2020 Speakers   >  2021 Speakers

Korean Natural Farming with Austin Moline

Austin Moline will break down how gardeners can use Korean Natural Farming KNF techniques and use inputs from local resources, utilizing indigenous soil biology to promote soil health, and managing fertility based on the growth stage of the crop. This class will cover the basics of terminology, input creation, and principles of KNF. 

Planning Your Fall Garden with Liz Cardinal​

Liz Cardinal, landscape designer and edible garden mentor joins us as we plan our fall gardens together. This free class will give you the tools to get organized this fall. Walk away with the understanding of:
1. How to pick a site that gets correct sunlight in all seasons
2. How to test your soil, prep it with the right amendments and where to buy
3. How to get your timing and plant varieties right for central Texas
4. Transplants versus direct seed and where to buy
5. How to create plan that includes crop rotation, companion and succession planting
6. Importance of planning and staying organized.

Festival Beach Food Forest: An Equitable and Regenerative Food Forest in Austin

The Festival Beach Food Forest shared how they, their Community Advisors and the interested public came together from early 2020 through the summer of 2021 to complete upon three aspirations for a grant they received through Austin Urban Forestry: 

1) Strengthen community relationships, and honor people and cultures. 
2) Generate expansion designs of the edible urban park, as well as a campus vision, that is fed by community input. 
3) Educate and inspire others to transform our urban public land or “commons” into productive permaculture based food forests. 

Harvesting & Growing Organic Herbs with Herban Austin

Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Master Gardener, and Registered Herbalist, Nicole Finkelstein of Herban Austin covers the following topics related to herbs:
🌿 Sustainable Herb Cultivation, Harvesting, and Processing
🌿 Incorporating Medicinal Herbs into your Fall Garden Plan
🌿 Top 10 Unique Medicinals to Enhance your Central TX Garden
​🌿 Dynamic Duos: Companion Planting with Uncommon Botanicals

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Indian Plant Garden Tour with Reetu

Reetu Sharma is a member of the Indian Plant Gardeners in Austin and she will be sharing her backyard garden in our first virtual garden tour. When Reetu moved to her new home on Willow St. in East Austin, her father who was a horticulturist in Delhi, India, promised to visit and help her establish her garden. Due to his untimely death he was never able to fill his promise in the physical world. Reetu feels the spirit of his green thumb everyday when she tends to her garden and instills all the lessons she learned from him. Reetu practices many permaculture principles in her garden and combines the diversity of fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and pollinators to create a thriving edible ecosystem. 

Pest-free Organically with Jay White

Jay West of Texas Gardening Magazine presents organic methods for pest control. Greenhouse growers produce a product with very low margins. Because of this, many do everything possible to avoid using expensive and harmful chemicals on their plants.  Chemicals are not good for their bottom line and they have learned that customers do not like them. So, to control pests that can quickly overrun a warm moist environment filled with young tender plants, growers rely on cultural practices and biological processes to keep their pests away.  With small modifications, you too can use many of their practices to keep your garden “pest free organically”. 

Composting: Panel on Different Methods

This video features a two speakers who dig into various composting methods. Gaby Benitez from Keep Austin Beautiful will talk about vermicomposting. This method relies on worms to create high-quality compost or worm castings, in addition to decayed organic matter. Kate Jaceldo from Compost Queens will be talking about the Bokashi method, which is great for indoors and small areas. This method originating in Japan is an anaerobic process that relies on inoculated bran to ferment kitchen waste, including meat and dairy, into a safe soil builder and nutrient-rich tea for your plants. Compost Coalition of Austin has also generously donated a bokashi compost bucket that we will be giving away in a drawing to a random AOG member. 

Samuel Beautysta Lazer: Gente de las nubes / People from the Clouds​

​Sam will joined us from one of the cradles of civilization in the Central Valley of Oaxaca (Teotitlán del Valle). His family is a traditional Benizaa (Zapotec) family of weavers. Benizaa means "people from the clouds" in the native language. Sam will share the richness of his community's agroecosystem that goes back 10,000+ years growing food that is now protected through UNESCO. He will weave a story connecting the cycle of nature's elements that create the beauty of the food to the hand-woven tapestries of the region. Sam will also discuss the fight against GMOs and industrial farming that continues in Mexico and is led by the indigenous people. We hope to inspire and share why this intangible heritage of humanity is so sacred and must be protected.

Brie Arthur: Gardening with Grains 

Featuring design and growing inspiration from her new book, Brie Arthur dives deep into the wild world of Gardening with Grains. Learn how to cultivate grains alongside your favorite ornamental and edible plants. Brie will explain how to design a space that can provide nourishment for your family and your favorite birds year-round! Discover easy-to-apply management strategies for long term success, including how to naturally improve your soil and reduce the need for fertilizer and irrigation. From ancient times to modern living, grains are an essential part of our daily lives. This program is sure to get attendees thinking of all the fun and creative ways they can garden with grains… and maybe even grow some homemade bread and beer!

Matt Powers: Regenerative Soil - The Science & Solution

We started the year off in the soil with author, educator, seed saver, and gardener, Matt Powers. This talk digs into his new, comprehensive book on the most important aspect of organic gardening, Soil Regeneration. Soil is the lynchpin to life as we know it. It’s where carbon is stored, where all life comes from and returns, and it’s also the living foundation for all life on land and sea. If we want to restore our environment, economy, and health FAST, we have to work with soil and not just in one area, but in ALL areas. Matt will inspire you to make SOIL an even more permanent part of our culture. ​