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Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.<http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=0a3cef2143&e=8d76713e7b> <http://ARTmeetsEARTH.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=5d41487422&e=8d76713e7b> Soil Building for Small Farms and Big Gardens *with Joe Scrimger of Bio-Systems Soil Testing and Consulting* Introduction to Soil Building Friday, May 4th, 6 to 8pm at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center 6686 South Center Highway, Traverse City This will be a solid introduction to organic small-scale farming with an emphasis on soil biology. Learn the basics of soil testing, and how you can use amendments and mulching to improve production quality and quantity. Weeds, pests and diseases will also be discussed. The focus will be on farms that are 10 acres or less, but the concepts can be utilized on larger farms and in home gardens. $10-$20 sliding scale. Soil Building Intensive Saturday, May 5th, 8:30am to 12:30pm at the Leelanau Conservancy’s DeYoung Farm 9510 E. Cherry Bend Road, Traverse City Learn to develop a plan for returning overused soils to a biologically active, productive state. Using the sandy soils of the Leelanau Conservancy’s DeYoung farm, Joe will cover each step of the process in depth: soil testing and interpreting results, connecting those results to field observations, and crafting an action plan to amend and improve the soil. $50 ($40 for CRAFT members). *Space is limited; please register here<http://ARTmeetsEARTH.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=c444b2936e&e=8d76713e7b>or contact Yvonne at [log in to unmask] or (231) 622-5252.* Bonus: Home Composting Thursday, May 3rd from 6 to 8:30pm at the Bellaire Community Hall 225 North Bridge St, Bellaire Everyone can reduce household waste, unlock soil nutrients, grow better vegetables and flowers, and become more self-sufficient by learning to make and use compost with expert Andy Gale of Bay Area Recycling for Charities (BARC). In this workshop, home gardeners and small-scale farmers will learn the basics of composting kitchen scraps and yard waste, from simple tips and tricks on keeping kitchen and outdoor spaces neat to learning how you can support the invisible but vital work of micro-organisms in the soil food web. Learn how to construct low-tech backyard composting systems out of everyday objects, find out what to include and what not to include in the home-scale compost heap, and figure out how to control materials, aeration, and moisture content to make the very most of your compost. Suggested donation $10. Many thanks to our sponsors and partners: Oryana Natural Foods Market, Bay Area Recycling for Charities, Krios Consulting, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference, Bio-Systems Soil Testing and Consulting, and Leelanau Conservancy *Our mailing address is:* ISLAND 5870 Cottage Drive Bellaire, MI 49615 *Copyright (C) 2012 ISLAND All rights reserved.* Sent to [log in to unmask] — *why did I get this?*<http://ARTmeetsEARTH.us1.list-manage.com/about?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=eb8b53243c&e=8d76713e7b&c=0a3cef2143> unsubscribe from this list<http://ARTmeetsEARTH.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=eb8b53243c&e=8d76713e7b&c=0a3cef2143>| update subscription preferences<http://ARTmeetsEARTH.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=57a7bb1a12446a865a6b99288&id=eb8b53243c&e=8d76713e7b> Institute for Sustainable Living, Art & Natural Design (ISLAND) · 5870 Cottage Drive · Bellaire, MI 49615 If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html