Session

Descriptions

Saturday, May 24th

Sunday, May 25th

Sunday
Block 6 | 10:30 - 11:30 am

Worming101: Intro to Vermiculture

Malique Middleton
Gewd Botanicals · GewdBotanicals.com

An introductory vermiculture workshop about the basics of setting up a worm bin at home in the city or out on your homestead for composting food scraps. Malique will share the best worm species for your situation, hybridizing compost worms with native worms, what food scraps are the best food for your worms, and how to create a good worm bed to keep your worms thriving.

  • Malique Middleton is a biologist, urban farmer, and entrepreneur. Malique’s lifelong love of science is deeply integrated within his work as the Founder of Gewd Botanicals. Malique grows the botanicals himself and partners with local farms to cultivate these ingredients while growing food. Through companion planting, his ingredients protect crops from pests and boost their yield. We donate the harvested food to RVA community fridges to do direct social GEWD for the community. Gewd also offers youth gardening programs to low-income public housing units. We believe it’s essential for young people to learn about plants and access gardens for stress relief, nutrition, and to combat food insecurity. This while subconsciously inspiring the next generation of farmers and scientists!

Chem Kitchen: Food Fermentation

Andrew Kotsch

We will explore what fermentation is, dive into a brief breakdown of the biology and chemistry behind the scenes (how microorganisms and food interact), discuss how these foods are beneficial to us, and then explore what we can make at home. Fermented food to be discussed includes Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Miso, Soy Sauce, Kombucha, Sourdough Bread, Poy, Fish Sauce, Cheese, Vinegar, Tempeh, Yogurt, Kefir, and Chocolate. Andy will share some pre-made fermentation samples from his home kitchen and then we will work with pre-prepared ingredients to make a take-home DIY fermentation.

  • Andrew Kotsch is a multimedia artist and all around green thumb haver with experience in giving workshops on fermentation, bread making, and a variety of subjects like leatherworking and woodworking. He can be found tending to his various bubbling cauldrons of superfoods, outside in the garden, or on a long bike ride.

Raising Meat Chickens

Mindy Lipinski
Revercomb Farms · RevercombFarms.com

Learn the basics of raising meat chickens, including breed selection, housing, feeding, health management, and processing. Mindy will discuss how to utilize the whole chicken when butchering, by breaking the chicken into retail cuts and using feet and backs for bone broth or cooking the whole chicken. Gain an understanding of the best practices you can use to promote efficient growth while maintaining a humane care and maximizing meat quality. This workshop is ideal for individuals just getting started with meat chickens and small-scale poultry farmers.

  • Mindy Lipinski left her 12-year career as a microbiologist for big pharma in 2022 to pursue small agriculture, full time. Since then, she has expanded her tripled her pastured poultry operation to a flock of 1000, grown her pastured pig operation, and keeps a waiting list for selling piglets. Mindy hosts on-farm classes on a variety of topics from cooking to home processing with the intent of bringing people closer to their food source. She is a proud one-woman show, and receives help from a fellow female farmer, and some good friends.