Organic Agriculture and Beginning Bee Keeping

[Peach]

So lets just say I'm so excited about this class! Not only did they decide that they would open it up for more than the culinary students,but the whole student body....it brought in 3 TIMES the expected amount.

Went to class, and found a lot have similar interest, some aspiring to be in the food/chef business and would like to learn more about purchasing and cooking locally and some that just have an interest.

I signed up not because I need it, but just because I know I'm going to love it.

We get to visit the farm of KSU and his own personal farm to do hands on learning later this semester. We are planning to learn about soil, plant diseased,bees (of course!) , sustainable living, how he graphs his trees, mushrooms,livestock, etc.

Of course, we hit it off really well and I ended up staying an hour after just talking about livestock,gardening,etc.

How cool is it that you can talk to someone else about raising rabbits for food,fur,and fancy and they not be shocked or trying to give you all the reasons why they are too cute to eat?

I'm looking forward to the progress of this class. When I visit the farms I plan to take plenty of pictures

 

[Frecs]

That's wonderful, Peach! Hope to hear lots of interesting tidbits you learn this semester!

 

[lidtfedtkanin]

I am very excited for you and I can certainly relate. We are trying to make this move within our household. We now raise our own bees, rabbits, and laying hens along with tending many gardens. I think it is very exciting that, even if on a small scale, more people make this move (or at least are considering it)!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What a cool class! *Almost* makes me want to go back to school, lol!

Who knows... you may make lots of contacts who want to raise rabbits for meat in the future, or at least incorporate some as "gardening assistants"! Spread the Rabbitosis, Peach!

You might want to talk to the teacher about doing an experiment using different manures in class. You could provide the bunny berries! :mrgreen:

 

[Peach]

My dad tells me not get any ideas as far as bees go lol! I guess my dreams of having a few hives will have to wait until after school

So far the books I've been assigned, at surprisingly reasonable prices , The New Organic Grower, First Lessons in Beekeeping, and The Biological Farmer.

I'm certainly curious if we could incorporate rabbits in a way. Even when I was in physical fitness, rabbit was not recognized for its low fat,high protein value for people that work out a lot. Maybe we will be able to talk about the value of ann animal that should be getting for recognition for its health benefits and sustainability with some of the aspiring chefs in the class.

 

[Dood]

I love my bees, especially the amazing raw honey the provide

I once brought in a jar full or drones and let the kids in the class handle them - they LOVED it and talked about it for weeks after. Days like that made me love teaching

If you're not in a Varroa mite (or Africanized) hot spot then they can be easier to keep than you'd think.

 

[KKRabbitry]

Oh so jealous !
Sounds like a super fun class!