Eat local year round: grow.. . . . then can and freeze summer’s bounty!

For 2010 Cedar Circle Farm offers an ever-expanding range of gardening and cooking classes to help you grow and enjoy local food.

Take a look at the classes below, and call or stop by the farm to sign up. Most classes fill early, so for best selection don’t delay!

We also have a regular visits from groups, for tours and on-farm experiences. See below for details, or stop by the farm to chat with our education coordinator Cat Buxton.

Gardening Classes

Mom, Tea, and Flowers  new class! 

With Judy Vaughan, Greenhouse Co-Manager
May 8, Saturday, 10:30 am-noon

Cedar Circle Farm greenhouse co-manager and longtime gardening enthusiast Judy Vaughan will show class participants how to select and arrange plants to create a beautiful living display for your home, porch, or patio.

Appreciate mom with a fine cup of tea and a vibrant selection of annual flowers in the tropic-like warmth of our greenhouses in early May. Enjoy complimentary tea at our Hello Café!

Participants receive 10% off additional purchases the day of the class!

$40/person, includes a 12” container and soil and plants to fill it. Register in advance.

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Grow More Food! (and flowers)  expanded series! 

Cedar Circle Farm’s Education Director Cat Buxton has designed the series to help beginning and intermediate gardeners grow confidence and increase the health, productivity, and diversity in their home garden all season long.

Each of these 1.5 hour classes will take place in our Farm Demonstration Garden, and will focus on specific topics. There will be ample time for Q&A, so be sure to bring your questions. Popular last year, this year’s classes include expanded topics, workshop days, and times!

Learn techniques for growing more and weeding less, while nurturing soil life and ecological health.

Attendees receive a 10% discount off select Cedar Circle Farm bedding plants and seeds the day of the workshop.

Sign up for one class or the whole series: each class is $20 per person; $70 for any 4 classes in advance; $155 for the full series in advance. Rain or shine! Limited to 10 participants per class. Register in advance.

• Awake! Plotting the garden
  May 1, Saturday, 12:30-2 pm
  with Cat Buxton
  The class will suit those who have a garden space and are ready to plant but are unsure how to proceed.
  Topics include: Seeding tips, timing is everything, thin to win, planning for success through succession planting, frost and sun protection.
• Dig in! Planting the garden
  May 22, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  with Cat Buxton
  The class will suit those who have a garden space but are unsure how to manage it, or those who are about to dig in for the first time.
  Topics include: Know your tools, design logic, preparing a space, amending soil, crop rotation, spring season extension.
• Herbs! To Grow and To Use
  June 5, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  with Cat Buxton and special guest Didi Pershouse of the Center For Sustainable Medicine
  We’ll discuss how to manage and grow an herb garden of any size and discuss the many uses of these plants from soup to soap to medicine and tea.
  Topics include: Choosing practical herbs, herb propagation, managing mint and other pushy plants, herb uses from tea to tincture, simple drying techniques and more…  
• Up! Staking, training, and pruning plants
  June10, Thursday, 4-5:30 pm AND June 12, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  With Cat Buxton and Megan Baxter, Field Manager
  Learn the timing and techniques that will help you to produce stronger plants, tastier fruit, and an attractive garden plot.
  Topics include: Bent wood archways, basic staking and training, pruning for better fruit and stronger plants, thinning seedlings.
• Bloomin’ Weeds! Guests and Pests
  July 8, Thursday, 4-5:30 pm AND July 10, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  With Cat Buxton
  Learn to identify weeds and eat them, and learn tricks to keep your flower gardens looking lush and full throughout the season with minimal work.
  Topics include: Garden design, plant varieties, companion plants, feeding and forcing blooms, knowing and eating weeds, tips on bouquets, drying flowers and herbs.
• Flow! Irrigation and feeding from the ground up
  July 15, Thursday, 4-5:30 pm AND July 17, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  With Cat Buxton and Luke Joanis, Assistant Farm Manager
  Topics include: Soil composition, mulching, watering tips, practical irrigation choices, foliar feeding, top dressing and more.
• Buzz! Insect Guests and Pests
  July 24, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  With Will Allen, Farm Manager and author of The War On Bugs
  Topics include: Common garden pests and organic controls, beneficial insects, responsible Integrated Pest Management, and get the entire lowdown on how toxic “conventional” farms are.
• Sow! Planting fall crops
  July 29, Thursday, 4-5:30 pm AND July 31, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  With Cat Buxton and Megan Baxter, Field Manager
  August can be a wild time in the garden. We’ll show you how to manage it to provide new, tender crops into autumn.
  Topics include: The last succession planting, late pruning, prepare for garlic, & cold hearty crops. We’ll touch on fall cover crops, fall season extension and over wintering crops.
• Sleep! Putting the garden to bed
  Sept. 18, Saturday, 10-11:30 am
  We’ll discuss this season and apply our experience toward next year’s planning. Bring your garden questions and photos.
  Topics include: Harvesting tips, planting garlic, protecting the soil, over wintering crops, season extension, pest management, and more.

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Seed! Planning to save next year’s seeds

Oct. 23, Saturday, 10 am-noon
With special guest Sylvia Davatz, founder of Solstice Seeds, Hartland, Vermont.
$30/ person

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Tool Sharpening Workshop

Oct. 30, Saturday, 10am-noon
Hone your skills and get started on sharpening your farm and garden tools.
$20/person

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Cooking Classes

Learn how to preserve fresh fruit and veggies to enjoy throughout the winter by turning them into jam, sauce, pickles, and sauerkraut, just like grandma did. Our cooking classes will be held at our off-site kitchen in West Fairlee, Vermont.

Food Preservation Basics

With Elise Bratcher-Cushman, certified baker/chef
One great class, four dates to choose from!
July 22, Thursday 5:30-8:30 pm
July 24, Saturday 9 am noon
July 31, Saturday 9 am-noon
August 8, Sunday noon-3 pm
This class covers the basics of freezing, canning, pickling and drying. Make and take home tasty treats for your pantry or freezer, and a copy of Cedar Circle Farm’s Food Preservation Tip Booklet. Bring your own cooler, apron, knife and cutting board. Limited space. Register well in advance for this popular workshop.  $55/ person

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Lacto-fermented Foods: Making traditional kimchi  new class! 

With John Mellquist, former owner/baker of Trukenbrod Bread
September 9, Thursday 5 pm-8 pm
September 11, Saturday 9 am-noon
Lacto-fermentation is an ancient method of food preservation that offers many health benefits. It is part of virtually all food cultures the world over. Using farmfresh ingredients, John Mellquist will teach traditional techniques for making lacto fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchee. Participants will leave with a portion of the days work. Bring your own apron, knife and cutting board. Limited space. Register in advance. $45/person

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Growing Minds Activities  for kids! 

By appointment, May through October
Farm-based educational activities for your Pre-K through 12 class, scout group, or youth program with Cedar Circle Farm Education Director Cat Buxton and the farm crew. We can build an activity based on your curricular needs or interests, or you can select one from our activity library! 45-minute activity.

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Guided Farm Tours

By appointment, year-round
Get a fresh seasonal taste of Cedar Circle Farm year-round. Come take a guided walking tour, a tractor-drawn, or a horse-drawn wagon ride (or sleigh ride) of our beautiful farm with your friends and family. Learn about sustainable farming and energy systems, and visit our gardens, compost pile, chickens and horses.
Tours can be customized to meet the curriculum needs of your pre-K through 12 class, scout group, or youth program.  30-45 minute tours.

~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~*” ’ ” *~.,.~

Cedar Circle’s Class and Event Cancellation Policy

Classes will be cancelled if there are less than four participants signed up the Monday before the class. If we cancel a class or an event you will be fully refunded. If you cancel 8 days ahead we’ll refund your money in full. If you cancel 7 days ahead, or less, we’ll give you half of the price back.

Don’t let a good class get canceled, sign up early!

Photos by Cedar Circle Farm Crew

---

Join our email list

Email address:

First name:

Last name: