Smart Farm Goes Into High Gear for the 2012 Season
As the calendar changed from February to March, Smart Farm moved into high gear preparing for its 2012 season. Two workshops on planning your garden have already taken place and a third, entitled “Preparing Your Vegetable Garden”, will take place on Wednesday, April 4 at 7:00 pm at the Barrington Area Library. Class topics will include: building your soil, using fertilizer, laying out your garden, ways to water, the basics of composting and more. There is no charge for the class; however, donations of fresh produce will be gratefully accepted for delivery to local food pantries. Please register at www.smartfarms.org.
Construction Saturdays kick off at the Smart Farm garden, located in Barrington's Ron Beese Park, on Saturday, April 7 at 10am. Help get the garden in shape for the 2012 growing season each Saturday in April. Work will include clearing paths, preparing beds, installing trellises, building compost bins and more! No need to register.
Regularly scheduled work in the garden begins Sunday, April 15 and takes place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and Sundays from 9:00 am – 11:00 am throughout the growing season. Volunteers can be beginners, experts or anywhere in between and are welcome to help any of the work days convenient for them.
Looking ahead, Smart Farm will offer two new hands-on workshops dedicated to #1 backyard garden crop…the tomato! On Sunday, May 20, learn about “Planting and Staking Tomatoes” and on Sunday, June 10, discover the art of “Pruning Tomatoes”. Both workshops begin at 10:00 am at the garden. Please register at www.smartfarms.org. Again, there is no fee for the workshops but a donation of fresh produce will be appreciated.
On August 8th, join Smart Farm for “Preserving the Harvest” to discover methods to save your homegrown produce long after the growing season. This class will be held at the Barrington Library at 7:00 pm. Registration is required.
Cooking classes, children's activities, an Open House and The 2nd Annual Floating Zucchini are among other Smart Farm activities to take place throughout the summer and fall. Find out more about Smart Farm of Barrington at www.smartfarms.org, Facebook/TheSmartFarm and Twitter @TheSmartFarm. If you'd like to volunteer at Smart Farm, please contact smartfarmvolunteers@gmail.com.
Smart Farm of Barrington is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing fresh grown produce to local food pantries and serving as an educational resource to the community on sustainable gardening practices. In 2011, with all volunteer help, Smart Farm donated more than 1,500 pounds of fresh produce to local food pantries to support those in need.