NOFA ORGANIC LAWN AND TURF COURSES

The NOFA Organic Land Care Program, a project of the Massachusetts and Connecticut chapters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), will present three one-day, intensive Organic Lawn and Turf Courses -- at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ on August 14, 2008, at UMass Dartmouth in Dartmouth, MA on August 19, 2008 and at Manchester Community College in Manchester, CT on August 21, 2008. All three courses run from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.This is the fourth year the NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Courses have been offered, and over 500 land care professionals are now employing this education.

The courses will provide state-of-the-art information for managing lawns and turf organically and are open to all land care professionals and groundskeepers for educational institutions and municipalities who are responsible for the establishment and care of grass.They will be taught by NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals, Donald Bishop of Gardens Are …in Marlborough, MA, Mike Nadeau of Plantscapes, Inc. in Fairfield, CT, Bill Duesing of CT NOFA in Oxford, CT and Chip Osborne of Osborne Organics and co-founder of the Living Lawn Project in Marblehead, MA, and by Dr. Kimberly Stoner of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station.

All course participants will also receive a copy of the NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Handbook: Beautiful Grass Naturally, which serves as the course manual. This 100-page comprehensive, practical and easy-to-use reference manual details methods for growing and maintaining beautiful, healthy, organic turfgrass. Written and edited by scientists and experts in the field of organic lawn and turf care, this book covers what landscapers, landscape designers, municipal staff and homeowners need to know to grow natural and organic lawns. Topics include: Why Organic? Site Analysis, Soil Health, Cultural Practices, Weeds, Insects, Diseases, Obtaining Materials and Equipment, Running a Business, Client Relations and much more! To order your copy, please send a check for $28 to: CT NOFA, PO Box 264, Stevenson, CT 06491.

For more information on the courses (including on-line registration), on the NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Handbook or the NOFA Organic Land Care Program in general, visit www.organiclandcare.net . Or, contact OLC Program Manager Ashley Kremser at (203) 888-5146 or akremser@ctnofa.org; in MA, Kathy Litchfield at (413) 773-3830 or kathylitch29@yahoo.com; in NJ Connie Deetz at (609) 737-6848 or cdeetz@nofanj.org.