KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Beginning Monday, February 28, University of Tennessee Extension will begin offering the “SproUTing Growers Workshop Series,” for those who want to grow fruits and vegetables for retail sale. The six-month course is intended to provide potential and beginning growers with the skills they need to plan and manage a vegetable and small fruit farming venture, including marketing their produce.

These half-day workshops are planned from 1-4 p.m. EST on the final Monday of the month throughout the spring and summer. Workshops will be hands-on, and most will take place either on the UT Institute of Agriculture campus off of Neyland Drive or at the UT Organic Crops Unit off John Sevier Highway.

The first workshop, “Business Planning,” is scheduled for February 28 on the agriculture campus and will be led by UT Extension Farm Specialist Alice Rhea. It will help participants think about defining their business, including products they will offer, location, legal structure, operation procedures, personnel, accounting, and insurance, as well as help them decipher financial data.

Registration is $50 per person for all 6 workshops prior to Feb. 21 or $10 per person for individual workshops thereafter. For registration information and a detailed schedule, please visit http://organics.tennessee.edu/sprouting_growers_workshops.htm or call 865-974-7429.

The program is possible due to partial support through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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Contact:

Dr. Annette Wszelaki, UT Department of Plant Sciences, 865-974-8332 or [log in to unmask].

Heather Toler, UT Department of Plant Sciences, 865-974-7429 or [log in to unmask].

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