At the Unity Community Center at 632 Orlando Avenue, a secret is hiding in plain sight. The Unity Community Center’s Food Production and Demonstration Garden annually produces about one ton of FREE garden produce per year for local community members, using a little over 1000 square feet. The produce is available weekly from late June through early October, on Thursdays from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM to anybody. The purpose of this garden is to produce fresh produce for those who need it most.
What people may not know, however, is that a garden that is this productive on a piece of ground as small as this one needs to be:
- Experimenting with season extension techniques and new crop species
- Continuously regenerating its soils with cover crops and compost
- Controlling and preventing garden weeds and diseases
- Succession planting (i.e. replanting garden rows as soon as previous crops are harvested)
- Companion planting (i.e. growing multiple crops together in the same garden area)
- Delivering of water to target crops in a conservative way
These practices can all deliver high-quality results in the garden that increase resilience and self-sufficiency on any homestead, big or small, urban or rural.
Early this September, community members can learn how to implement one or more of these practices by seeing them in action.
The University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms team is excited to announce the second of many in their “Modern Homesteading & Self-Sufficiency” workshop series.
The series will continue with a Walking Tour of the Unity Community Garden on September 5th, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, OR 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM (choose one), in the garden directly behind the Unity Community Center – 632 Orlando Avenue, Normal, IL 61761.
During these hour-long tours, participants will learn the basics of growing fresh baby ginger, how to use cover crops to regenerate depleted soils, how to prevent weed outbreaks in garden beds, and will even see a demonstration of the Three Sisters companion planting method.
Attendees of either tour time will receive a free handout from the McLean County History Museum about the Three Sisters companion planting method using corn, dry beans, and squash.
Summer staff of the Unity Community Garden will lead these tour sessions, but Nick Frillman – Local Food Systems & Small Farms Educator, will be available to answer questions.
In this series of programs, we will strive to have a hands-on component of the class, or a hands-on homework assignment to reinforce learning objectives.
For this session, our “homework” may include a post-tour group discussion about cover crop mentorship or fresh ginger participatory research IF time allows.
NOTE: Due to the nature of this program, the only participation option will be in person.
The next three workshops after the Unity Garden Tours Day event will be:
- How to Make Mead (a.k.a. Honey Wine) – with Central Illinois Beekeeping Association
- Saturday, September 14th, 3:30 to 5:30 PM – (private home of club member) 6424 Alexander Road, Heyworth, IL 61745 – FREE to attend
- Create Herbal Gifts from the Homestead – with Wertheim’s Gardens
- Saturday, October 12th, 1:00-3:30 PM – Atlanta Public Library Museum – 114 SW Arch St, Atlanta, 61723 - $20 fee
- Introduction to Sausage-Making – Bulk Sausage, Casing Basics, and More with Slow Hand BBQ
- Monday, October 21st, TIME – TBD - 4450 N Prospect Rd Ste S-1, Peoria Heights, IL 61616 – payment TBD
Future workshops will occur in McLean, Livingston, Woodford, and surrounding Counties beyond. Contact Nick to be notified about future programs or suggest future programs.
Our goal is to teach practical skills that can enhance household resilience and build a supportive community in Central Illinois for modern homesteaders. This community will provide a platform for sharing ideas, recipes, strategies, stories, and experiences. Come check out one of our events!
To register for this and/or others, please contact Nick Frillman at 309.663.8306 or by emailing frillma2@illinois.edu
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.