Permaculture tour and water conservation workshops to be held Sunday in Warwick and Middletown

WARWICK — Whether you’re a backyard gardener, would like to grow your own food, are interested in protecting the local ecology or are just interested in drip irrigation technology, sign up for tours of two local farms for the how-to’s of permaculture on Sunday, Sept. 16.
From the Permaculture Research Institute website ( http://permaculturenews.org ):
“Permaculture integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies – imitating the no waste, closed loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture studies and applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics and community development.
Permaculture (the word, coined by Bill Mollison, is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order.
Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms.”
Two different workshops- morning and afternoon – will be offered; those interested may attend either one, or both.
The detailsAM workshop
Cost: $65, includes lunch
When and Where: Midsummer Farm, 156 East Ridge Warwick, 8:30–9 a.m.; seedlings for sale; or
Maria Blon’s Urban Farm, 5 Earle Street, Middletown, 9:30–11; tour gardens, building a Hugelkultur
11 –12, Drip irrigation with Zach Cogan of Hudson Hydro Design
12–1:30 p.m., Enjoy organically grown vegetables in a homemade lunch; metal artwork for sale
PM workshop
Cost: $45
Where: Carina Blon and Zach Cogan’s gardens, 27 Western Ave., Middletown
When: 2 p.m. - Construct an A frame to mark contour lines and build a swale with Peter Lai
3 p.m. - Hydroponics tour and demonstration
4 p.m. - Develop and share your vision for using water conservation in your gardens
4:45 p.m. – Prizes and evaluation
5 p.m. – Workshop conclusion
Attend both morning and afternoon workshops for $99
Make checks payable to: TQM Associates, 127 Cheechunk Road, Goshen, NY 10924
To register: Call Peter Lai at 845/313-4246, or email PeterL@frontiernet.net
Sponsored by Looks Like a Miracle and TQM Associates. Looks Like a Miracle is a project to teach people how to grow food where they live, while raising money for the HEART in Haiti School.
For more information, go to LooksLikeaMiracle.com.