Spring Training for Gardeners is back at EarthDance, and this year, we are offering it to everyone on a Pay What You Can basis! This means that if you are interested in greening your thumbs and growing and eating the most local food there is, you can join us for any or all of the Ferguson-rooted, 5-week online and in-person courses, taught by our all-star lineup of farmers/educators!
Registration is open at earthdancefarms.org/farmers/spring-training/!
In 2022, because we wanted to equip as many neighbors with food-growing know-how as possible, we offered Spring Training for free to residents of Ferguson, Dellwood, Kinloch, Calverton Park, Berkeley, and Cool Valley. In 2023, we are changing our model, as we want everyone to have equitable access to our training. This year we are offering it to ALL on a sliding scale. People pay what works for their budget, and for some, this means paying to support others in attending the course. For others it means paying less or nothing at all.
Join us this spring and get in the game! We are here to help you grow a delicious bounty! This course was designed for total beginners to gardening as well as those who want to plan and maintain their most successful garden yet. Spring Training will meet you where you are, with both online and hands-on options available. Round the bases as you learn step-by-step how to choose the best crops, determine the right site for your garden, prepare your soil, manage your plot throughout the growing season, and put into play our easy tips to maximize your yield.
Our farm team will be ready with bases loaded for five springtime Wednesdays’ worth of lively, interactive online learning around organic gardening, starting March 15, 2023. We will also be fielding three in-person Saturday sessions at the farm (March 18 & April 1), and a Plant it Forward community workday at local school garden sites for the final inning on April 15th. Our all-star lineup of Gardening Coaches includes our own Farm Manager Jena Hood, assistant farmer Spencer Cook, and returning Coaches Adia Hunt, Ro Kicker, and Kaitie Adams!
In the first two years of Spring Training, nearly 200 participants in the St. Louis area have joined in on the combination remote and in-person learning and fun. 40% of them hailed from Ferguson or one of the five neighboring municipalities. EarthDance’s farmers and guest “coaches” shared wisdom and knowledge on everything ranging from soil health to organic pest management. In person, Spring Trainees built raised beds together, taking home to their own gardens the seeds they sowed into trays in EarthDance’s greenhouse.
Making Spring Training available on a Pay What You Can basis to everyone in 2023 aligns with our commitment to advancing food justice, growing farmers and gardeners of all ages, and cultivating a vibrant community, right here in Ferguson.
To learn more about Spring Training or other EarthDance programs, visit our website at earthdancefarms.org. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook or sign up for their monthly newsletter.
Right now, you can find us and beautiful, farm fresh, organic EarthDance produce at the Ferguson Winter Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 33 North Clay Ave., from 9 am – Noon on the third Saturday of the month, January through April (3/18 and 4/15/2023)! And the outdoor market reopens in May!