Urban farm­ing series to guide begin­ners through spring sea­son at Purdue Extension

The course will intro­duce advanced pro­duc­tion meth­ods such as per­ma­cul­ture and indoor agri­cul­ture.

By Cheryl Morey
South Bend Tribune
Feb 25, 2026

How do you even begin get­ting an urban farm up and run­ning? Purdue Exten­sion wants to help by offer­ing an Urban Farm­ing Sig­na­ture Pro­gram this spring, accord­ing to a press release.

The pro­gram will take place on Wed­nes­days from March 11 to April 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the St. Joseph County Pub­lic Lib­rary Centre Town­ship Branch, 1150 Kern Road.

The pro­gram includes eight ses­sions and is designed to edu­cate par­ti­cipants on grow­ing food safely and sus­tain­ably in urban envir­on­ments. It will be led by Purdue Exten­sion spe­cial­ists and edu­cat­ors, provid­ing research-based instruc­tion that cov­ers the entire pro­duc­tion pro­cess from plant­ing to har­vest.

Focus on urban farm­ing chal­lenges

Par­ti­cipants will explore vari­ous top­ics, includ­ing identi­fy­ing chal­lenges and oppor­tun­it­ies in urban farm­ing, set­ting spe­cific goals for their oper­a­tions, and under­stand­ing urban soil health man­age­ment. The pro­gram also cov­ers site design, crop plan­ning, pest man­age­ment and food safety prac­tices throughout the grow­ing sea­son.

In addi­tion to found­a­tional top­ics, the course will intro­duce advanced pro­duc­tion meth­ods such as per­ma­cul­ture and indoor agri­cul­ture. It will also dis­cuss cir­cu­lar eco­nomy prin­ciples that focus on effi­cient resource use and long-term sus­tain­ab­il­ity.

The Urban Farm­ing Sig­na­ture Pro­gram is inten­ded for com­munity garden­ers, small-scale and begin­ning farm­ers, edu­cat­ors, and those inter­ested in urban food pro­duc­tion. Light refresh­ments will be provided dur­ing each ses­sion, accord­ing to the release.

Regis­tra­tion details

The pro­gram cost is $150. Pri­cing and pay­ment inform­a­tion can be found at cvent.me/mrv1nb.

Purdue Uni­versity pro­hib­its dis­crim­in­a­tion against any mem­ber of the uni­versity com­munity on the basis of race, reli­gion, color, sex, age, national ori­gin or ances­try, genetic inform­a­tion, mar­ital status, par­ental status, sexual ori­ent­a­tion, gender iden­tity and expres­sion, dis­ab­il­ity, or vet­eran status.

Indi­vidu­als need­ing accom­mod­a­tions to attend the pro­gram, includ­ing inter­pret­ers or trans­lat­ors, should con­tact Emily Evers at 574-235-9605 or everse@purdue.edu by Feb. 25.

Requests for spe­cial diet­ary needs should be sub­mit­ted by March 11. For regis­tra­tion ques­tions or assist­ance, con­tact The Edu­ca­tion Store at 765-4946794 or edustore@purdue.edu.

Any­one younger than 18 must be accom­pan­ied by a respons­ible adult.

Source: https://cityfarmer.info/urban-farming-series-to-guide-beginners-through-spring-season-at-purdue-extension/