NMSU Extension to host Small Acreage Stewardship and Homesteading Skills workshop series

New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service will host a Small Acreage Stewardship and Homesteading Skills workshop series from April to October. The free workshops will be held at 6 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays at NMSU’s Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde, 371 Country Road 40, Alcalde, New Mexico.

Staff from the Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba County Extension and Southern Pueblos Extension offices will present the series. The workshop will offer sessions focused on educating landowners on how to be good stewards of the land and providing skills on producing a viable product from their natural resources.

“Northern New Mexico Cooperative Extension educators along with the Alcalde Research Station team are providing an extensive series of workshops for an increasing number of clientele in the region,” said Tom Dominguez, Santa Fe County Extension Agriculture agent. “Residents with 20 or fewer acres of land and the desire to put their resources to use, whether it’s producing a viable agricultural product or simply wanting to take better care of their small piece of land, protecting it from climate change degradation or erosion, can attend any of the series events.”

Scheduled workshop session include:

• April 18 at 6 p.m.: Introduction, planning and setting goals; reading the landscape
• April 20 at 9 a.m.: Hoop house construction workshop in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico
• May 2 at 6 p.m.: Acequia ecology, custom and culture
• May 4 at 9 a.m.: Hoop house management, repair and prep
• May 16 at 6 p.m.: Soil health and cover cropping systems
• May 18 at 9 a.m.: Forage crops and improved pasture management; native grass establishment
• May 30 at 6 p.m.: Vegetable gardening and drip systems
• June 1 at 9 a.m.: On farm composting
• June 13 at 6 p.m.: Fruit orchards and vineyards management
• June 15 at 9 a.m.: Rotational grazing with mobile fencing options
• June 27 at 6 p.m. Rain water harvesting and passive water catchment in the landscape
• June 29 at 9 a.m.: Chicken tractor and poultry flock management
• July 11 at 6 p.m.: Weeds and insects; pest management and IPM principles; native pollinators
• July 13 at 9 a.m.: Beekeeping basics
• July 25 at 6 p.m.: Rainwater harvesting and passive water catchment in the landscape
• July 27 at 9 a.m.: Equipment maintenance; tractors, tillers, hand tools, etc.
• Aug. 28 at 8 a.m.: Alcalde Field Day
• Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.: Harvesting the bounty; preserving the harvest; canning, dehydration, freeze drying; on farm processing, marketing food safety
• Sept. 28 at 9 a.m.: Woodland management and forest fire safety; thinning ecology; firewood and stove safety
• Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.: High value crops and medicinal plants

For more information or to RSVP, call 505-471-4711.