loans to upgrade community child nutrition facilities and purchase equipment that could improve access to healthy, locally, or regionally grown products: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/HCF_CF.html.

Educational Opportunities

Midwest Women in Agriculture Conferencewill take place in Shipshewana on Feb 29 –March 1. www.agriculture.purdue.edu/wia/

Community Gardening 101online Purdue Extension workshop, recording available: https://gomeet.itap.purdue.edu/p14173603/

The Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference is the largest organic farming conference in the U.S. Organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES). It will be held February 23-25 in LaCrosse, WI. www.mosesorganic.org/conference.html

Beginning Farmeronline courses: http://nebeginningfarmers.org/online-courses

Market Readyworkshop for producers interested in improving their marketing and sales to restaurants, retailers, and institutions will be held in LaPorte on March 2. For more details, contact Amanda Chraca achraca@purdue.edu 219-324-9407.

To subscribe send Kris an email at parkerkj@purdue.edu  

 

Community Supported Agriculture Day 2012

February 11, 2012
9 a.m. – noon, at Harmony School,
Bloomington, Indiana

The Local Growers Guild is providing a forum for local farmers to present their CSA subscription programs for the 2012 growing season. Interested customers can learn more about how CSAs work and peruse the subscription programs offered by various small Southern Indiana farms at this special event, which coincides with a regular session of the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market. The CSA day will be held at Harmony School (909 East 2nd Street) on Saturday, February 11 between 9:00 a.m. and noon.

Subscribers to a CSA delivery program pay a flat fee at the beginning of the growing season for a weekly or biweekly box of fruits, vegetables and other farm products. This arrangement supports local farmers by ensuring a consistent demand for their products and benefits consumers by providing them with a diverse selection of produce and other farm goods at below-market rates. At this CSA day, customers will be able to compare the products, schedules, prices and delivery options offered by various local farmers.

Growers who will be attending the CSA day run small operations that are devoted to herbicide and pesticide free, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible farming methods. Subscription programs will be available for produce boxes only or for boxes that include meat, eggs and dairy products.

If you are a farmer interested in presenting your 2012 CSA program, please contact Vanessa at 345-7435, or localgrowers@localgrowers.org to reserve a space at the event.

Green Farms Offers Custom Produce and Microgreen Garden Walls for Restaurants and Homes

Green Farms Agronomics and Mycology in Valparaiso, Indiana is out to change the face of agriculture in Indiana. Eric Diamond and his team offer top quality produce, grown in climate controlled environments, that are ecologically and environmentally efficient and friendly all year round. According to Eric," Because we can reap several harvests a year, we can offer our products at lower prices than traditional farming operations. We have found that large institutions such as schools can actually buy our produce at lower prices than they have been paying to traditional distributors."

Currently, the farm offers micro greens, lettuces and tomatoes to the public and restaurants with the restaurants making up 90% of their current business. They also offer custom grown microgreens that can be delivered within 21 days of an order. The consumer can order them to be delivered harvested or get a "live" delivery of the micro greens in the growing trays.

But perhaps their most interesting products are the Restaurant and Home Based Gardens (RBG's/HBG's). According to Eric, "These vertical, indoor gardens can supplement or even encompass existing produce demands year round for restaurants, schools and homes while providing higher quality produce at lower prices, all in the convenience of the customer's choice of location.  These gardens, while providing delicious and nutritious produce year round are also designed to be display cases capable of showcasing the garden and its yields." 

One of their products is the Horizontal Micro Green Wall Garden which efficiently maximizes the use of existing spaces and creates a fully sustainable, hydroponic garden capable of producing as much as 9 pounds of fresh, natural and flavorful micro greens twice a month.

The 9 growing trays are set at descending staggered heights using risers.  All but the lowest tray, called the nutrient (red) tray, have risers.  This allows gravity to feed each tray in succession once an underwater pump, housed in the red tray, delivers water and nutrients to the outside trays.  With this setup, as water is pumped to the two furthest/highest trays from the corner, the water will flow down to the next tray, until it reaches its starting point, the red tray, and the cycle continues.

With as little as two weeks preparation, a customer can harvest and use all the fresh, natural and tasty micro greens that they have grown on their premises.  These are the same micro greens that Green Farms grow and supply to local restaurants, cafes, and homes. The company will supply you with everything you need to get through your first harvest, including seeds and assistance, as well as re-ordering information and maintenance plans.        

To find out more about this innovative concept, check out their website,  face book page or contact Eric at emdiamond@greenfarmsam.com or call him at 219-293-7289.