Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Feb 2014 Meeting: Starting Veggies From Seeds and Extending the Growing Season

It was bitter cold at the beginning of February, but not too soon to be thinking about starting your vegetables indoors.

Jenny Bonde shows fabric row cover material
Organic grower Jenny Bonde provided valuable information on how to do greenhouse starts...from germination, to growing-on, to hardening off. She also covered ways to extend the growing season with row covers and low tunnels.

Jenny and Rink DaVee operate Shooting Star Farm east of Mineral Point (visit their Facebook page). A small, diversified vegetable farm with a commitment to selling locally, Shooting Star Farm's specialties include salad greens and heirloom tomatoes, but their produce also includes a wide array of items. You can find them at the Mineral Point Market every Saturday May through October, and their produce on the menus of restaurants in Mineral Point, Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

An experienced presenter, Jenny has been one of the instructors in UW-Madison's Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Growers. Her expert advice and many tips were greatly appreciated and inspired us all to get going starting seeds!


Jenny shows Harriet how to make dirt blocks
Resha mans the membership table