Source: CAROLINA FARM CREDIT, 2/24/14

A weekend of workshops for beginning gardeners to advanced commercial growers plus a trade show and seed exchange, silent auction, Children’s Program, and Friday March 7th on-farm session. Cost: $45 for Saturday, $40 for Sunday (Early Bird Registration by February 17th at midnight). Additional $15 for registration after February 17th and on day of school.

Register online at www.organicgrowersschool.org[organicgrowersschool.org], register by phone at (828) 342-1849, or request a mailed registration form: meredith@organicgrowersschool.org or (828) 582-5039. Now in its twenty-first year, The Organic Growers School has grown from a small gathering of 100 growing enthusiasts in 1994 to a regionally recognized conference drawing over 1700 attendees, exhibitors and speakers from 18 different states and Canada. One of the largest conferences of its type in the region, The Organic Growers School has served to reinforce Western North Carolina’s role as a regional leader in organic farming.    

Participants may choose any four workshops from among the 70 offered in the themed tracks and hands-on, half-day workshops. The themed tracks are as follows: Digging In, Gardening, Soils, Livestock, Commercial Farmers I and Commercial Farmers II, Primitive Skills, Permaculture, Herbs, Sustainable Forestry, Homesteading, Cooking, and All About Poultry. New this year is the Pollinators track, where attendees will learn about creating pollinator-friendly environments and fostering pollinator populations. www.organicgrowersschool.org[organicgrowersschool.org]