Food Forest Gardening Workshop, Take Two

At ENCM’s McCoy Cooperative Garden, we are creating edible plant “neighborhoods” that demonstrate interconnection in a way that shows a healthy and abundant plant community as well as pointing toward the healthy and abundant communities of neighbors working cooperatively together.  Would you like to learn about edible forest gardening with us?

Edible Forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. (See Dave Jacke at www.edibleforestgardens.com for more).

Please join us on Saturday, Aug. 25 from 9-11am for a Food Forest Gardening: Perennial Food Production Systems workshop with Jeremy Lekich of Nashville Foodscapes. Jeremy works to reconnect people with their food source by growing food where they live and will lead us as we learn about the sustainability, abundance, and richness of growing edibles through food forests.

Check Jeremy out at http://nashvillefoodscapes.com/team.html.

When: Saturday August 25, 9:00am-11:00am

Where: ENCM McCoy Cooperative Garden, 807 Main St., Nashville 37206

Rain or shine! We can go indoors if there's rain.

Let us know you're attending by emailing Hilary at Hilary@encm.org

Our garden workshops are donation-based, with the proceeds going to our community garden program. Our workshop leaders are providing a service to the community by teaching us about what they love to do. We are thankful for their donation of time and enthusiasm.

Upcoming workshop: Wild Edible & Medicinal Herbs -- Liz Meeks, July 28th

The garden crew is looking forward to seeing you.

Hilary -- Garden Coordinator & Educator

Trent -- Garden Site Manager 

Hands on Herbs Workshop w/ Liz Meeks

what: herb workshop

when: August 27 @ 10:00am

where: McCoy Garden (807 main st 37206)

cost: free (but we'll pass the hat for our speaker)

This class will focus on identifying and using healing plants that grow naturally in our backyards, or are easily cultivated.

Liz Meeks, community herbalist and gardener, will attempt to dispel the myth that a 'medicinal herb' is something that must be purchased at a health food store or must be concocted by someone in a white lab coat. We will learn that many healing plants, aka 'weeds' offer themselves freely at our doorsteps, in the back alley, and voluntarily in our gardens. We will meet at the ENCM campus, which is home to Versatile Dandelion, Powerful Poke, Incredible Plantain, Iron-rich Yellow Dock, and the often overlooked Smartweed and Amaranth. The garden also offers Echinacea, Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Thyme, Lavender, and Parsley, all with healing properties beyond the kitchen. Let's see what else we can find!

We will go through all the steps of making a fresh plant tincture, or alcohol extract. We will also discuss extracting herbs into vinegar and honey for those who wish to avoid alcohol, or simply want to try something different.

We will touch on basic cultivation techniques for a few of my favorite herbs including Calendula, Comfrey, Holy Basil, St.John's Wort and Yarrow.

The world of herbs offers endless opportunities to explore, create, and connect with the natural world on a deeper level. Please join us for what is sure to be a fun workshop!

As always, sign up in comment space below and direct all questions to justin there.

*a special note for this workshop*

A very slight but very real possibility exist for this workshop to be rescheduled. Liz is scheduled to assist a birth that has yet to be. So it may be that liz becomes preoccupied during the workshop time because shes helping bring a person into the world. Stay tuned here for updates. And look for an email update if we have to reschedule. In advance, thank you for your understanding.

Backyard Foodways: A Workshop Series by ENCM

ENCM will present an 9 part, season-long (February-October), workshop series in an effort to develop the urban food-ways of backyards around Nashville. We believe true food security starts in the backyard, or terraces, or even in the indoor kitchen herb pot: where ever people decide to grow something edible and eat it.

Look for workshops each month beginning in February. Topics and speakers include:

• February 19--Backyard Fruit Production w/ Tatum Stewart of Stewart Orchard in Ashland City, TN and man with the best peaches in town.
• March 5--Backyard Bio-Dynamics w/ Dennis Limon, bio-dynamic guru and educator.
• April 2--Backyard Chickens w/ Ryan Fasani, director of ENCM and backyard shepherd.
• June 25--Cob Building w/ Howard Switzer of The Farm and Ecoville ArchiTechs, and long time alternative materials builder. (note the date change)
• July 9--Cob Building w/ Howard Switzer (note the date change)
• August 7--Season Extension and Cover Crops w/ John Dysigner of Bountiful Blessing Farm and offers one of the only winter CSA’s in Nashville. (note this is a Sunday)
• August 27--Backyard Herbs for Tea w/ Bohdana Fasani, herbal enthusiast and radical homemaker.
• September 17--Home Preservation w/ Alan Powell, wild-foods guru, local food artist, naturalist, and man of all things good about food.
• October 15--Home Bread Baking w/ Justin Owings, garden manager of ENCM and long-time home baker.

These workshops are designed for novice backyard and urban growers. Home gardeners, community gardeners, and those thinking about starting a garden for the first time are all welcome. There is limited space, so RSVP promptly. Workshops are scheduled so that participants can immediately apply what they have learned--they are “seasonally appropriate”.

The workshops will be free. However, donations to those presenting would certainly be accepted.

The first workshop starts Saturday February 19 at 12 noon. It will be on backyard fruit with Tatum Stewart. Look to learn about suitable fruit for this region and varieties for your backyard, potential diseases and preventative measures, pruning techniques, and other basics of fruit production.

This will be followed on Saturday March 5 with backyard bio-dynamics with Dennis Limon, again at 12 noon. This will be a “leaf-day” according to the bio-dynamic calendar, so look to learn about said calendar, seed starting the bio-dynamic way, bio-dynamic preparations, and how it all can make a difference in your garden, your health, and the environment. You will go home with seedling starts for your backyard garden.

stay tuned for details regarding specific workshops as their respective date approaches.

all workshops will be at ENCM located at 807 Main st. 37206.

Backyard Fruit Workshop w/ Tatum Stewart

Workshop is now FULL. See you everyone Saturday! (signed 2-17)

Everyone in the Comment Space is officially RSVP'd.

What: Backyard Fruit Workshop

When: February 19 12 noon to 1:30

Where: ENCM (807 Main st 37206)

Cost: Free (donations to presenter is accepted)

Limit 35 people.

As part of Backyard Foodways: A Workshop Series by ENCM, Tatum Stewart of Stewart Orchards in Ashland City, TN, and man with the best peaches in town, will be presenting a workshop on fruit growing. Come learn about fruit varieties suitable for this region, maintenance and management, potential diseases, pruning techniques, and other basics of growing fruit in your backyard.

Please RSVP in comment space below. Please also direct any and all questions to justin in the comment space below.

Rain plan: the event will happen as scheduled rain or shine. we can go inside in the event of rain.