It is time to register!
There are three upcoming events for food and agriculture enthusiasts in the Driftless:
- Aronia Field Day, Saturday, August 24th, 9:30-2pm, Star Valley Flowers, Soldiers Grove, WI. To register, RSVP to phil@starvalleyflowers.com
- Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Thursday September 12, 8:30-5, Viroqua. To register, go to www.cias.wisc.edu
- Driftless Experimental Wine Festival, October 20, 2013. Go to www.AppleRiverWinery.com, Driftless page for more information. To register as a vendor, email MountHopeVineyard at yahoo.com
More information on each event is posted below. Please register / RSVP as soon as possible.
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Aronia field day, Saturday August 24th, 9:30-2pm, Star Valley Flowers, Soldiers Grove, WI. To register, RSVP to phil@starvalleyflowers.com
The Midwest Aronia Association is co-sponsoring an aronia field day on Saturday, August 24, hosted by John Zeher, owner of Star Vally Flowers (www.starvalleyflowers.com) John has been an avid supporter and a team member of the Wisconsin initiative to promote aronia even before the existence of MAA.  His sales manager, Phil Mueller, is one of three MAA Board members from Wisconsin. John and Phil are experienced growers of deciduous shrubs and have been marketing to the cut flower industry for over 25 years.  They have a long history of growing aronia as part of their cut flower business and also manage 30+ acres of organically gown aronia planted in 2012.
- a discussion about post harvest handling/processing requirements
- an update on Dr. Brian Smith’s aronia breeding initiative at UW-River Falls
- Questions and answers about possible companion crops–log onto www.uncommonfruit.cias.wisc.edu for background information.
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Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Thursday September 12, 8:30-5, Viroqua.Â
Space is limited, and registration is old-school (no on-line registration option or plastic) so please register early.
Register using the form available on the CIAS website at www.cias.wisc.edu and send with payment to Michelle Miller at UW-Madison CIAS, Attn: Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Ag Bulletin Building, 1535 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706.
Contact Michelle with registration questions at mmmille6@wisc.edu or 608-262-7135.
For workshop questions, contact Marian Farrior: mlfarrior@wisc.edu, 608-265-5214.
Location: We will begin the day at Nature’s Nook: S4878 Cty. Rd. S, Viroqua, WI 54665.
Directions: From Viroqua, take Hwy 56 east to Hwy 82. Turn left on Hwy 82 and go to County
Road S. Turn right on S. Nature’s Nook is about 1/2 mile down County Road S on the left.
Draft agenda:
- 8:30-9:00 a.m.                 Welcome & introductions
- 9:00-9:45 a.m.                 Definitions, Principles of ecological gardening
- 9:45-10:30 a.m.               2 groups: 1) Small group discussion/Functions worksheet: What are the functions you want fulfilled on your land? What are your land’s needs, yields, characteristics? 2)     Tour at Nature Nooks
- 10:30-10:45 a.m.             Break
- 10:45-11:30 a.m. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Small Group discussion /Tour at Nature Nooks
- 11:30-12 p.m.                   Lunch
- 12-12:30 p.m.                   Travel to Cullen and Micaela’s Long Arm Farm
- 12:30-2:30 p.m.              3 groups : 1) philosophy, context & background, plant selection, how to plant different species (sheet mulching, etc.), plant selection for hedgerows, what is working well, markets; 2) animals, chicken tractor and rotations, plants for fodder, cheese cave, markets; 3) plant varieties, plant selection, propagation, what to grow along riparian zones & edges, sun/shade, guilds, juglones tolerant plants
- 2:30-3:00 p.m.                 Travel to Mike Breckel’s Hawkstone Vineyard
- 3:00-4:15 p.m.                 Tour at Hawkstone Vineyard
- 4:15-5:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Elderberry tasting
This workshop is sponsored by UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the UW-Madison Arboretum, with a grant from the Kickapoo Valley Reforestation Fund. Our wonderful collaborators include: the Vernon County Land and Water Conservation District, My Wisconsin Woods, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Kickapoo Woods Cooperative, and Southwest Badger RC & D.
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Driftless Experimental Wine Festival, October 20, 2013. Go to www.AppleRiverWinery.com, Driftless page for more information. To register as a vendor, email MountHopeVineyard at yahoo.com
To receive a registration form for exhibitor/consumer email MountHopeVineyard@yahoo.com
The Driftless Experimental Wine Festival was initiated to bring together boutique and independent wine makers who produce wines made from grapes grown within the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA (Northwest Illinois, Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Southwest Wisconsin), the Driftless Area. Efforts have been realized to develop initial flavor profiles for French-American Hybrid grapes and Northern Cultivars developed at the University of Minnesota. In order to further those efforts, terroir influenced wines need to be explored.
This event is the first step in a series that will exhibit experimental wines produced only from local and state specific (UMRV AVA) grown grapes. The experience will provide consumers with an opportunity to enjoy similarities and begin to identify differences, terroir influence, between those wines. Gross proceeds from the event will fund scholarships at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in Horticulture (viticulture) and Architecture (winery design).