Agroforestry Extension Resources

Resources A040-049

A041 Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening

Resources for Instructors

Edited by Albie Miles and Martha Brown. 2003. UCSC Farm & Garden Apprenticeship, Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), University of California, Santa Cruz 600pp

This manual does not specifically cover agroforestry, but could provide useful material and ideas. It is focused on the southern USA.

Description from the website: "...covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. Units contain lecture outlines for instructors and detailed lecture outlines for students, field and laboratory demonstrations, assessment questions, and annotated resource lists. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting. The training manual is designed for a wide audience of those involved in teaching farming and gardening, including colleges and universities with programs in sustainable agriculture, student farms or gardens, and on-farm education programs; urban agriculture, community garden, and farm training programs; farms with internships or apprenticeships; agriculture extension stations; school gardening programs; organizations such as the Peace Corps, US AID, and other groups that provide international training in food growing and ecological growing methods; and master gardener programs.

• Website of the CASFS: http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/index.html
• Manual available in hardcopy from: http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/training/manual/index.html
• Pdf files (for each Unit as listed below) are downloadable from http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/training/manual/contents.html

CONTENTS:

Introduction/How to Use This Resource

Part 1 Organic Farming and Gardening Skills and Practices (title page)

Unit 1.1 Managing Soil Fertility
Unit 1.2 Garden and Field Tillage and Cultivation
Unit 1.3 Propagating Crops from Seed, and Greenhouse Management
Unit 1.4 Transplanting and Direct Seeding
Unit 1.5 Irrigation: Principles and Practices
Unit 1.6 Selecting and Using Cover Crops
Unit 1.7 Making and Using Compost
Unit 1.8 Managing Arthropod Pests
Unit 1.9 Managing Plant Pathogens
Unit 1.10 Managing Weeds
Unit 1.11 Reading and Interpreting Soil Test Reports

Part 2 Applied Soil Science

Unit 2.1 Soil Physical Properties
Unit 2.2 Soil Chemistry and Fertility
Unit 2.3 Soil Biology and Ecology

Part 3 Social and Environmental Issues in Agriculture

Unit 3.1 The Development of U.S. Agriculture
Unit 3.2 Social Issues in Modern Agriculture
Unit 3.3 Environmental Issues in Modern Agriculture
Unit 3.4 Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture