Transition to Organic Partnership Program Workshop Series
Are you looking to increase or improve your organic growing methods? Join UMass Extension and NOFA/Mass as we review and elaborate on growing organically and up to certification standards!
A mixture of in-person and online technical assistance events will be hosted throughout 2024 on the behalf of the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). To learn more about the UMass & NOFA/Mass programming, check out the NOFA/Mass TOPP web page. To learn more about the national TOPP program, visit www.organictransition.org.
These workshops are intended for commercial vegetable and small fruit growers.
Organic Greenhouse Production
In this session, Gideon Porth, the owner of Atlas Farm, will share his experiences growing transplants with different systems as he has scaled up over the last 20 years, troubleshooting issues common in certified organic seedling production such as potting mixes, fertilizers, and pest control. Currently the farm has a large seedling production greenhouse with automatic watering, requiring a high degree of uniformity of the transplants trays to be successful. Over the years they have honed their greenhouse seeding techniques to include an automated tray filler, vacuum seeders, and a home-made vermiculite seed topping conveyor. With this system, three workers can fill and seed up to 200 trays per hour.
About the Presenter
Gideon Porth founded Atlas Farm in 2004. He grows on 120 acres of certified organic land. Atlas Farm strives to be a model of ecological food production and to minimize resource consumption and environmental impact with constant improvements to their farm systems.
