Ted Baker: Good morning, it's 8.15, it's FLX Morning Wednesday. Paul's off. I'm the former guy, Ted Baker, filling in here during his vacation, and we're joined by Sarah Wagner with Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, ccecayuga.org. Good morning.
Sarah Wagner: Good morning.
Ted Baker: Got a lot of events to talk about. I want to start with this. Have you been hearing anything from farmers in the area about this year's growing season? We're in corn season obviously right now. It's been kind of weird, cold for a while and dry for a while. What are the growers saying these days?
Sarah Wagner: I think everyone is happy it's not last year. Yeah. I think that was a much tougher year with the spring. We had a wet spring, but not record-breaking like in the past.
Ted Baker: Now this is interesting to me because I had a vegetable garden in my yard, and then I found out that it wasn't really mine, it was the woodchucks. So here's a way around that, and that is a workshop on container gardens coming up on July 13th. So tell us a little bit about how we can grow vegetables in containers.
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, youth are invited to come to this event. It's right at our office on Grant Avenue. It's a free event. Kids can come. We've got all the materials to both plant pots that they might want to take home, and also for seniors in the area. We got a grant to increase food security across the county, so we'll also be planting containers to give out to people.
Ted Baker: So kind of like what size containers, and can you plant any kind of veggies that you want?
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, not everything does great in a container. Carrots are kind of tough, root vegetables are kind of tough, but anything that is leafy does really well. Lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, those all do great.
Ted Baker: And this is great, by the way, we're going to talk about the 4-H Youth Fair coming up. For 4-H kids who weren't sure about what they might want to exhibit or something, a nice container garden would be a good idea.
Sarah Wagner: Absolutely. We love to show off container gardens at the fair.
Ted Baker: So this is a three-hour workshop on July 13th from 4 to 7. You don't have to stay the full three hours. You should have your kids plan on being there for at least one hour. And again, that's at the offices in Auburn on July 13th. And then tell us about the Moravia Hope Gardens. This is neat.
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, so in Moravia, the food pantry is starting a community garden also to help increase food security in the area. And we are doing a couple sessions of just community work there, so kids can come work in the gardens, create some art for the gardens as well. It's going to be rain or shine. All you got to bring is some sunscreen and a water bottle. Everything else is provided. The dates are Thursday, July 16th, 3 to 4. Saturday the 18th from 10 to 1230. Thursday the 23rd from 5 to 7.
Ted Baker: These community gardens are a terrific idea for people who can't, you know, maybe they don't have a good space or they just can't do it at their own property. And it's also, I read a book a couple years back about one of these gardens in a city that became kind of a gathering place and a community place for everybody in the town.
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, it's not just a resource for folks who may be renting or live in a, they may have a yard but it's got too much lead in the soil to safely grow vegetables. This is a place they can come. But yeah, absolutely a great community, a hub where people can come and, you know, no matter who you are, you've got something to talk about. You could talk about how the tomatoes are coming along. You can share that zucchini when you've got 14 of them in one day.
Ted Baker: Everybody has zucchini and they all want to give it away.
Sarah Wagner: Thursday, July 16th, 3 to 4. Saturday, the 18th, 10 to 12, 30. Thursday, the 23rd, 5 to 7. There could be some more dates added if the demand is there. And also this is rain or shine. There is a covered area that the kids can work under doing their garden art if it gets really hot or rainy or anything.
Ted Baker: And now, this is always fantastic. The 4-H Youth Fair, July 30th through August 1st, again being hosted by the Union Springs Fire Department and over a hundred kids. I mean, the interest in 4-H is still staggering. I mean, a lot of kids want to be part of 4-H and here's a great chance to show what they do throughout the year. So tell us what's happening at the fair.
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, we have kids who are returning for their 10th year and we have kids who are showing for their very first year. The fair is free. We welcome the public to come, see the animals, see the livestock shows, see the different activities and exhibits that are out. The kids put in enormous effort to bring their animals to fair. Many of them work with their animals for months ahead of time. Some raise them from birth or hatching, whichever applies, and really bring the very best of their agricultural work to fair. This is all free. You're also invited to the Market Livestock Auction. That is Friday, July 31st at 6 p.m.
Ted Baker: And all these kids just do a fantastic job in raising these animals and then becoming business people. We talked to one 4-H-er a few years ago that was already doing it as a business at the time he was showing animals at the fair. Yeah, I mean, when kids have the chance of that resource of their home farm already being there, they're willing to put in the work to raise their own flock of lambs or a pig, chickens. It's impressive how much effort and skilled effort these kids can really output. So I guess sometimes if somebody can't buy like a whole side of beef themselves, some people will get together maybe as a group and do it?
Sarah Wagner: Oh, absolutely. You can purchase as a group. We do auction some smaller items. You can buy a pair of chickens or a turkey. That's a little bit easier for most people to find room in their freezer for. But yeah, groups can come together. We always encourage people to consider donation. So you can purchase an animal and then donate it to a food pantry. We have connections with CAP. We can make that very seamless if anybody's interested or donating part of an animal that they purchase if they can't fit 600 pounds of beef into there.
Ted Baker: Yeah, I was going to say you also have processors there on site for somebody that buys a cow and then says, oh, I just bought a cow, now what?
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, so if you're new to this idea, we've got some supportive people there to make it happen for you.
Ted Baker: Now also you're looking for people to take pictures at the fair, whether it just be with phone pictures or a regular camera or by drone photos. So what can they do if they want to help out with pictures?
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, they can get in touch with me. My contact information is on CCE Cayuga, Sarah Wagner. But we are always looking for ways to really show off all of the work that the kids are doing and then what a enjoyable time that fair is. And pictures really communicate that well. So we really just invite people to come and share that excitement with us in that way.
Ted Baker: So tell us a little bit more about 4-H, how to sign up and what the kids get from 4-H. And of course, if you remember what 4-H was many, many years ago, it's changed a lot. It still has the core ag fundamentals, but it's gotten into a lot of what they call STEM or STEAM with science and tech stuff.
Sarah Wagner: Yeah, I like to say if it's not a crime, you can do it as a 4-H project. Truly the sky is the limit. In Cayuga County, we do still have that really strong agricultural connection. But yeah, lots of computer programming, lots of STEM, lots of food science and nutrition. That is very big as well. But really, anything goes. If people are interested in 4-H, you should come to fair. You should see what it looks like. That's the best way. We're far enough into the 4-H year now that anyone who wants to register will enroll for next year. But coming to fair and seeing the actual projects is the best way.
Ted Baker: And again, that 4-H Youth Fair is July 30th and August 1st, hosted by the Union Springs Fire Department. Free admission. Find out more about all the other programs going on as well at ccecayuga.org. Sarah, thanks very much. Great to talk to you and appreciate the time. Have a great day.
Sarah Wagner: Thanks for having me.
