Grow Enough Series

The Grow Enough Series (GES) is a household home-grown vegetable initiative aimed at encouraging self-sufficiency in vegetables and/or herbs of choice. It is a fun program designed to advance communality, getting to know one another more in the community and advancing food security in our households and communities. GES will enlighten participants on how to produce enough of a named vegetable or herb to meet the need of a household of 1-5 people in a year. Using tomato (the most popular vegetable in America) as an example, GES will train individuals and/or families on how to produce enough tomato to feed themselves round the year. Apart from contributing to healthy eating and healthy living (eating fresh is eating smart and healthy), such effort will contribute to the household’s and community’s food security and that of the nation and humanity in general. Also, participants will enjoy learning how to grow, manage, and harvest crops and handle produce safely after harvest until ready for consumption. Who qualifies to participate? GES is for anyone (and everyone) interested in producing their own vegetables or herbs in their own home or garden or outside in a community garden near them. Training is practical and simple to follow. It is inexpensive to adopt and sufficiently flexible to accommodate people’s circumstances and limitations in terms of space, literacy level, plant growth requirements and other logistics. GES is a total 6-hr online training program spread over six weeks between the months of April and May. It is an evening class taught once a week between 6 and 7pm. Online registration opens in early February and closes end of March. Registration Fee is $150 per person and $250 per household. Zoom Meeting ID is 7179983641; Passcode 72120. At the end of GES, a short quiz will be taken by the participants and a Certificate of Merit will be issued to trainees.

Ethnic Crop Production

The Ethnic Crop Production module focuses on the cultural practices that are essential for producing healthy and productive ethnic crops in appropriate indoor and outdoor Asian Tropical Spinach (Red Stripe) African Tropical Spinach (African Green) Caribbean Tropical Spinach (Red Leaf/Callaloo) 10 environments. It is a total 6-hr online training program spread over six weeks between the months of April and May. It is an evening class taught once a week between 6 and 7pm. Online registration opens in early February and closes end of March. Registration Fee is $250 per person and $350 per household. Zoom Meeting ID is 7179983641; Passcode 72120. At the end of the training program, a short quiz will be taken by the participants and a Certificate of Merit will be issued to trainees.

Ethnic Crop Postharvest Handling

The Ethnic Crop Postharvest Handling module offers training on postharvest options that are based on the intended utilization of the harvested produce. Leafy green and fruit veggies are treated in detail in circumstances where the produce is to be used shortly after harvest or must be transported and/or stored for days, weeks or months before utilization. This training module is a total 4-hr online class taught once a week in the month of October. Online registration opens in August and closes in September. Registration Fee is $150 per person and $250 per household. Zoom Meeting ID is 7179983641; Passcode 72120. At the end of the training program, a short quiz will be taken by the participants and a Certificate of Merit will be issued to trainees.

Ethnic Crop Utilization

The Ethnic Crop Utilization module offers training on various cultural applications to which ethnic crops may be applied including food and non-food uses. It highlights the biological, economic, and sociological benefits associated with each utilization option. Pictorial (photos, video clips, etc) examples will be featured to demonstrate various cultural and culinary modes of utilization for selected ethnic crops. This is a total 4-hr online class taught in the evening in September/October. Online registration opens in August and closes in early September. Registration Fee is $150 per person and $250 per household. Zoom Meeting ID is 7179983641; Passcode 72120. At the end of the training program, a short quiz will be taken by the participants and a Certificate of Merit will be issued to trainees.

Ethnic Crop Marketing

The Ethnic Crop Marketing module exposes trainees to a) the market opportunities for ethnic crops in New Jersey and the United States, b) packaging of ethnic produce for the market, and c) appropriate pricing for various ethnic produce in different seasons of the year. This training module is a total 4-hr online class taught once a week between 6 and 7pm in the month of October. Online registration opens in August and closes in September. Registration Fee is $200 per person and $300 per household. Zoom Meeting ID is 7179983641; Passcode 72120. At the end of the training program, a short quiz will be taken by the participants and a Certificate of Merit will be issued to trainees.