Specialty herbs consultant, Henriette den Ouden, lends her expertise to a full-day workshop on Nov. 19 at Kharis Lavender Fields in Gaithersburg, Maryland. UMES Extension is partnering with the lavender farm and the Montgomery County Office of Agricultural Services in offering the event. Designed for beginners and experienced herb farmers, it covers a wide range of topics to help attendees in successfully growing, processing and selling herbs.
“We are pleased that Kharis Lavender Fields is the host site so that participants can experience its established commercial kitchen and get ideas for setting up their own,” said den Ouden.
The morning session, 10 a.m.-noon, will also cover regulatory requirements for processing herbs into value-added products, including teas, ointments and tinctures. How to become or stay certified as an organic farm and why it is beneficial will also be topics of discussion, she said.
Following a luncheon included in the registration fee, $18 per person, attention will turn to how to prepare your fields for spring planting, herb selection, seed- and plug-sourcing, and seed planting. The afternoon session is from 1-3 p.m.
Preregistration is required by visiting www.umes.edu/extension/events.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media associate, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu., 410-621-3850.
Photo by Todd Dudek, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, tdudek@umes.edu.
