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Oconee Cultivation Project: EASY No-Till Raised-Bed Garden Workshop�
When: February 22, 10am-1pm EST
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$15 early registration. Limit 20 participants. Sliding-scale options available and Cultivateen Summer Camp donation options available at the event, day of. Proceeds from this workshop fund the Cultivateen Summer Program with the Mission to Empower the youth of Oconee County with education in agricultural and culinary practices informed by local foodways.
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2/22/25 EASY No-Till Raised-Bed Garden Workshop
Instructor: David Thornton
Location: Timberbrook Gardens 570 Nimmons Bridge Road, Salem, SC
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Instructor David Thornton will lead us in preparing and planting a cost effective and labor efficient method for establishing raised garden beds on fallow ( uncultivated) land to be made into a regenerative garden using compost and easily obtained materials with minimal tools required. We will be making two beds, 3 ft in diameter, 4 inches high and 50 feet long using air-and-water-permeable black AgFabric, metal gardening stakes and compost. Materials cost can range from $33 -$150 depending on your access to compost or alternative organic material for shaping the beds. The AgFabric is reusable and we’ve been using ours for nearly 5 years now, lowering the cost of bed making each season! Because we make our own compost at our farm, this process is now Cost Free to implement each season. This system utilizes a fossil-fuel-free process to inhibit W**d growth while encouraging a strong soil microbiome to support chemical free plant growth and limit intrusion of unwanted weeds.
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Important Note* We are NOT using the AgFabric to plant our plants into. The AgFabric is only used for the bed preparation process known as Occultation. Want to know more? Sign up for this fun and informative workshop and lets grow together!
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About the Instructor: David Thornton is a Biosystems Engineer with an emphasis in sustainable systems for integrated food and energy production. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Mary Washington in Sustainable Development with an emphasis on Sustainable Building, Design and Land Use Planning. Thornton taught in the Sustainable Agriculture Program at Central Carolina Community College and managed the Design-Build department of the B Corp renewable energy company, Piedmont Biofuels, before attending graduate school at Clemson University in Biosystems Engineering. He later served as a Research Associate and Organics and Biofuels Program Coordinator between University Facilities and the Environmental Engineering program to initiate Clemson’s award-winning compost, biodiesel and zero-waste initiatives. Now he co-stewards an 11 acre, 4th generation regenerative homestead with his wife Casey Certain in Walhalla, South Carolina while running a collective of agricultural and education based businesses and nonprofits serving the Upstate, SC community.
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9:30-10 Welcome and registration. Hot beverage and water provided
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10:00 Overview of Occultation method
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10:20 Pull back the Ag fabric row and fold it to make an 18” walkway between beds.
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10:25 Layout the next bed and stake it down
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10:40 Sift and spread 4” of compost on the uncovered bed.
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11:00 am Broad fork and rake the soil into a bed.
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11:30 Plant cabbage ( for a future kraut workshop )
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12:00pm. Clean up and enjoy a simple hot lunch of homemade soup and bread.
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Stick around for music or a tour of Timberbrook Gardens and discuss what other events and workshops we have coming up
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CultivaTeen is a summer program offered to youth and their families at no cost. The program provides young people with opportunities to develop skills through mentorship and education in sustainable agriculture, culinary practices, and local food production. Teens who participate explore agricultural and culinary methods that encourage healthier choices, working with community members who practice sustainable or intentional lifestyles. Youth who join us are known as crew members, as they are responsible for jobs around the gardens and in the kitchen that teach them how to work as a team to achieve a common goal. Crew members who return to our CultivaTeen 2.0 program have the option of becoming crew leader assistants, meaning they work alongside the adult crew leader to assign tasks and take on more responsibility as leaders in their groups.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
570 Nimmons Bridge Rd, Salem, SC 29676-3517, United States
Tickets
USD 17.85
