Homesteading Anyone?

MILTON — The Milton Grange and the Brookside Museum are partnering to offer a series of classes titled ‘Homesteading on a 1/2 Acre’ in September, teaching local community members how to grow and produce their own food.

Eric Smassanow, a member of the Milton Grange and an organizer of the event, said the classes are intended to give people “a start” on homesteading. Smassanow has lived on a homestead for more than 40 years, and has 25 years of experience selling organic fertilizer, he said.

“What I want to do is take the 40-something years of experience, making all kinds of mistakes, learning, and going to conferences …and incorporate that into some two-hour classes that give you a start,” said Smassanow.

The classes, which run for two hours each, begin Sept. 19, with each successive class on the following Tuesday. The five classes cost $75 to attend in total, which includes a membership fee for the Milton Grange, Smassanow said. Participants can also bring a guest at no charge.

The first class, titled ‘Planning,’ will be hosted by Smassanow and Anne Clothier, Director of Education at the Brookside Museum.

Participants in the inaugural class will make a to-scale drawing of their property, and receive a questionnaire to help figure out “what makes sense” for them to grow, Smassanow said.

“The first class is to get people thinking of what makes sense,” Smassanow said. “I’ve got room for mistakes. A half-acre, you don’t have a lot of room for mistakes. You have room for experimentation, but really not mistakes.”

The second class, ‘Gardening,’ will be taught by Stacy Simmons, who formerly ran the Brookside Nursery, Smassanow said. The class will discuss different planting options, and how to make a garden work in a small space, among other things.

“She’s got a lot of really good information,” said Smassanow. “It’s a two-hour class on gardening. … What are the best varieties? How can you increase your yield?”

The third class, ‘Preserving Your Harvest,’ taught by Diane Whitten of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County, will focus on food preservation, discussing different options such as freezing, dehydration, fermenting, and canning, according to a flier advertising the classes.

“So you’ve got your garden, you raise all these vegetables, what do you do with them?” Smassanow said. “(Diane is) a great educator. She’s going to cover all the different ways (to preserve).”

The fourth class, ‘Growing Protein’, will be taught by Nicolina Foti of CCE. Smassanow said this will include ducks, chickens, goats, and rabbits. The fifth class is set to be a “round-robin” of different activities with several instructors, Smassanow said, noting they will adjust the final class to cater to the interests of participants.

Smassanow also said the Grange is hoping to host additional single-day classes in the future, which he said would “really get into the nitty-gritty.”

“Which you really need to to be successful,” said Smassanow. “You can figure it out, but it’s a lot easier if you get trained in it. We’re going to offer that, possibly, in the winter.”

For more information on the ‘Homesteading on a 1/2 Acre’ classes, visit miltongrange.org/homesteading/.