Gardener Education

Information, workshops, and links for NOFA-Vermont's organic gardeners and homesteaders

NOFA-VT Gardening Resources

Articles

Presentations

Introductory Study of Soils, Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Delivered for the UVM Master Gardener Class, February 2009
Who is in Your Soil?, Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Delivered at the NOFA Vermont Winter Conference, February, 2008
Ecological Soil Management, Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Delivered at SolarFest, July 2009
No-Till Gardening, Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Delivered at the NOFA Vermont Winter Conference, February 2009
Compost: the Secret Recipe, Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Delivered at SolarFest, July 2008

Books

NOFA-Vermont sells a plethora of books for homesteaders and gardeners. Members receive a 10% discount on all book orders. Our extensive collection contains over 220 titles of popular and hard to find organic gardening, farming, and sustainable living books. NOFA-Vermont also maintains a lending library at our office in Richmond that contains videos and many of these books, plus older treasures on organic growing that are out of print.

Calendar of Events

Homesteaders and gardeners should check out our calendar of events, which summarizes Vermont and regional events on food, farming, and gardening.

Annual Gardening Related Events

Bulk Order

Each January, gardeners and homesteaders can participate in the annual bulk order of fertilizers, baskets, pest control, potting soil, cover crop seed, seed potatoes and more. The bulk order provides quality organic garden supplies at bulk prices to the NOFA-Vermont community.

Winter Conference

Each February, gardeners and homesteaders can participate in NOFA-Vermont’s Winter Conference. The Conference has keynote speakers, many workshops on all aspects of organic gardening and farming, a trade show, books for sale, and a children’s conference.

Summer Workshops

Each summer, gardeners and homesteaders can participate in various workshops offer by NOFA-Vermont’s Summer Workshop series. Workshop topics vary year-to-year, but occur around the State and cover various aspects of organic gardening, food-processing and storage, and sustainable living.

Gardening Links

Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab, University of Vermont (UVM)

The Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab tests soils for home gardeners for nutrient and lime needs and makes fertilizer recommendations for crops grown on soils in Vermont.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)

ATTRA was designed for farmers with technical, readable, in-depth publications on all aspects of growing plants and animals using sustainable methods. However, this site is useful for homesteaders and gardeners. Information is included on: soils, compost, specific crops, herbs and flowers, bee-keeping, and bio-controls.
Friends of Burlington Gardens/the Vermont Community Garden Network

Friends of Burlington Gardens and the Vermont Community Garden Network’s site has information and educational resources about organic gardening, promoting wildlife habitat, and resources for starting community and school gardens with a mini-grant program for funding.
Fruit Production for the Home Gardener

Penn State University developed this great on-line guide for people who wish to produce fruit on a small scale (one acre or less) and who only may use pesticides that do not require a license. The guide included information soil and planting, pruning and training fruit trees, pests and pesticides (both synthetic and for organic growers), and controlling wildlife damage with detailed individual chapters on pome and stone fruits, grapes, all kinds of berries, and kiwi.
National Gardening Association

A national site (based in Vermont) that contains information on every aspect of gardening from urban to kid’s gardening. Information includes: flowers, lawns, trees, edibles, pests, tools, and cooking.
National Resources Conservation Service (NRSC)--Vermont

The NRCS mission is to assist owners of America's private land with conserving their soil, water, and other natural resources. Gardeners can use their website to determine the type of soil on land before they buy a home. NRCS also offer education materials on soil and conservation.
Perry’s Perennial Page UVM Extension

If you love perennials, then Leonard Perry’s, Ph.D. perennial pages are a great site for you. It includes: dozens of articles and leaflets an all aspects of flower and perennial gardening, a daily gardening tip, an A to Z photos and files of perennials with a pronunciation at link for that Latin names, common name lists, events occurring in Vermont, and much more.
Plant Diagnostic Clinic, UVM Extension

Ann Hazelrigg manages the University of Vermont’s Plant Diagnostic Clinic. Their web-based materials help gardeners identify common insects and diseases. The Plant Diagnostic Clinic identifies of diseases, plants, weeds, and plant insects encountered by Vermont gardeners for a fee of $15.
PlantFacts

Ohio State University’s PlantFacts web site is a fact-sheet data base that answers plant-related questions from 46 different universities and government institutions across the United States and Canada. It has over 59,000 pages of Extension fact sheets and bulletins.
Safe Seed Pledge

Lists seed companies that have signed the safe seed pledge stating that they will not knowing sell genetically modified seed.
SeedSavers Exchange (SSE)

SSE is a nonprofit organization of gardeners, who save and share heirloom seeds. Their website has seeds and books for sale.
UVM Extension Publications

The University of Vermont has 100’s of leaflets on fruit, vegetables, flowers, lawns, trees, ornamentals, pests and their life-cycles. These leaflets are very readable and informative.
Vermont Entomological Society (VES)

VES, the “hub of insect activity in the Green Mountain State,” is open to anyone interested in insects (and other invertebrates). From casual insect watchers to amateur and professional entomologists, they are dedicated to the study, conservation, and appreciation of insects and other invertebrates. VES sponsors workshops and field trips, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and has bug breaking news.
Vermont Master Gardener, UVM Extension

The Vermont Master Gardener site offers season tips and articles, a helpful phone hotline (1-800-639-2230), free insect and disease diagnosis, and a 13-week introductory course, presented via interactive television around the State. Their website is a great resource for gardeners.
Vermont Vegetable and Berry Page, (UVM) Extension

Vern Grubinger’s, Ph.D. The Vermont Vegetable and Berry Page website contains a plethora of resources on every topic for commercial growers, but many links are useful for homesteaders and gardeners; it has links especially for gardeners.