Warren County Soil & Water is beginning year four of its “Farm Talks” on Friday, January 13th from 6 to 8 pm at DEC’s Warrensburg Office, 232 Golf Course Road.

The first presentation of the night will be “Soil Blocks: A Better Start” with Rand Fosdick, Farm Manager of Landon Hill Estate Farm. In the northeast, starting your vegetable seeds early and correctly will lead to healthier plants with a head start to transplanting in spring. The soil block methodology is growing in popularity due to the success vegetable producers are having with this pot-less technique. The general concept behind it is using a soil recipe with structure and nutrients and a tool called a “soil blocker” to form the soil mixture into blocks to directly plant your seeds into. Soil blocks reduce transplant shock and add nutrients to your garden beds.

The second presentation of the night is “Local Food Production in Northern NY: Cold Climate Vegetable Practices” with Amy Ivy, Regional Vegetable Specialist of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. In addition to getting a better start for your seedlings, Amy will provide the background tools to learn about extending growing season by starting earlier and growing later into the year. Amy brings a wealth of knowledge when it comes to growing vegetables in the region.

RSVP to Nick Rowell at (518) 623-3119 or nrowell123@nycap.rr.com as seating is limited.