MICHIGAN, Marquette County CD – Farming isn’t just for the country life, it’s also happening in the city on rooftops, in backyards, on balconies, in community gardens, vacant lots, parks and roadside space…To meet the demand for information on these practices, the Marquette County Conservation District is offering free urban agriculture workshops this summer.

“We are really excited about this workshop series because there is a real need and interest in urban agriculture in Marquette County and we are really excited that we have that opportunity to fill that need,” said Jaime Beranek, urban agriculture assistant coordinator for the Marquette County Conservation District.

Thanks to a $30,000 grant awarded by the National Association of Conservation Districts, every second Saturday from June through September from 10 a.m. to noon at different locations, the MCCD will host a free workshop on various topics such as low-tech ways to extend the gardening season, raising chickens and rabbits, proper composting practices, native plants and pollinators.

Source: Marquette County Conservation District offers urban agriculture workshops | News, Sports, Jobs – The Mining Journal

MICHIGAN, Marquette County CD – The Marquette County Conservation District is helping residents install native wildflowers on a hill that had been overrun with invasive spotted knapweed.

Spotted knapweed is native to Europe and was introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s, likely accidentally through contaminated seed or ballast, according to information compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.

“We took on the project of removing knapweed,” Lost Creek resident Lorraine Leidholdt said. “What happened, of course, you pull on the knapweed, the sand started shifting, and the hill started losing its integrity.”

Source: Hillside haven | News, Sports, Jobs – The Mining Journal