Gardening for Health Workshop Registration Session 1: Growing Nutrient Dense Food
Purpose of Workshops: A hands-on learning event where participants will perform different tests to investigate whether different soil additives and gardening methods effect the nutrient density of produce typically grown in our gardens.
This
is not about telling people how to garden or what amendments to use of not use.
There are hundreds of ways to garden, and everyone's environment and soils are
different. If you come away with an idea or thought on what you might try or experiment
with to increase the nutrient density of your produce we will consider this
event a success. We are pretty sure you will have a good time and hopefully
enjoy spending time with other gardeners.
When: Sunday August 24th, 2025, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Where: Powderhorn Farm, N11529 Powderhorn Road, Bessemer, MI 49911
(1/4
mile north of Big Powderhorn Ski Resort)
Cost: $10 per person, limit 40 registrants. A full meal, between 3 and 4pm, iced tea, and water provided.
What to Bring: Dress for the weather. You will be doing a variety of soil and produce tests; you may get dirty. Optional-an item or two of produce from your garden you would like to test for nutritional value.
What to expect: You will need to sign a waiver to allow filming of the event for later posting on social media. Parking space is limited, someone will be at the entrance to direct where to park. Toilet facility will be on site.
What you will be testing: A series of eight will be set up next to one another and with the same prior gardening history in terms of amendments etc. The plots will be treated in May of early June each with a different type of amendment or treatment. Each plot will then be planted with the same vegetables from starts or seeds from the same seed packet. Each plot will be watered (in equal amounts and weeded at the same time and cared for in the same manner. Plots will be as follows: a control plot, one treated with rock dusts, a compost treated plot, a plot treated with a typical NPL fertilizer, and a plot rerated with inoculated biochar, a plot treated with wood vinegar, a plot treated with structured (EZ or magnetized) water, some type of electro culture plot.
Tests you will be running: Plots all with the same produce will be analyzed. Brix values of the produce, Ph, electrical conductivity, moisture content, paramagnetism, and fungal to bacterial ratios of the soil in each plot. You will do taste comparisons of the produce as well as look at the microbial life in the soils in each plot.