Webinar Schedule and Participant Guide
Dates and Join Link
Live instruction for 2023 has concluded. You are welcome to complete this course on a self-paced schedule and join our next live session in Fall 2024. All webinars are recorded and posted here in your online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely and may return to participate in future live offerings of the course as well. Please join us!
To access the webinars during our next live session, you will simply need to click on the webinar join link that is posted in the Weekly Resources section of this course. This link only works on the appointed day and time for the webinar, so while you can try clicking it sooner, it won't open the webinar meeting for you.
You can join webinars from a mobile device by downloading the Zoom app from your preferred app store. Then, to join a webinar, at the appointed time you would simply open your Zoom app and enter the Meeting ID number provided by your instructor in Teachable.
Weekly Topics
Week 1: Introduction and Soil Health
This week we will make introductions and do an overview of the course site, then focus on one of the most important factors of all: the health and quality of your soil.
Speaker: Amy Ivy
Week 2: Site Assessment
This week we focus on talk about the importance of site selection. Erik will share some challenges he has faced with his location and demonstrate using web-based soil maps to better understand the land you own or are considering buying.
Speaker: Erik Schellenberg, Black Creek Farm
Week 3: Planning and Bed Layout
This week we will talk about bed layout and crop planning, timing and succession strategies. We will also discuss decisions involving direct sowing versus transplanting and how to decide which varieties to grow.
Speakers:
Crystal Stewart-Courtens, Regional Vegetable Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension and co-owner of Philia Farm.
Jean-Paul Stewart-Courtens, Roxbury Agricultural Institute and co-owner of Philia Farm.
Week 4: Equipment
This week we will talk about choosing and using equipment including tractors, walk-behind 2-wheeled machines and hand tools.
Speakers:
Ethan Grundberg, Regional Vegetable Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Zach Pickens, co-owner of Farm Tournant
Week 5: The Business of Vegetable Production
This week we will go over some of the business aspects to growing vegetables. How do you decide if vegetables are right for you? In this session we will learn to use data to make informed decisions about profitability, marketing channels and crop selection. We will also cover the components of a business plan.
Speaker: Elizabeth (Liz) Higgins, Regional Farm Business Management Specialist with the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Week 6: Cover Crops, Course Wrap Up and final topics
We use this last session to discuss cover crops and then go into more depth on topics that came up during the previous sessions that more time was needed for. Possible topics include season extensindrip irrigation set up, transplant production, etc, depending on class interest.
Speaker: Amy Ivy
How to Join Zoom
Review the document below for more detailed instructions on how to use the webinar technology.