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["Chrys B. Gardener" <cab69 AT cornell.edu>]

Come out and see how two south Tompkins County households grow a large amount of food for fresh eating as well as freezing, canning, drying, and root cellaring. The tour will start at 6 pm at a Newfield home then move to a nearby household in West Danby from 7 to 8 pm. The tour is limited to 25 people. First priority will be given to those who pay to reserve a space in advance. Directions to the garden will be given on payment - call 272-2292 or stop by CCE-Tompkins at 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca to reserve your space.

In the Newfield garden, Chrys and Bill grow a wide variety of vegetables and this year are experimenting with grains like oats and amaranth and dried beans and peas for storage. They also incorporate seed saving into their garden. Recently returned to the area after five years in Ireland, their Newfield garden was mostly fallow during that time so this shows what two determined (and hungry!) vegetarians could dig and plant since returning in fall 2012. The goal for this year was speed rather than tidiness so the garden is still a bit rough around the edges but very productive nonetheless.

A unique feature of Chrys and Bill's house is the attached solar greenhouse which does not require heat in the winter and is used to grow greens all winter long. Although the greenhouse is empty at this time of year the group will walk through it and learn about its construction.

At 7 pm the tour will move to Joel and Sally's home in nearby West Danby. Joel has spent many years cultivating beautiful vegetable and flower gardens with perennial food crops integrated into the landscape. A considerable variety of fruits, with apples, raspberries, peaches and blueberries responsible for the main production and complemented with some exotic varieties like kiwis and papaws, plus more traditional species like currants, gooseberries, cherries, grapes, elderberries, chestnuts, and strawberries.

The 40 by 70 foot main vegetable garden is dominated by corn and potatoes, but containing the usual assortment of annual veggies -- enough to feed Joel and Sally all year when frozen and cold-stored for the winter. The tour will also include a look at their root cellar.

The tour is limited to 25 people. First priority will be given to those who pay to reserve a space in advance. Directions to the garden will be given on payment - call 272-2292 or stop by CCE-Tompkins at 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca to reserve your space.