Lee Mink of LEAP Farm said recently, “Success in our future depends on the gardens we grow today.”  This was part of a conversation we were having about Lee’s dream to open up LEAP Farm into an educational facility, as well as where he currently grows food for his family and for marketplace. I wanted to share with you this week about his upcoming “Sustainable Gardening and Farming” workshop that he and Lynn Ronzello of Thunder Ridge Farm in Green Creek are offering in January. Once you are hooked on the idea, consider sharing with a friend or reserving a seat in someone’s name as a Christmas gift. Learning to organically grow food for oneself and family or friends is certainly a gift that will last a lifetime.

Over a two-day intensive workshop with both classroom time and field time, attendees will learn a high-yield system of growing in local soil and weather conditions and using time-tested organic methods. The course covers bed making, composting, soil amendments and soil blocks.  Lee and Lynn have gardened and farmed in this area, collectively, for more than 25 years. They will share with you what to plant and when to plant it.  They have unique, conservation-minded tips and tricks to share for irrigation practices: how to grow more with less.

The Friday and Saturday workshop is on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  Invite an out of town guest to join you in taking the workshop and learn to grow some or most of your own in 2013. Make a weekend of it here in the foothills and find a local farm to table restaurant to enjoy dinner in and a local trail to hike on Sunday.  Wake up early enough to watch a gorgeous Polk County sunrise and enjoy the company of your friend for sunset.  Work closely with nature and plot out a garden in the coming new year and make the most of what our beautiful region has to offer us.  It’s a long growing season in the foothills, with productivity success spanning nine months.