Are you interested in learning how to recycle your yard trimmings, leaves, grass, kitchen scraps and other organic materials into beneficial compost? Are you interested in improving the soil health of your landscape and garden? Are you interested in keeping safe organic materials from ending up in landfills? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then plan to attend Renfrew Institute’s backyard composting workshop being held on Thursday, October 7, 2010, at Renfrew Park in Waynesboro.

The workshop will be from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Visitors Center. The grant providing the free composting bins has ended and no bins will be given out at this workshop. Instructions on how you can construct your own composting bin will be given at the workshop. Workshop fee is $10.00 for members of the Institute, $12.00 for non-members.

Seating is limited and pre-registration is required. You must pre-register by calling Renfrew Institute at 762-0373 or by email at: renfrewinst@innernet.net. Parking is available behind the Visitors Center or in the lower parking lot off Welty Rd. Directions are available at: http://www.renfrewinstitute.org/.

September 11 - Saturday – 9:00AM-11:00AM – Growing Shiitake Mushrooms at home - $15.00 – Learn basic mushroom identification and experience a hands on demonstration inoculating a log with Shiitake Mushroom spores and take one home with you. Class size limited to 20 people. At the Clubhouse – 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg 17202. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226.

September 11 - Saturday – 1:00 PM - Forest Stewardship Woodlot Tour –Miller property off Warm Spring Road. No charge. For more information please contact George Hurd 717-263-9226 x225

September 18 - Saturday - 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest – Vernon and Luanne Horst Farm 5002 Cumberland Highway Chambersburg, PA 17201

September 18 - Saturday - 9:00AM – 11:00 AM - Backyard Digital Photography – 9:00AM – 11:00 AM hands on workshop for those interested in capturing flora and fauna found in a typical home landscape. Please bring along your digital camera, and be familiar with its basic operation. Class is limited to 30 people. $10.00 at the Clubhouse.

September 19 -Sunday – 12:00 – 5:00PM – An Autumn Stroll – Franklin County Master Gardener Fall Garden Tour - Franklin County Master Gardeners offer a Garden Tour showcasing 10 gardens in 6 Chambersburg neighborhoods. $10.00

October 2 and 9 – **New** Saturdays – 9:00-11:00 – Two Workshops: Planning and Designing a Perennial Garden (October 2) and Flowers for the Perennial Garden (October 9) $10.00 each, or $15.00 for both.

October 5 – November 16 – **New**Tuesdays – 7:00-9:00PM – Landscape Design and Plant Selection – A seven week series (8 sessions) soup to nuts workshop on planning and implementing a landscape design for your property. Classes can be attended individually, or as a group. $10.00 per class, or $40.00 for the whole series. Contact Cooperative Extension at 263-9226 for details.

October 7 **New** Thursday - 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Backyard Composting Workshop at Renfrew Park in Waynesboro. $10.00 for members of the Institute, $12.00 for non-members. You must pre-register by calling Renfrew Institute at 762-0373 or by email at: renfrewinst@innernet.net

The Franklin County Farm Bureau invites the public to the 2010 Farm Fest on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Vernon and Luanne Horst Dairy Farm located at 5002 Cumberland Highway Chambersburg, PA 17201.

The Horst Dairy features a unique robotic milking system for its 65 cows. They also have a replacement herd and grow forage crops of corn, alfalfa, soybeans, and grass hay on 145 acres. Come learn about modern farming and enjoy the Free Milk and Ice Cream, Wagon Tours, Food, and the stars of the show – the Dairy Cows and their cute Baby Calves – up close and personal. “Come share a learning experience with us and make a memory.”

Directions: Take 81 North to Exit #20. North on 997 toward Green Village. Farm is on the right, before you reach Rte 11 (Molly Pitcher Blvd)

September 11 Saturday – Growing Shiitake Mushrooms at Home 9:00 -11:00 AM – $15.00 – Learn basic mushroom identification and experience a hands on demonstration inoculating a log with Shiitake Mushroom spores and take one home with you. Class size limited to 20 people. At the Clubhouse – 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg 17202. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226.

September 11 Saturday – Forest Stewardship Woodlot Tour -1:00 PM –Miller property off Warm Spring Road. No charge. For more information please contact George Hurd 717-263-9226 x225

September 18 **New** – Saturday Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest - 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM– Vernon and Luanne Horst Farm 5002 Cumberland Highway Chambersburg, PA 17201

September 18 Saturday – Backyard Digital Photography – 9:00–11:00 AM- Hands-on workshop for those interested in capturing flora and fauna found in a typical home landscape. Please bring along your digital camera and be familiar with its basic operation. Class is limited to 30 people. $10.00 at the Clubhouse.

September 19 – **New**Sunday– An Autumn Stroll – 12:00–5:00 PM – Franklin County Master Gardener Fall Garden Tour - Franklin County Master Gardeners offer a Garden Tour showcasing 10 gardens in 6 Chambersburg neighborhoods. $10.00

August 25 Wednesday - Tomato Tasting Day Noon-5:00 PM – Fun, free event - Come judge which tomato variety looks and tastes best. 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, 17202 – By the Stream. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226 x 234.

August 28 Saturday – Invasive Plant Management Field Workshop - 9:00 am – Noon - $15.00 per person - 844 Oakleaf Road, McConnellsburg. Contact Greg Strait at 717-485-3145 for more information or to register.

August 31 Tuesday – Strong Women Classes – Various sites in the Chambersburg area, Shippensburg, Mercersburg, Greencastle, and Waynesboro. For more information please contact Mary Ann Oyler at 717-263-9226x229.

September 11 **New**Saturday – 9:00AM-11:00AM – Growing Shiitake Mushrooms at home - $15.00 – Learn basic mushroom identification and experience a hands on demonstration inoculating a log with Shiitake Mushroom spores and take one home with you. Class size limited to 20 people. At the Clubhouse – 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg 17202. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226.

September 11 **New**Saturday – 1:00 PM - Forest Stewardship Woodlot Tour –Miller property off Warm Spring Road. No charge. For more information please contact George Hurd 717-263-9226 x225

September 18 **New**Saturday - 9:00AM – 11:00 AM - Backyard Digital Photography – 9:00AM – 11:00 AM hands on workshop for those interested in capturing flora and fauna found in a typical home landscape on film. Please bring along your digital camera, and be familiar with its basic operation. Class is limited to 30 people. $10.00 at the Clubhouse. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226.

Your forest can offer many benefits, including financial, environmental, aesthetic, and recreational resources. If you are a forest landowner, you should have a forest stewardship plan that organizes your personal objectives into a comprehensive strategy for attaining what you want from your woods. A forest stewardship plan is your road map to responsible forestry. It is a guide that tells you what your resources are, what condition they are in, and what can be done to help you achieve your goals. It considers your short and long term objectives; analyzes the capabilities, limitations, and unique features of your land; looks at how your land fits into the surrounding landscape; and evaluates a wide range of the environmental and financial benefits and consequences.

On Saturday, September 11th, the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is sponsoring a Forest Stewardship Woodlot Tour to educate woodland owners about how a Forest Stewardship Plan is developed and implemented. A consulting forester and PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry staff will lead the tour through a private woodlot near Chambersburg. You do not have to be a member of the association and there is no cost to attend.

The tour will be of a privately owned 34 acre wooded property that includes a 3 acre pond and 2.5 acres of former agricultural fields. Approximately 27 acres are in mixed oak-hickory hardwoods. Timber stand improvement harvest, farm field conversion to woodlot, wildlife habitat management, recreational trail construction, property boundary marking, control of invasive species, removal of manmade structures, road improvement, pond management and cost share programs are some of the conservation practices that you will see on the tour.

The woodlot Tour will start on Saturday, September 11th at 1:00 PM. To get to the woodlot from Chambersburg, take Route 30 west (Lincoln Way West) to PA Rt. 995(Warm Spring Road). Turn left at the red light on to Rt. 995 (Warm Springs Road) and then travel 2.8 miles. After passing mailbox # 1592, the next dirt lane on the left is the access road to woodlot. There is a 6 ft tall blue and white real estate sign opposite access road. Look for signs. Wear appropriate clothing for outdoors including hiking boots. Bring raingear in case weather is marginal. For more information about the tour, contact Penn State Cooperative Extension at 263-9226. If severe weather is threatening on the day of the event, call 717/262-0083 for information.

The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is an organization of forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. For more information about the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net).

August 15-21 Sunday - Saturday - Franklin County Fair - 3725 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg, 17201. For more information please visit www.franklincountyfair.org

August 25 Wednesday - Tomato Tasting Day Noon-5:00 PM – Fun, free event - Come judge which tomato variety looks and tastes best. 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, 17202 – By The Stream. For more information please contact (717) 263-9226 x 234.

August 28 **New** Saturday – Invasive Plant Management Field Workshop - 9:00 am – Noon - $15.00 per person - 844 Oakleaf Road, McConnellsburg. Contact Greg Strait at 717-485-3145 for more information or to register.

August 31 Tuesday – Strong Women Classes – Various sites in the Chambersburg area, Shippensburg, Mercersburg, Greencastle, and Waynesboro. For more information please contact Mary Ann Oyler at 717-263-9226x229.

Mar. 6 9:30AM-11:30 AM Hands-On Pruning, call (717) 263-9226x234 for
more information

Mar. 8 8:30 AM-3:00PM, Franklin Co. Turf and Ornamental Meeting, Penn
State Mont Alto Campus, Science & Tech Building-Room 204, Mont Alto,
call (717) 263-9226x224 for more information.

Mar. 13 9:30-11:30 AM Pruning for Safety & Health of Trees, Ag Heritage
Center, 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, call (717) 263-9226 x 234
for more information.

Mar. 25 7:00PM-9:00PM, Can I Wash Dishes With Insecticidal Soap?, Ag
Heritage Center, 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, call (717)
263-9226x234 for more information.

-Workshop Series-

The tastier, healthier part of our diet starts with bugs. Now, here we don't try to promote the otherwise respectable practice of cooking and eating bugs-entomophagy. Nor are we talking about the minute amounts of bug parts that make way in our crunchy breakfast cereals. No, we're talking about nectar-addicted bugs that help plants bear seeds and fruits. These bugs, as well as other animals, provide pollination services for a wide diversity of flowering plants that, directly and indirectly, you and I depend upon. Unfortunately, many factors challenge pollinators these days, and our understanding of their role and needs is a prime step in the effort to protect them and our food supply.

Please join us to learn more about pollinators through an interactive program entitled "Understanding Pollinators". The workshop series will be held on the first four Saturdays of May, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, at the Franklin County Ag Heritage Building, 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202. Families with children 6 to 11 years of age are encouraged to participate. The topics will be tailored for and separately offered to each age group, with children participating in various hands-on activities. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. The registration fee for the program is $45 for the first registrant, with $10 for each additional family member. The registration process closes by April 26th, 2010.

» Read More

Your backyard woodlot is like a garden that needs to be tended to get the best results. A woodlot has many important resources such as soil, water, trees, wildlife and plants. Many benefits can be gained from any one of these resources.

Adding new trees and shrubs, managing insects and diseases, harvesting products and controlling invasive species can help create and preserve the woodlot. Caring for your backyard woodlot may not take as much time or money as one might expect.

Would you like to improve the health of your wooded lot? Enhance wildlife habitat on your forested property? Replace lawn with a more natural landscape? Learn to identify and care for trees? On Saturday, March 13, 2010, from 9:30 am to noon, at the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office there will be a workshop titled, “Pruning for Safety and Health of Trees.” This outside “hands on” workshop will target the issues that are important to maintaining the health and vigor of a small backyard woodlot. Workshop topics will include: Developing and implementing a vision for your property; Identifying native trees and invasive plants; Wildlife habitat improvement; and Woodlot management. For more information on this workshop, contact the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office at 263-9226.