Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Now here's one that looks a lot more practical and affordable than $800
"permaculture" classes.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
-----------------------------------------

14th Annual Organic Growers Spring School
March 10, 2007
Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, NC
http://www.organicgrowersschool.org/events.html#ss

The annual Organic Growers School is a weekend of educational workshops
focused on growing and marketing crops in the North Carolina Mountains.
Beginning gardeners, commercial farmers and any folks interested in
sustainable living are invited to benefit from the school’s unique
curriculum offering classes like “Building Healthy Garden Soil” and
“Quality Goat Milk Production”. Workshops are divided into four time
slots or sessions throughout the day, each an hour and a half long, and
within several different tracks. Tracks cover a wide range of topics from
“Homesteading” to “Policy and Research”. In addition, the school
hosts intensive half-day workshops, plant walks, on-the-farm field days,
local food vendors and speakers.

The schools distinctive structure, practical and timely instruction,
community involvement and motivated mission contribute to its repeated
success. Over the past 13 years the school has increased in attendance from
110 students in 1994 to nearly 1,000 in 2005, making it one of the largest
organic growing events in the South.

Important details about this year's school:
CHOOSE FROM OVER 60 CLASSES! MORE WORKSHOPS THAN EVER BEFORE!
NEW TRACKS THIS YEAR: Urban Growing and Sustainable Forestry

About the Organic Growers School
A Brief History
        In 1993, a group of farmers and specialists gathered to discuss the
growing need for a conference that addressed the nuts and bolts, region
specific, crop growing information applicable for farmers in Western North
Carolina.  The Organic Growers School is a grassroots organization that
grew out of the volunteer efforts of these agriculturists, with a mission
to deliver very practical information about organic agriculture at a
reasonable price.
        The first Organic Growers School was held in 1994, attracting just 
under
100 participants. By 2006, the school grew to over 1000 participants,
drawing farmers, gardeners, and educators from 14 states, and becoming the
largest event of its type in the South.
        The School’s distinctive structure, practical and timely instruction,
community involvement, and motivated mission contribute to its repeated
success. The rise in attendance coincides with the national organic
industry’s annual growth rate of over 20%. Even with its popularity, the
original mission of OGS remains the same, and the founders are proud to
offer a learning service that contributes to the future of sustainable
agriculture while building relationships within the community.

http://www.organicgrowersschool.org/about.html