AG BRIEFS: High tunnel construction field day set

High tunnel construction field day set

PACKWOOD ­? Current commercial fruit or vegetable growers, gardeners interested in expanding into commercial production and traditional farmers interested in diversifying can learn more about high tunnel construction and production at an Aug. 8-9 workshop in Packwood sponsored by Iowa State University Extension.

Local vegetable farmer Claude Nicholson, who has constructed high tunnels, will lead the workshop and provide guidance to those interested in participating in the construction process.

High tunnels are inexpensive, simple, passive-solar greenhouses in which crops are grown directly in the soil. They allow growers to extend the season and produce high yields of quality produce earlier than field-grown crops, thus commanding a higher price at market.

Topics to be covered at the workshop include site and high tunnel selection, hands-on construction, soil management, irrigation, pest management, bed design and cropping systems.

The workshop will be held at Nature?s Way Farm, 1225 Ironwood Ave., 3.5 miles east of Packwood. The farm is transitioning to organic production and will be certified organic in 2012. The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.

Pre-registration is preferred. Contact farm owner Cary Spray at 919-6599 or Marsha Laux, program coordinator, ISU Extension Value Added Agriculture program at 319-796-4362 or mlaux@iastate.edu.

?Egg-citing? events set at state fair

URBANDALE ? The Iowa Egg Council will be sponsoring the Kids Edible Egg Decorating Contest and the Egg-ceptional Eggs Cooking Contest at the 2011 Iowa State Fair.

Both events will take place Aug. 20 in the Elwell Family Food Center. The Kids Edible Egg Decorating Contest will start at 9 a.m. and the Egg-ceptional Eggs Cooking Contest will follow at 9:30 a.m.

Kids who are 5-11 years old may enter the Kids Edible Egg Decorating Contest. Contestants will turn a plastic foam cup upside down, put a popsicle stick in it, and put a peeled hard cooked egg on the stick. All of the decorations going on the egg must be edible. Contestants will bring in their already decorated edible eggs to be judged on Aug. 20. These eggs will be judged on creativity (40 percent), use of materials (30 percent), appealing from all directions (20 percent), and only edible objects used (10 percent). Prizes will be given out to first, second, and third places for $25, $20 and $15. Each contestant who enters will receive a cooking utensil and recipes.

The Egg-ceptional Eggs Cooking Contest will have three classes: salad/appetizer; entree; and dessert. Recipes must be original, contain at least four whole eggs ? none of them may be raw ? and 12 ingredients or less. Entries will be judged on flavor (40 percent), appearance/presentation (30 percent), texture (20 percent), and ease of preparation (10 percent). Awards will be given out to first, second, and third places for $150, $100 and $50. Each contestant who enters will receive a cooking utensil and recipes.

For more information about the events and how to enter, check out the Iowa State Fair website at: www.iowastatefair.org/competition/rules/.