organic garden and food confernece

[stonysoil]

theres a worthwhile confernce jan26-jan28 a natural organic garden and farnming confernce near syracuse ny with hitell accomodations at confenrce site,, over 55 workshops and celebrations.. the theme is/// building the farm economy around local foods.. anyone who needs more information contact me or google nofa new york. its the 25 th annual confermnce and they are always great

[bluelacedredhead]

Thanks Stony! I will check it out.

For those who are interested in checking it out as well, here is the official link that Stony mentioned.

http://nofany.org/index.html

[stonysoil]

ty BLRH for posting the nofa site.. if any on eos p[alnning on attneding please let me know as id like very much meeting you.. ive attneded several of the confernces and have always found them inspiring .. educational as well as great food.. as a note yrs ago in the mid 80s i was treasurer of nofa for 2 yrs...

[bluelacedredhead]

I am interested in attending one of the Friday seminars. Do I have to buy a NOFA membership to attend a $20 workshop??
And do you happen to know the weather forecast for that weekend?? I81 can be pretty nasty that time of year, LOL

[stonysoil]

you dont h need to be a men mber to attend blrh.. but i wish i can predict weather and i know exactly what u mean about i81

[bluelacedredhead]

K great. I already PM'd Flowerpower as well to see if she had any plans about attending?
I will definitely let you know when I decide and what seminar/s I have enrolled for. I wouldn't be attending for the entire weekend, but I think I can swing an afternoon.
What days will you be there?

[stonysoil]

blrh.. ive registered for the full confernce fri through sunday.. .. i am hopiung it will break up the winter doldrums lol .. i always like the saturday dinner and keynote speaker.. i live about an hour away but decided too stay at the holiday in there as part of the confernce weekend..

[flowerpower]

Blue, I will have to get my BF to take off the day from work. I'm sure he will since he likes going to Syracuse. (Lots of good beer to be found there. lol). I think I'll be able to swing it. Will Bob be able to come?

We can only hope the weather will be decent (not a blizzard ;)). I'll have to travel the Thruway from Exit 29 to 37. That is never fun in the snow.

[bluelacedredhead]

Beer!? They have beer in Syracuse? You had to mention that didn't you..What a swell idea FP..You and I at a garden conference, and the boys out on the town with Beer....I've never seen him so interested in gardening in all the years we've been together, LOL

[flowerpower]

Oh there is lots of beer to be found in Syracuse. Kevin will take him over to the Middle Ages Brewery. He'll be feeling good after the samples. They are very generous there.

[stonysoil]

wow flower and blue.. this iis making me looki froward to the comfernce even more.. i really want to ck out the middle age brewery,,.. as a mtter oif fact im off rom work now and cked out a brewry in cooperstown.. called omegang w bought a case of mixed belgian beers.. but the middle age brewery sounds even better..

[bluelacedredhead]

Maybe we should be asking them to add a Friday afternoon seminar on growing hops?? :p

[flowerpower]

Stony, you only went to Ommegang? Why didn't you go to Cooperstown Brewery? It is only 3 mi away. :) Their selection is pretty good.

They grow hops right up the front of Middle Ages. All we have to do is bring a shovel. lol When my BIL got married, he insisted we get a keg from ME. We had to pick it up 2 1/2 hrs each way toget it. Then down to NJ for the wedding. Middle Ages let us keep the keg an extra 2 wks b/c they know we live far away. And they gave us Hops to decorate. They are really nice there.

[stonysoil]

i wish i knew about that one flowerpower.. i really heard good things form forends about the middle age brewery in syravcuse though.. is the on eon cooperstown on the same road as the omegang

[flowerpower]

Cooperstowm Brewery is just down the road from Ommegang. It is on River St (intersects Rte 28) in the Town of Milford-3mi south of Cooperstown. There is also a sign for the Cooperstown Scenic Railway. If you continue down River St., there is a sign that says "Ommegang Brewery-3 mi". That is the "back" way.

http://cooperstownbrewing.com

http://middleagesbrewing.com

[bluelacedredhead]

I've been trying to figure out the weather for Syracuse and surrounding area that weekend? I know that forecasts this far in advance are never accurate, but knowing full well how nasty Central N.Y. can be in winter...
I checked the Almanac and also Accuweather.com for that weekend. Guess what?? Storm system after a couple of weeks of decent weather...
I'm thinking this is not a good idea?!!
As much as I'd love to attend, I'm really having second thoughts??

Stony, do you know of any other gardening events in Syracuse after March??? I really would like to meet you and FP...but I don't want to risk life and limb to do so...

[stonysoil]

hi blrh...its always hit or miss with confernces weatherwise in winter... living in cny its just a fact of life.. however we used to have conferneces in march.. i particualrly remebber the march nofa confemrce of 93 bing snowed in at the conference site.. i think it was march 17january at least many times there are the january thaws and i am optimistic the weather will be ok..i get busy with work afterwards but i take the tiime to go to the lilac festival in rochester in may.. happy holidays to u

[stonysoil]

i forgot to mention.. i owuld be glad to host a gathering.. something like bakers creek nort in central ny for anyone who travels this area in late spring when the holls are all greened up.. its a beautiful part of the country... not very far form..,\\ finger lakes,,,, mountain ranges... cooperstown hall of fame... wine trail.. and cornell.. i

[flowerpower]

Stony, what rd do you take to get to Schoharie?

[stonysoil]

hey flowerpower....i travel on rte23 to rte 30 to get to beutiful schoharie county.. ive owned a small 4 acre i piece of land in gilboa for over 20 yrs that i go to viisit. it has wild thyme growing on it.. when im ther i love travelling all around schoharoie county,,,,

[bluelacedredhead]

I agree Stony. Rural NYS is beautiful. I've travelled over most of it at one time or another. Okay, we will work on this over the course of the winter...

[flowerpower]

hey flowerpower....i travel on rte23 to rte 30 to get to beutiful schoharie county.. ive owned a small 4 acre i piece of land in gilboa for over 20 yrs that i go to viisit. it has wild thyme growing on it.. when im ther i love travelling all around schoharoie county,,,,

I have friends in Gilboa- on South Mountain Rd, right off 990V. I am going to guess you have driven right past my house. I am on 10 b/t Jefferson and Summit.

[stonysoil]

your in a beautiful area flowerpower..i probably have driven past you as i sometimes cut thru jefferson to get to gilboa... i know 990v..i take that to flat creek road to maybie road..its so special in schoharie county.. i just plan to hold on to my parcek therre .. i bought it when i was 25 yrs old.. too many yrs ago lol

[flowerpower]

Yeah, it is very picturesque here. The tourism slogan is "Picture perfect- Schoharie County." And we do get alot of tourists b/c we are so close to Cooperstown. There are worse places to live. ;)

[stonysoil]

hey flowerpower.. do you ever go to the schoharie flats area on rte 30 its one of the most fertile areas in new york state .. i go there to buy veggies that i am unable to grow.. some great winter squashes annd carrots there

[stonysoil]

there used to be a place called riverbank farms in north belnheim.. i went thtere this year and it seeemd closed.. do you know if its still open as i bought veggies form them for yrs

[bluelacedredhead]

Stony, how is the conference looking as far as attendance??
I'm sorry I decided not to go on the one hand, because I will miss such a wealth of information, and meeting you and FP (don't worry spring is coming) . But considering how the weather has turned this week, I'm glad I won't be driving (or stuck) in it.

[stonysoil]

hi blrh..i havent attended the confernce for the last 3 yrs but it usually has great turnout,, i decided to treat myslef this yr and even though syracuse is only hour away firm me i will be staying over at the holiday inn at the confernce site.. its always a high energy level and many interesting folks .. mixture of farmers and gardeners,.. i will let you know how it turns out.. i hope to meet up aith flowerpower there .. i intend to host a gathering at my place toward end of july .. so maybe we could all ,eet up then as well.

[bluelacedredhead]

Now that sounds like a better time of year for traveling Rte 81. If possible, I'd appreciate lots of notice in order to switch shifts at work if need be. TY

[flowerpower]

Stony, I don't think I can make it next weekend. :( I am not going to have a vehicle. BF has to go do electrical work at his parents. I don't think my 83 Nissan could handle the thruway as it is more rust than car. lol

I think that the end of July sounds like a good time to meet up at your place. I am hoping to meet you and your wife before then since you'll prob be in my area anyway.

I don't know if the Mattice Riverbank farm is in business anymore. I usually go to M'burgh to Barber's. It is still family-owned and they have a nice selection and good prices.

[stonysoil]

sounds great flowerpower .. i thought late july would be good time to hoist here as hopefully things will be thriving then and we can have a balkers north gathering here so to speak.. open to all i always shopped at mattices but last yr it was closed i was disappointed so i went to the other farnmm stands in middleburgh and schoharie valley .. they have great quality at barbers.,.. i understnad the schoharie flats has some of best soil in state..

[slug slayer]

Hi all- I am not far from Schoharie and we sometimes go to Minekill State Park. We recently got our Lab pup from Schoharie. I would love to meet up with you all this summer. Flower- I am certainly taking my girls to Cooperstown to the Baseball hall of fame and the Farmers Museum.

[flowerpower]

So there she is at Minekill, only 5 miles form me. ;) Let me know when you want to go to the Farmer's Museum and I'll go too.

And there I was right down in Saugerties on Sat. Probably 5 mi from your house. lol I had no idea I would be in the area.

[stonysoil]

wow flowerpower. ive been to minekill many times,, as its only about 10 minutes form my spot in gilboa,, i also go to the minekill overlook off of rte 30 and on the trails there.. spectacular..

[flowerpower]

I go to the overlook whenever I am in the area and have someone with me. There are alot of bear in the park. From 30 you can take either Cnty rte 2 or cnty rte 13 back to rte 10 in Jefferson. 13 comes out by the ceramics place.

[flowerpower]

Blue, they are predicting lake effect snow storms in Syracuse all day today. Like we couldn't have predicted that ;)

[stonysoil]

i wanted to report on the nofa confernce .. it was well attended over 600 people i heard.. when i used to attned in the early 90s there were barely 100.. its a good sign of the increased interst in organics.. there were great workshops on marketing with lots of emphasis on local markets .. i also liked the medicinal farming gardening workshop alot.. lots of energy.. also many workshops on soil imporovement .. one specifically dealing with buckwheat .. also poultry and livestock workshops .. my only problem was that i needed to choose which workshop to attend..there was a great literature table with mny sources for seed ..i wish i had my bakers catalog with me as there was no represntation there form bakers.. to let northern gardenrs know .. there was the maine potato catalog there.. as well as some local hierloom catalogs.. the food at the confernce was great too .. all organic.. even the beef short tips,, they even had a complimentary reception with a great variety of appetizers..i was e especially inspired by the medicinal herb workshop .. as alot of the weeds that are invasive have medicinal values.. and its good to take stock of what we have growing natively..

[slug slayer]

I am so glad to hear the conference was well attended. I wanted to go so badly but my daughter had her 5th birthday on friday.


Next year I am certainly going.

Slug Slayer

[flowerpower]

I was telling my neighbor on Fri that I was disappointed I couldn't go. He said to let him know next yr and he and his wife will go. Sounds like it was really interesting. Glad you had a great time.

Stony, have you ever gone to the Pratt Museum? I haven't but would like too. They have a kithcen/ medicinal garden in the back.

http://www.prattmuseum.com/exhibits/garden_herbs.htm

[stonysoil]

hi flowerpower.. i know where pratts rock is on rte 23 i once checked it out with friends but didnt relaize they had medicinal garden i will defentiely ck out next time we are in area.. as its so close to my piece of property in gilboa.. also a good place to visit in esperance in schoharie county is the landis arboreteum .. ive been there several times

[flowerpower]

Landis is beautiful. Their annual plant sales are always a big hit. They have alot of interesting varieties available. Some of the perennials are a bit pricey though. There is also the Mountain Top Arboretum in Hunter.

[stonysoil]

ty flowerpower its amazing what u learn in this forum as i go to hunter a bit to see my grapic artist