Worms, Nuts & More - Chef Gedert Reports on the OEFFA Conference

Jeremy Gedert, one of our talented chefs, attended this year's Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association Conference.  This exclusive event sold out but luckily our Jeremy was there to represent Two Caterers and his very own One20 Farm.

The OEFFA has been an important part of our Ohio “food chain” for 31 years.

“The Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association was founded in 1979 and is a grassroots coalition of farmers, backyard gardeners, consumers, retailers, educators, researchers, and others who share a desire to build a healthy food system that brings prosperity to family farmers, helps preserve farmland, offers food security for all Ohioans, and creates economic opportunities for our rural communities.”

Jeremy attended six conferences - Networking Food Systems, Mushroom Production, Growing Nut Trees, Soil Health & Climate Change, Nematodes and Ecological Parenting. He shared some of the highlights with us and really inspired our team to think about what additional practices we can incorporate at Two Caterers.  Homegrown shitakes anyone?

Jeremy found the Mushroom Production workshop to be a very educational introduction to hardwood log mushroom growing. The presenter, Janell Baran from Blue Owl Garden Emporium, demonstrated how to use mushroom spawns to innoculate hardwood like oak. Jeremy is searching for some good logs or stumps to start growing shitakes. Two Caterers customers won't see homegrown mushrooms anytime soon though – it takes 6 to 18 months to get mushrooms to fruit! Find more information, including the handouts from the OEFFA Conference here: www.blueowlgarden.com.

Because Jeremy has a healthy obsession with round worms (see his website at one20farm.com), he was very interested in the Nematode workshop presented by OSU Professor Parwinder Grewal. Nematodes are tiny, worm-like animals that can be distinguished by their ridges, rings, warts and other distinctive structures. The smallest nematodes are microscopic, while the largest can grow to 2 inches. The workshop focused on studying nematodes to determine the health of the soil. Depending on the amount and what kind of nematodes are found, you can tell what your soil needs in order to make it the best it can be. Of course, Jeremy has a microscope at home and, as soon as the ground thaws, will be putting that petri dish under his eye.

Even though Ohio is the Buckeye State, you don't think of growing edible nuts around here. Growing nut trees may not be easy, but it's not impossible! Paul Hagen has been going nutty for over twenty years. Paul spoke about the long-term investment of nut tree growing. He demonstrated grafting – it is most helpful to graft trees to any already established Black Walnut root system since Black Walnut Trees grow very well in Ohio. In fact, Jeremy saw examples of two or three different nut trees grafted onto one root system. Maybe Two Caterers can graft some trees together to make a special Two Caterers nut.... anyone for a hazelbucknut pie?

Jeremy is already looking forward to next year's conference, and we are looking forward to learning more from the incredible resources at the OEFFA!