UOG Land Grant Extension Agent Mark Acosta provides Guam residents with tips for container gardening during a 2024 workshop series for subsistence farmers. (Photo courtesy of University of Guam)
Residents interested in starting or improving their home food production are invited to a five-session Urban & Subsistence Farming Workshop Series being offered by the University of Guam Land Grant Extension Service. The series is meant for growers in urban areas or with plots under a half-acre.
Participants will learn from UOG Extension Specialist of Sustainable Agriculture L. Robert Barber, UOG Extension Agent of Sustainable Agriculture Mark Acosta, and horticulturist Frank Cruz how to get started with sustainable, small-scale home farming as well as how to make use of government programs.
The workshops will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from May 23 to June 20. Each workshop will include a classroom portion and a field activity. Participants will take home helpful publications as well as a vegetable and fruit plant after each class.
The sessions will cover the following topics:
Farm planning for urban or subsistence food production
Methods of production: container gardening, raised bed gardening, fruit and vegetable garden guilds
Plant propagation methods: seed, cuttings, and division
Key conservation practices: using fruit trees for windbreaks, agroforestry, contour practices like vegetative barriers, composting, soil fertility
Government support programs: UOG Land Grant Extension, Guam Department of Agriculture’s Bonafide Farmer Program, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and farmer/rancher grants
Registration
Capacity is limited to the first 50 people to register. The workshop fee is $20 for the series of five classes. Register at https://url.uog.edu/ag-training.
For more information or assistance registering, contact Megumi Hikichi-Tyquiengco at (671) 735-2080 or hikichim@triton.uog.edu.
The workshop series is funded by a Renewable Resources Extension Act grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a Professional Development Program grant from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education.
