Get ready for spring with this workshop on the how-to's of proper nest box set up and maintenance. 

Join Lucas Coe-Starr as he details NESTING KNOW-HOW!

You probably know Lucas as the “Oak Ridge Bird Man,” a regular attendee of the Winter Farmers’ Market. He creates unique bird feeders and nesting boxes with his plant-based 3-D printer technique. He also sells bird-attracting blends of seed, suet, and other feeds, as well as offering his expertise in ecologically-focused landscape design.

Information Session

Grow Your Own: Backyard & Community Gardening Program

10 Households will receive free seeds, organic fertilizers, hand tools, education, and your very own Garden Coach to walk you through the steps toward growing your own food, either in your backyard, or a community garden plot.

Priority is for families receiving SNAP/EBT, but all are welcome to apply.

Tomato Seed Planting in Nourish Kids Club

Children 2 to 12 are invited to plant tomato seeds in the Nourish Kids Club on March 12 in an activity led by UT Extension Agent Ashley Draper.

There is no cost.

Mushroom Inoculation Station, March 5

LOGS ARE SOLD OUT! WE ARE MAKING MORE FOR SALE MID-APRIL

Fundraiser for Nourish Kids Club

Join us on March 5, for our Mushroom Inoculation Station. You will inject shiitake spawn into a locally sourced oak log, and cap it with beeswax.

Put your log in a shady spot. Water it during dry spells… voila! Your mushroom will produce shiitake for up to four years, twice a year.

Stations are 30 minutes long. When you click “Buy Now” you will be asked what time you want to come (starting at 9 a.m. and every half hour after that). Or, you can purchase a pre-made log, or pre-made Lion’s Mane mushroom grow bag (for indoor mushrooms)! Mushroom bags must be misted several times per day with water, and they will sprout in about 5 days.

• $25 - Make your own

• $30 - Pre-made logs

• $25 - Pre-made Grow Bags, Lion’s Mane Mushrooms, from Extraterrestrial Fungi. These will be for sale the morning of March 5.

All proceeds benefit Nourish Kids Club and other programs of Grow Oak Ridge.

Thank you, sponsors: Extraterrestrial Fungi, Tractor Supply, and Davenport Tree Service!

This is not a separate workshop, but a demonstration in the main room of the market:

Join UT Extension Agent Ashley Draper as she cooks with mushrooms!

Stop in at the UT Extension booth and learn how to clean, store, and serve this unique and wonderful fungi, and enjoy some samples. Ashley will be located in the back corner of the main room of the market.

What does it take to create a yard that’s healthy for both wildlife and humans?

Join Lucas Coe-Starr as he details how to make your yard into a haven for wildlife – specifically, our feathered friends.

You probably know Lucas as the “Oak Ridge Bird Man,” a regular attendee of the Winter Farmers’ Market He creates unique bird feeders and houses with his 3-D printers; he also sells bird-attracting blends of seed, suet, and other feeds, as well as offering his expertise in ecologically-focused landscape design.

Lucas’s Oak Ridge yard has recently been designated a Tennessee Smart Yard, a yard “that is in balance with the local environment for the benefit of both people and our ecosystem.” He’ll talk about what that means and how you can create the same type of yard in your neck of the woods.

Join Dr. Elaine Bunick and nutritionist Heidi Greenhalgh for a fun and informative workshop on cooking for your health this winter.

You’ll sample a healthy winter recipe and hear about changing concepts for obesity, disease prevention and wellness.

Free, in Columbus Hall at the back of the Winter Farmers’ Market.

Jan. 22, 10:30 to 11:30 in Columbus Hall (back room of the Winter Farmers’ market).

Growing Together: Community Gardens of Oak Ridge

Meet the leaders of Oak Ridge’s three community gardens for a fun and informative discussion of their plans for the summer. Gardeners from the Scarboro Neighborhood, First Presbyterian Church and St. Mary’s Church will be on hand to talk about the community gardens they tend, why they’re important to our city, and how to get involved.

The Oak Ridge Public Library’s seed exchange will also be on hand to demonstrate this wonderful resource for gardeners in our community.

FREE, Columbus Hall in the back of the Winter Farmers’ Market.

Join UT Extension Agent Ashley Draper in the kitchen for seasonal cooking lessons.

This group is limited to 6 participants (first-come, first served), but will be offered again on Feb. 12.

This workshop has a fee for supplies and is limited to 10 people. If you want to be guaranteed a log, please reserve your spot today by paying in advance, online or at the Welcome Desk any Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Build your own shiitake mushroom log at our Mushroom Inoculation Station.

Cost is $20. You will go home with a log, 4 feet long and 4 inches wide, which will weigh about 25 pounds.

Workshop leaders will help you drill holes, inject with mushroom spawn, and then plug them with beeswax. You will then be able to take your log home, where you should plan to put it in a shady spot in your yard where it can get rain. You should expect a crop of mushrooms in the fall, and possibly for several years! (see additional instructions at the bottom of this page).

When you register, we will contact you to schedule a time, either 10 a.m., 11 a.m. or noon on March 7, for your inoculation.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Power of Produce Club!

Reserve your spot today!

Mushroom log care, from this site: https://www.fieldforest.net/product/shiitake-on-logs-instruction-sheet/instruction-sheets

Incubate logs and manage for moisture
Once inoculated, place your logs in a shaded area, protected from the sun and wind, low to the ground (we lay them on pallets or poles), and where they can receive natural rainfall. Maintaining moisture during this phase is the most critical step to Shiitake production success. We recommend your logs receive 1˝ of rain per week. If the weather is not cooperating, you may need to sprinkle your logs with a hose. Logs will begin producing mushrooms when spawn run is close to complete and the conditions for fruiting are ideal. This timing varies, so keep an eye on your logs. Once fruiting commences, they can be re-stacked into a different configuration to make harvest easier.

Harvest mushrooms
Monitor your logs as they fruit. Mushroom development can happen very quickly and it is best to pick them when the edges of the cap are still curled under. Over mature mushrooms do not store as long. Simply grab the mushroom, twist, and pull it off the log. Store your harvest in the refrigerator up to 14 days in a sealed storage container.

Meet Jacob Resor, garden manager at Knoxville Botanical Garden. He will talk about KBG’s Center for Urban Agriculture (CUA) which was created to equip and educate local communities for cultivating healthy produce and sustainable lifestyles. Its five garden zones are designed to engage gardeners of any age or experience level, from early-childhood learning to large-scale market gardening.

Join gardener Jason Schmidt as he walks you through the joys of making “black gold,” or worm compost! It’s not hard, and it’s a lot of fun. Suitable for all ages.

Workshop is in Columbus Hall, which is the classroom at the back of the market.

And yes, there will be worms (outside)!

Retired endocrinologist Dr. Elaine Bunick offers practical ways to eat healthy on a budget.

What’s going on at the Scarboro Community Garden? Join Gail Walker and Carl Freeman as they talk about the progress on this gardening effort in the heart of Oak Ridge.