Northeast Event

S* l* J*

Major Northeast Conference being held in Troy, New York

PLANTING SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE:
TAKING CHARGE OF OUR SEED SUPPLY
Skills, ideas, and connections for
creating a regional seed supply
January 29 and 30, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

What do gardeners and farmers have in common? Many things, including
two days of hands-on workshops being given by the Northeast Organic
Farming
Association of New York.  Of the 30 workshops being offered at the
conference, many will focus on seed saving and seed production
techniques, as well as
ideas and skills for creating a sustainable regional seed supply. As
many gardeners know, not all varieties of vegetables grow well in the
Northeast. Many regionally important varieties have been dropped from
seed catalogs and those that grow well in average climates are not the
best for this area. Small seed companies are now working to make
regionally adapted heirlooms available to gardeners and farmers.

Regional seed companies interested in working with local growers will
be giving workshops, including several regional seed preservation
groups explaining how gardeners can become part of groups resurrecting
important heirloom varieties. For those interested in saving seeds for
biennials like carrots and cabbage, or clones like potatoes, master seed

saver Will Bonsall, curator of vegetable varieties preserved by the
Iowa-based Seed Savers Exchange, will also give several workshops.

Other workshop topics range from the basics of organic gardening and
farming to growing Chinese medicinal herbs to small scale processing. A
description of workshops, presenters and registration information can be

found on NOFA-NY's website at http://ny.nofa.org under Special Events.
Or call Tammy Hinman, our conference coordinator at 315-824-2864 for
more information.  Her email address is: thinman@dreamscape.com

Features of the conference include:
-- 30 Workshops (five to choose from at each time slot)
-- Keynote Speaker Will Bonsall - Curator for Seed Savers Exchange
-- Saturday Evening Debate -- The Pro's and Con's of Biotechnology
    between Dr. Margaret Mellon, Union of Concerned Scientists and Dr.
   Dennis Gonsalves, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture at Geneva, NY.
-- Children's Conference & Day Care (advance reservations only)
-- Delicious, organic meals and a variety of vendors and exhibitors

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