Abbott Farms Boot Camps
Sustainable Farming Boot Camp
Schedule:
9:00am – 3:00 pm four days, 2:00pm – 8:00 pm on the Dairy day. Monday through Friday. One farm meal provided each day, lunch on regular days, dinner on dairy day. Schedule will be flexible depending on weather, some events must be done on clear days, such as beekeeping.
Day 1- Overview of sustainable farming and how the different systems work together: How to decide what to grow on your farm, planning of the “big picture”, goal setting, long-term planning, financial/economic planning, evaluating your family’s strengths and weaknesses and fitting those into your plan.
Day 2 – Vegetable production: site selection, plant varieties, soil health and crop rotation, tools and their maintenance , planning for production goals, season extension, structures, storage, possible marketing options
Day 3 - Dairy goats: Planning for housing, fencing, breeds, detailed care and husbandry, milking, processing milk, planning for production goals. Legal issues. This will be a 2:00 – 8:00 pm class to go over normal milking times.
Day 4 – Honeybees: Location of hives, equipment, types of bees, care of bees, honey processing.
Day 5 – Poultry: Types of poultry, housing, husbandry, care from babies to butchering, production goals and marketing.
Sustainable Cooking/Personal Care Boot Camp
Schedule:
9:00 am to 3:00 pm five days, Monday through Friday, Farm lunch (prepared by attendees) included
Day 1 – Dairy – Cheese, yogurt, cooking with raw milk, cheese and yogurt.
Day 2 – Bread and grains, yeast breads, cooking with whole grains, making tortillas and crackers and other “processed” foods, cooking with honey.
Day 3 – Canning and preserving, including acid foods, low acid foods, dehydration, jams and jellies and season extension in the garden.
Day 4 – Personal care products – soap, lip balm, lotion, shampoo, lotion bars. Other beeswax products.
Day 5 – How to cook with real meat, poultry and dried beans.
Each Boot Camp will take place during one week, the Farming Boot Camp in August, the Cooking Boot Camp in September. We will limit registration to around 10 people. We will limit it to adults or mature children age 12 or up who do not need to be “watched”. Childcare will not be provided.
Price will be $300 for the entire week, 30 hours of instruction plus meals.
Tenative dates for 2016: August 1 - 5 for the Farming Boot Camp, September 12 - 16 for the Cooking/Personal Care Boot Camp.