Education

Windy City Harvest

Workshops in Sustainable Vegetable Production

Classes are open to the general public and have a min/max registration of 5/20 students. Classes will be held at the Arturo Velasquez Institute at 2800 S. Western Avenue, in the greenhouse. Please contact with additional questions.

CLASS	DATE	DESCRIPTION
Crop Planning	January 28	Cabin fever is setting in. It’s time to grab your seed catalogs and start dreaming about the growing season. Let’s plan your vegetable garden early!
Seed Starting	February 18	Learn different techniques for starting your own vegetable transplants. Learn to blend your own seed-starting mix and use a soil-block maker, a sustainable method for starting seeds.
Season Extension	March 31	Learn how to extend your spring and fall growing season with low tunnels and cold frames.
Container Gardens	April 28	Discover space-saving ways to grow your own vegetables and herbs.
Building Healthy Soil	May 19	Learn about composting, early spring cover cropping, and other soil-building techniques. Healthy soil is the key to healthy plants!

Workshop Time, Location, and Registration Information
All workshops are held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon in the greenhouse classroom at the Arturo Velasquez Institute, 2800 S. Western Avenue (enter the south parking lot at 31st Street). The cost is $39 per course. Registration for each class ends the Thursday one week prior to each class. All materials and handouts are provided. There is a $20 cancellation fee per class unless the class is cancelled due to low enrollment. Workshops are taught by Chicago Botanic Garden and Windy City Harvest staff.

Community WOrkshops
Workshops are also available "on demand" for groups of 5 or more within the Chicagoland area. These workshops can be hosted at our greenhouse or at a location of your choice. Topics include: Workshop Topics, Organic Pest & Disease Control, Small Farm Tools, Raised Bed Construction, and Post Harvest Handling. If you or your organization is interested in hosting a workshop, and have a minimum of 5 attendees, please contact us at and title your email "Community Workshops".