Dates and Join Link

In 2023, this course will be offered live for 6-weeks on Mondays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Eastern) from November 6 – December 18, with no class on Nov 20 (Thanksgiving Week). While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. You will also retain access to all materials indefinitely and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish. Join us!

To access the webinars during our next live session, you will simply need to click on the webinar join link that is posted in the Weekly Resources section of this course. This link only works on the appointed day and time for the webinar, so while you can try clicking it sooner, it won't open the webinar meeting for you.

You can join webinars from a mobile device by downloading the Zoom app from your preferred app store. Then, to join a webinar, at the appointed time you would simply open your Zoom app and enter the Meeting ID number provided by your instructor in Teachable.

Weekly Topics

Week 1: Introduction and Soil Health

This week we will make introductions and do an overview of the course site, then focus on one of the most important factors of all: the health and quality of your soil. 

Speaker: Amy Ivy

Week 2: Site Assessment

This week we focus on talk about the importance of site selection. Erik will share some challenges he has faced with his location and demonstrate using web-based soil maps to better understand the land you own or are considering buying.

Speaker: Erik Schellenberg, Black Creek Farm

Week 3: Planning and Bed Layout

This week we will talk about bed layout and crop planning, timing and succession strategies. We will also discuss decisions involving direct sowing versus transplanting and how to decide which varieties to grow.

Speakers:

Crystal Stewart-Courtens, Regional Vegetable Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension and co-owner of Philia Farm.

Jean-Paul Stewart-Courtens, Roxbury Agricultural Institute and co-owner of Philia Farm.

Week 4: Equipment

This week we will talk about choosing and using equipment including tractors, walk-behind 2-wheeled machines and hand tools.

Speakers:

Ethan Grundberg, Regional Vegetable Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Zach Pickens, co-owner of Farm Tournant

Week 5: The Business of Vegetable Production

This week we will go over some of the business aspects to growing vegetables. How do you decide if vegetables are right for you? In this session we will learn to use data to make informed decisions about profitability, marketing channels and crop selection. We will also cover the components of a business plan.

Speaker: Elizabeth (Liz) Higgins, Regional Farm Business Management Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Week 6: Cover Crops, Course Wrap Up and final topics

We use this last session to discuss cover crops and then go into more depth on topics that came up during the previous sessions that more time was needed for. Possible topics include season extensindrip irrigation set up, transplant production, etc, depending on class interest.

Speaker: Amy Ivy

How to Join Zoom

Review the document below for more detailed instructions on how to use the webinar technology.