Friends of The Skillery: We have news.

First, we’d like to let you know that we’ll be going on a bit of a summer break, putting new classes and events on pause, starting after June 8’s At-Home Ice Cream Making Demonstration with Jeni Britton Bauer. Nice timing: We’ll break with bellies full of grade-A ice cream.
 
We’ll be back after Labor Day, and during the breather, we definitely won't be dormant. We'll be building something brand new: a focused and well-curated opportunity to bring learners, teachers, creatives, self-starters and other friends together in Nashville. It’s going to mark a major change for us in every way, from what we do to how we do it, and with whom.

When we relaunch in the fall, you can expect to see the spirit of The Skillery born anew, in classes, workshops and events that shine a spotlight on the exceptional braintrust in our city. The way we plan our classes and events will be different, but the core intent will be the same.
 
We’ll also have new partners, and a new home. More on that soon.
 
As we move into our next chapter, we’d be remiss if we didn’t celebrate the first one: Hundreds of classes and teachers, thousands of students, new skills, new friends and the occasional glass of whiskey or artisan marshmallow. We’re proud, and humbled. And as we begin to build the next chapter, we’re energized, and excited.

In the meantime, take a look at the classes we have going before our break. There are some great ones, including the first installment of The Skillery Culture Kitchen, a food and culture series that we're extremely excited to launch.
 
So, with all that said: Thanks for a terrific Spring, and we’ll see you on the other side of Summer.

I threatened to give away a Skillery T-shirt once our loveable crew of Facebook friends grew to 4,000 strong, and here's to making good on threats.

If you'd like to be a proud Skillery T owner (like, pictured above, some guy on the Internet who may be founder Matt Dudley) just leave a comment on this post, telling us how you found out about The Skillery. We'll pick a commenter at random and announce it on our Facebook page Monday Wednesday, May 8.

(In case you're wondering: They're American Apparel tri-blend Ts.)

We're working on big things for the coming months, and we Team Skillery-ers can't quite express how much we appreciate the support you've shown thus far. From the Nashville Creativity Summit to The Skillery Grow Down and the many, many classes in between and after, 2013's been an inspiring year for us already.

We're hopeful that the back end of 2013 will bring further opportunities for us all to come together. And more excuses to give away T-shirts. Comment away!

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We had to do some finger-crossing in the planning of the Skillery Grow Down — since many of these classes were of the fun-in-the-sun variety, inclement weather would've been, to put it mildly, a bummer.

Lucky for us, this past weekend was a beauty, and hundreds of students hit farms and shops and parks across the city to learn EcoGardening, Companion Planting, Window Farming, Hydroponics, Square Foot Gardening, Mushroom inoculation and much, much more.

We took in Saturday's Companion Planting class with Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture on Hands on Nashville's Urban Farm. Although the focus was, ostensibly, on grouping plants for ultimate happiness, students really got an overall primer on Permaculture — Cliff's specialty, and a way to approach gardening, farming and growing that focuses on keeping in step with, rather than fighting, nature.

Cliff helped us understand how we might best approach planning a garden (including friendly and supportive plant guilds), how to keep our soil fertile and plants happy, and ways we might get the best yield with the least work. "We're here to support your laziness," he reminded repeatedly. No one seemed to mind that support.

Sunday, we took part in Clay Bush's Make and Take Mushroom Log class in Beaman Park — a beautiful setting for a hands-on class.

Clay — who also runs SALVAGE: Upholstery and Design and has taught several popular upholstery classes with us — planned a workshop that felt like a blend of practical science, shop class and fun arts-and-crafts hang. We learned about mycelium, colonization and how, when and why our logs would fruit, along with some tips for recognizing wild mushrooms (with warm encouragements to not wander around tasting stuff).

We drilled holes, plugging them with dowels colonized by mycelium (sounds heady, but we were basically placing the vegetative part of our future mushrooms into a place where it could grow and thrive), then protecting the cut places of our logs with wax to keep other fungi from joining the party.

It'll be fall before we can harvest our bounty, but it was a thrill to see how possible it is to grow something so delicious (and generally so expensive).

Check out a few photos from these classes and the Barefoot Farmer Jeff Poppen's workshop above. If you took some Grow Down classes, we'd love to hear about it — drop a line to hello@theskillery.com.

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If you're new to The Skillery, you may not know what to expect from a Skillery class. They're all different, of course — led by the intents and desires of the local pros who teach them. But by and large, Skillery classes are unique: a little more relaxed, cooperative, hands-on than the kind of classes we all came up on, and often more like a big group hang with an educational activity than a lecture.

We like that they tend to go that way — our intent was to provide Nashvillians with opportunities to learn what they love, and that's supposed to be fun, we figure.

Time to time, we put together blog posts we call "After Class" to give a little look into past classes. Over the weekend, we took in Easy Beer Brewing the Rebel Way, a primer on homebrewing led by Tyler Crowell, of local homebrew supply company Rebel Brewer.

Tyler taught us his trade in a fitting place: inside Nashville's Jackalope Brewing, where we were able to learn the basics of homebrewing while seeing how that process transferred to the giant tanks at a commercial brewery.

Over the course of a three-hour class, Tyler and fellow Rebel Brewer Andy walked us through brewing a double IPA, from steeping grains to adding hops, cooling the wort and bottling. He showed us each ingredient, had us hold and smell them, explained what they did and why and how they added to the brewing process. We watched a pot of filtered water gradually grow into the beginnings of beer, and we crowded around and asked questions about what was happening, what was bubbling, how and when we heated and boiled and cooled.

Tyler and Andy led, certainly, but it felt at least a little like we were brewing together. It was fun, and inspiring, and more than anything, it made the idea of brewing at home less intimidating, since we were able to walk through the process as a group and ask questions whenever we felt confused. (We also tasted some of Tyler's beer and some Jackalope too, which wasn't a bad bonus.)

At the end, Tyler sent us on our way with a Rebel Brewer discount for Skillery students. I put mine toward their basic starter kit and a bunch of ingredients, because I left excited to finally try something I've been meaning to try for a while, and empowered, too. (Also, I enjoy beer.)

Check out a few photo captures from Easy Beer Brewing the Rebel Way above, and if you haven't taken a Skillery class yet, check out the upcoming class list – there's lots of fun stuff.

Skillery vets: We'd love to hear about your class experiences, too. Give us a shout: hello@theskillery.com.

One of the reasons I've been personally excited about The Skillery Grow Down — the weekend-long crop of gardening classes we have going April 20 and 21: Like lots of folks around Middle Tennessee, I've been trying to be more intentional about what I eat and what I buy.

I started reading labels more, grabbing fewer processed foods, more fresh produce. I started buying more at Farmer's Markets, joined a CSA when I could afford it. We all have our own, personal reasons for doing stuff like that. And perhaps, as some of us get older and more things change, maybe we're just trying to be more cognizant of the healthfulness of what we eat, and how the small buying choices we make ripple out into bigger trends.

I think that cognizance leads, for a lot of us, toward a desire to be more in control of our food, more self-sufficient in obtaining it. And that usually means gardening.

Some of you may be inherently better at this. Others need a little (or, well, a lot) of help to get going, and to keep things growing. The intent, with the span of classes at The Skillery Grow Down, was to have a mix of options that'd provide that help, whether you live in a condo and just want to grow herbs, or live on acreage and really want to dive deeper into growing.

We put a lot of thought into what we wanted to do to follow up February's Nashville Creativity Summit (our first multi-date event). And it seemed interesting and right to create this — something that'd be a fun, worthwhile learning experience, and, ideally, something that could send positive ripples out into our community. Attendees could learn the tips and tricks to growing vibrant, healthy gardens, and begin feeding our families fresh vegetables from our own backyards — then we share that knowledge, and maybe it grows out through our neighbors and friends.

The Skillery Grow Down idea felt fun and hopeful — kinda like gardening does.

So we have both modest and far-reaching goals for this event, and we're hugely thankful to those of you who are able to support it by attending a class. (Many of these classes, by the by, are doubly beneficial, since your ticket also helps community work by Hands on Nashville, The Nashville Food Project and others.)

We're also hugely thankful for the incredible gardening braintrust shown here — you'll learn from some of the best in Middle Tennessee.

We really hope you can take part, and we hope it'll be as fun and informative as everyone involved intends. Here's what you can learn at The Skillery Grow Down (other classes are already sold out):

ECOGARDENS:

Building a raised bed, and making your garden function like a fine-tuned ecosystem. (With Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture)

COMPANION PLANTING:

Placing the right plants close together, so everybody thrives — and building a sustainable bean trellis. (With Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture)

GARDENING WITH KIDS:

Learning together, and taking home a veggie plant and seed cup that you started. (With Josh Corlew of Hands on Nashville)

GARDENING WITH THE BAREFOOT FARMER:

Learning everything about growing healthy food with Jeff Poppen, the famed Barefoot Farmer.

GROW GREAT SOIL:

Learning all about growing great soil, from composting to covercrops. (With Christina Bentrup of the Nashville Food Project)

 GROWING LIKE THE FOREST:

Mimicking the forest to build a strong, good-lookin' garden (and taking home unique edible plants). (With Jeremy Lekich, of Nashville Foodscapes)

GROWING MUSHROOMS:

Learning to inoculate logs with oyster and shiitake mushrooms, and taking ready-to-grow logs with those mushrooms home. (With Clay Bush)

WINDOW FARMING AND HYDROPONICS:

Learning the basics of window farming and no-soil hydroponic gardening. (With Jeffrey Orkin of Urban Hydro Project & Landscape Solutions)

COMPOSTING IN MURFREESBORO:

At Sinking Creek Farm in the Boro, turning kitchen scraps into gardening gold: compost. Learn about constructing bins and various composting methods. (With Dan Demonbreun of Sinking Creek Farm)

CANCELLED

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There's something transformative about a well-done floral arrangement — it can take an everyday table and make it feel festive, vibrant, celebratory, uplifting. And then, y'know, it makes the room smell good.

It might not exactly be cost-effective to have a full, professionally arranged design in your living room every day. But Lauren Atkinson — who's been designing wedding arrangements at Hillsboro's A Village of Flowers for six years — means to help make full floral beauty a whenever-you-want affair.

She'll share the experience she gained at the shop and growing up in the floral industry during April 14's (update: the class has been moved to May 6) Floral Design Workshop (tickets are still available) — students will learn two different centerpiece designs and how to create a tablescape, and they'll take their own designs (and lots of knowledge) home.

Ahead of the class, we got a little background and some flower-care tidbits from Lauren. Above, you can click through some of her designs.

The Skillery: How did you learn floral design?

Lauren Atkinson: "I first started playing with flowers when I was a teenager, helping at my grandfather's flower farm. I would make little arrangements out of any leftover flowers and sell them to his customers.

"I started learning actual technique when I started with A Village of Flowers. I am extremely visual so I learned by looking at pictures of arrangements as well as other designers' work, and would attempt to recreate what I would see, but add different elements of flair to it." 

Do you think you have to have a knack for design/visual art to be good at it?

"No! If you are creative and have a knack for design, floral design may come easier for you and you may be able to think out of the box on creating different styles of arrangements. However, if you lack the creative side, you can still learn basic techniques to create an arrangement that matches your style."

What are your favorite flowers to work with?

"This is the hardest question that I am always asked — I love all flowers, and my favorites change on a daily or weekly basis. Currently, I am loving working with amaryllis, hyacinth, tulips, and hydrangeas."

Can you share any tricks for keeping arrangements alive and vibrant longer?

"Flowers love fresh water. The best trick is to change the water every day. When you change the water, make sure to trim the stems each time. The longer a flower is out of water, the quicker the air will enter the bottom of the stem, which prohibits water from flowing freely. Keeping the flowers out of direct sunlight and hot or cold direct air will also help. Also, keep in mind to use seasonal flowers."

The Floral Design Workshop starts at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 14 May 6 at Erabellum Artisan Co-op, 1800 8th Ave. South. Tickets are $75, and include a $45 materials fee. 

If you're not super gardening-centric, it might be a little challenging to wholly get what Spiral Ridge Permaculture does. "Regenerating land and culture by integrating innovative technologies within the field of regenerative agriculture" can sound a little heady.

In common parlance: They design gardens, farms and landscapes the way nature would if we weren't in the way — as an ecosystem, with plants and land and materials working in harmony so everything stays hardy and resilient. It's smart, really, to follow nature's lead when working, y'know, with nature. But if we're going to recreate a sustainable harmony somewhere after it's been stripped, and aim it at specific results, it takes intention, planning and know-how. Which is where Spiral Ridge Permaculture comes in.

And Davis' expertise, here, isn't just book learning — he's completely immersed in permaculture, having spent 10 years traveling and farming (from a Midwestern organic flower farm to a Costa Rican permaculture site) before taking over a clear cut, near-seven acre homestead in Summertown, Tenn., and beginning work on restoring the landscape.

Davis comes back to Nashville to share his hands-on expertise on April 20, during The Skillery Grow Down: He's set to teach classes on EcoGardening and Companion Planting at Hands On Nashville's Urban Farm (tickets are still available). Ahead of those classes, we talked a little more about Davis' background and what those classes will cover. Take a read.

The Skillery: How did you get into permaculture?

Cliff Davis: "Permaculture came into my life as I traveled after college to search for positive solutions to the many problems we face on earth. I lived and worked on many projects in the U.S. and abroad.

"As a permaculturalist, I am a generalist with skills in solar, natural building, design, gardening, farming, animal husbandry, greenhouse management, rainwater harvesting, tree crops, mechanics, etcetera."

Did you grow up working with plants, or is it something you learned as an adult?

"I grew up growing food, fishing and hunting, in a semi-rural community in Southern Illinois."

You're putting permaculture processes to work on restoring your own land — what's that process like, and how long do you imagine it'll take to get to where you're aiming?

"Our intention is to regenerate the landscape using permaculture. We have been implementing our design for four years now; it will take another six to really see how the systems are working.

"Off-grid homesteading at any level can be very stressful and rewarding at the same time. It is humbling, to say the least."

One of the workshops you're teaching for The Skillery Grow Down is Companion Planting — what kind of mishaps would a newbie gardener see if they group plants that don't get along?

"Companion planting, in permaculture terms, is guilds and polycultures. We focus on growing useful perennials instead of energy-intensive annuals. Perennial systems are self-renewing, self-fertile and usually very complex. The architecture and habitat layers mimic the chaos of natural systems as well as their resilience.

"Feedback is inevitable in all gardening systems. There are really no mishaps, only feedback. 'The problem is the solution.'"

Your other class, EcoGardens, centers on focusing your garden into a mini-ecosystem. Won't that just naturally happen as your plants grow in? Do you have to plan for it?

"It depends. If you have only two species of plants growing on one acre, that is not very ecological and is destined for failure. Edible ecosystems are carefully designed to take advantage of sun, water, nutrients and habitat. Ecological gardening is where sustainability meets conservation."

Learn more about Cliff Davis' work at the Spiral Ridge Permaculture site.

Learn from Cliff Davis at The Skillery Grow Down!

Backyard Sustainable Gardening: EcoGardens
with Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture
Saturday, April 20, 9AM; $35
Gardens function best when they work as mini ecosystems. During this workshop, you'll learn how to increase the health, diversity, and yield of your garden by thinking of it as a whole system, with every living and non-living piece fine-tuned to work together. Plus, you'll learn to build a raised bed for that ecosystem.

Backyard Sustainable Gardening: Companion Planting
with Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture
Saturday, April 20; 2PM; $35
Some plants don't have the right lifestyles to live on top of one another. You'll maximize your garden's success by growing plants that complement each other, and this class will show you how to build the friendliest of plant neighborhoods. Plus, you'll learn how to make a trellis for your beans and peas using sustainable materials.

Those among us who've survived planning a wedding can attest to how mentally, emotionally and financially draining the process can be. And, well, professional help… really helps. But for some of us, hiring a wedding planner just ain't in the budget cards.

Here's where Cara Davis, Jamie Young and Casey Milleson come in. The three teammates will host two Budget Wedding Boot Camps with The Skillery (on April 9 and 25), and at those Boot Camps, they'll share the hard-won secrets to wrangling a wedding budget, scoring bridal bargains and solid wedding vendors, adding successful DIY touches and lots more.

They've come by those skills honestly: Davis planned her own wedding in under six months and at under $5,000; local wedding info source Ashley's Bride Guide notched Young's budget shindig as their No. 6 favorite wedding of 2011.

They have plenty of professional connections to the topic, too. Davis penned Amazon bestseller Wedding on a Budget and Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot, and pubs including The New York Times and USA Today have included her wedding tips. Young works in wedding coordinating and vintage re-selling, and blogs about related stuff over at OwlReally.com.

We chatted with the two ahead of the Budget Wedding Boot Camps — read their wedding thoughts below. Tickets to both Boot camps are still available at TheSkillery.com.  

The Skillery: How did you come into coaching folks on wedding planning? Was this inspired by your own wedding?

Cara Davis: "When I was engaged, all the 'budget' wedding books I found were for budgets that were quite a bit larger than what I had to work with, which was $5,000. I had to get creative to pull off my dream day.

"I was a magazine editor at the time and reached out to our readers and compiled their tips with mine and published a book called Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot. I've blogged on the topic for six-plus years and released a follow-up title called Wedding on a Budget. Today, many resources exist to inspire brides to make the most on a shoestring budget."

What would you say were the toughest and most valuable lessons you learned from planning your wedding?

Jamie Young: "The most valuable lesson I learned while planning my wedding was to stay true to myself and to us as a couple. When we made decisions about our wedding, we made sure to focus on what was important to us and that helped us learn more about ourselves.

"The only time I had a meltdown was when I was trying to make the details perfect, which just isn't me. I'm not a perfectionist and I felt the pressure to be one. As soon as I let that go, I had a much easier time of planning the wedding."

Let's say parents/etc. are paying, and there's a pretty sizable wedding budget. Do you think there's still value in the Boot Camp for folks like that?

Cara Davis: "Millionaires drive Civics, right? Everyone's into saving a buck, especially in today's economy.

"When it comes to wedding planning, the priority is creating a day that's infused with personality and is memorable — you can't buy that, no matter what your budget is. Everyone could use a little help in finding the best local resources to pull off a wedding that's creative and unique."

Do you think wedding DIY-ers can end up going too far? Is there a line brides- and grooms-to-be should draw to keep from overwhelming themselves?

Cara Davis: "Too often we become hyper focused on creating this Pinterest-worthy wedding day and we forget what the whole thing is about. In the end it's not going to matter that you had every detail perfect. What you'll look back and remember are the people who were there to celebrate with you.

"My advice to brides is focus on one to two areas that are the most important to you. Go all out and make sure those are perfect. The rest is gravy."

With couples who've already had their wedding, what do you think are the most common planning regrets?

Cara Davis: "Photography is the one area I always encourage people not to skimp on — you can't put a price tag on memories. Making sure your day is documented should be a priority. Look for a photographer who's into capturing those special moments during your day and not preoccupied with taking portfolio-filler shots.

"The other regret often has to do with family — it's amazing how frayed our relationships become during the stress of planning a wedding. Being forthright and addressing problems during the planning process with friends and family (most often the mothers!) will make the actual day so much better."

As a friend or family member, what are the best ways you can help the bride and groom with planning?

Cara Davis: "The best thing you can do is offer support and encouragement. Offer to help but keep in mind: This is the couple's day. If you have a gift or skill you'd like to contribute, again, please offer that, but do not feel slighted if you're not taken up on the offer.

"Finally, on the day of my wedding I told those around me, 'If anything goes wrong, I don't want to know about it.' It was the best thing I did for myself on that day. Some brides even assign friends to keep specific potential troublemakers away."

Cara Davis, Jamie Young and Casey Milleson host a Budget Wedding Boot Camp on Tuesday, April 9, and another on Tuesday, April 25.

Budget Wedding Boot Camp, April 9:  

Budget Wedding Boot Camp, April 25:

The weekend of April 20 and 21, join us for The Skillery Grow Down, a weekend-long celebration of gardening and growing aimed at arming the Nashville community with everything they'll need to build and sustain a flourishing garden.

The Grow Down is presented in partnership with Hands on Nashville's Urban Agriculture Program, with classes running April 20-21 on HON’s South Nashville Urban Farm and at various other locations throughout the Nashville area. See the weekend's lineup below. 

Backyard Sustainable Gardening: EcoGardens
with Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture
Saturday, April 20, 9AM; $35
Gardens function best when they work as mini ecosystems. During this workshop, you'll learn how to increase the health, diversity, and yield of your garden by thinking of it as a whole system, with every living and non-living piece fine-tuned to work together. Plus, you'll learn to build a raised bed for that ecosystem.

Backyard Sustainable Gardening: Companion Planting
with Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture
Saturday, April 20; 2PM; $35
Some plants don't have the right lifestyles to live on top of one another. You'll maximize your garden's success by growing plants that complement each other, and this class will show you how to build the friendliest of plant neighborhoods. Plus, you'll learn how to make a trellis for your beans and peas using sustainable materials.

Teach Your Kids the Joy of Gardening
with Josh Corlew of Hands on Nashville

Gardening with The Barefoot Farmer

Grow Great Soil!
with Christina Bentrup of the Nashville Food Project

Forest Gardening: Growing Like the Forest
with Jeremy Lekich, of Nashville Foodscapes
Sunday April 21, 1PM; $35
Forest gardening replicates the patterns and principles observed in the forest and then integrates them into our agriculture practices and common landscapes. In this class, you'll learn how to create aesthetically pleasing forest gardens and ecosystems that reflect the wild, and you'll take home unique plants to grow & eat.

Make and Take Mushroom Log
with Clay Bush of SALVAGE: Upholstery and Design
Sunday April 21, 1PM; $60
Come learn how to grow your own mushrooms at home! In this class you will learn how to inoculate logs with the mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus, from which the mushroom grows) of oyster and shiitake mushrooms. We will discuss the process and environment in which to successfully fruit mushrooms, and you'll take home logs full of mushrooms!

Window Farming and Hydroponics
with Jeffrey Orkin of Urban Hydro Project & Landscape Solutions
Sunday April 21, 1PM; $15
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in water, without soil. By making use of nutrient-rich solutions, hydroponic systems are a great way to rapidly produce fresh vegetables in a confined space! This class will introduce the basics of hydroponics, and you'll leave with the knowledge to build your own system at home.

Kitchen Scraps to Black Gold: Composting 101
with Dan Demonbreun of Sinking Creek Farm
Sunday April 21, 1PM; $30 CANCELLED
Learn how to turn your kitchen scraps into "black gold" compost! In this workshop at Sinking Creek Farm, participants will get hands on experience with several different composting methods, including bins, tumblers, and vermicomposting (earthworms). And, the workshop will address options for compost bin construction.

Succulent Design and Terrarium Gardening
with Emily Marlow of 400 Moons
Sunday April 21, 2PM; $45 SOLD OUT
Succulents seem to be everywhere these days, in part because they're unique and easy to care for. In this workshop, you will gain fundamental knowledge of terrariums, including the basics of how to care for them. Plus, you will assemble and take home your very own single plant terrarium.

Square Foot Gardening
with Rowena Aldridge, Food Preservationist & Gardener
Sunday April 21, 2PM; $45 SOLD OUT
Square Foot Gardening is a condensed, natural, and organic method of gardening that yields 100% of the harvest with only 50% of the cost, 20% of the space, 10% of the water, 5% of the seeds, and 2% of the work. In this workshop, you'll gain all of the knowledge you need to build your own square foot garden at home.

BECOME A SPONSOR! Sponsorship opportunities for The Skillery Grow Down are available. Please email us at hello@theskillery.com for details.

The Skillery Grow Down is presented by The Skillery, with support from Hands on Nashville, and the Hands on Nashville Urban Agriculture Program. The classes being held on Saturday April 20 are taking place at HON's Urban Farm, located in the Mill Creek floodway.

We at The Skillery are more than thrilled to announce a new partnership with Hands on Nashville and their Urban Farm, a working and teaching hub for volunteers, and a budding center of community-focused growth in South Nashville.

The farm serves as home to HON's Urban Agriculture Program, and among the ways that program is working with the community: youth-focused apprenticeships and fellowships; backyard sustainable gardening workshops; and, as the farm's food forest blooms, donations of produce to local non-profits that serve low-income communities.

It's a perfect fit with The Skillery's focus on community and education, and we're getting this partnership up and running in March with two Backyard Gardening workshops, led by Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge Permaculture.

Both held at the Urban Farm on March 16, the workshops will unlock the secrets to getting your own thriving, nutrient-rich garden growing. The details:

• Composting Workshop
  

9 a.m. – You'll learn all about composting: why it's important, how to build and maintain a compost pile, the big growing boost compost teas can bring and how you can build a compost tea brewer for just $25. You'll also learn about the Soil Food Web and how it relates to the secrets of making healthy soil, and get acquainted with biodynamic preps and how they can improve your garden and compost.

• Soil Fertility Workshop
  

1 p.m. – You'll learn the fundamental principles of fertile soil, including the minerals your plants need and how to make sure they get them. You'll also learn how to create a weedless garden using sustainable sheet mulching, and spend some time with fertile soil's best friends, worms, as Cliff shows you how to build and maintain a cost-effective worm bin.

Learn more about the Urban Farm and Urban Agriculture Program at Hands on Nashville's website, and sign up for The Skillery's newsletter to be the first to learn about our latest classes and workshops.