HILLSBORO, Ill. — The program Cottage Food Law at the Farmers Market and Beyond will be 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Montgomery County Extension office, 1 Industrial Park Drive, Hillsboro.

Have you considered selling food made in your home kitchen? There are basic guidelines that growers and vendors must observe in preparation for sales under the Illinois Cottage Food Law.

Join University of Illinois Extension and the Montgomery County Health Department for a timely class about selling at the farmers market. Learn about the latest legislation concerning Illinois Cottage Food Law, and how to comply with safety standards to ensure that cottage food products are safe, healthy, and enjoyable for all.

Learn-N-Burn

DUBOIS, Ind. — The Learn-N-Burn Woodland Prescribed Fire Workshop will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET March 25 at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center, 11371 E. Purdue Farm Road, Dubois.

Join forestry and wildlife professionals for an introduction to prescribed fires in woodlands. The workshop will cover the benefits of prescribed fire for forest regeneration and wildlife, safety considerations when using prescribed fire, prescribed fire equipment, and technical and cost-share opportunities for private landowners.

For more information, contact Ron Rathfon, 812-678-5049, or ronr@purdue.edu.

Forestry Field Day

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Forestry Field Day will be 9 a.m. to noon ET March 25 at Martell Forest, 1007 N 725 W, West Lafayette.

This program will cover tree ID basics, forest biology, and forest management practices. No fee or prior registration required. Everyone is welcome to attend. The outdoor program will be held rain or shine.

For maps, directions and property info visit https://tinyurl.com/294um5ft.

Food Challenge

LINCOLN, Ill. — The 4-H Family Food Challenge will be 4:30 to 6 p.m. March 26 at the Logan County Extension office, 980 N. Postville Drive, Lincoln.

4-H members can participate in the Family Food Challenge with their family, as a club, or as a small group. There is a two-person minimum per team and a five-person maximum per team. Get creative with your team’s name or have fun dressing up to match your team’s name.

Participation includes preparing a dish with mystery ingredients — no recipes needed. Teams will present their dish to a set of mystery judges, and prizes will be awarded based on best presentation, taste, quality, team theme and teamwork.

This event is sponsored by the Logan County 4-H Ambassadors. Any 4-H family from Logan, Menard or Sangamon counties is welcome to participate.

Salads to Go Go

ALBION, Ill. — Youth ages 12 and up will learn how to prepare a salad/grain bowl from Abbi Cook, owner of Abbi’s Salads to Go Go, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. March 27 at Edwards County High School, 361 W. Main St., Albion.

Cook was recently awarded the Best At Home Business at the Albion Chamber of Commerce Banquet. She will be instructing on what makes a well-composed dish, hitting all notes of salt, fat, acid, and heat to optimize flavor. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Grow Blueberries

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — The program Let’s Grow Blueberries will be at 10 a.m. March 28 at the Kankakee County Extension office, 1650 Commerce Drive, Bourbonnais.

Learn how to successfully grow blueberries and take home your own blueberry plant.

Cost is $10. Register at https://tinyurl.com/4zubtk34.

Money Matters

DANVILLE, Ind. — The program Where Does Your Money Go? will be 11 a.m. to noon ET March 28 and 29 at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1900 E. Main St., Danville.

With increasing costs for necessary expenses, learn how you can stretch your paycheck and make your money go further.

Raised-Bed Gardening

CARLINVILLE, Ill. — Learn about raised-bed gardening from 1 to 2 p.m. March 28 at the Macoupin County Extension office, 60 Carlinville Plaza, Carlinville.

University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Andrew Holsinger will introduce techniques used in raised-bed gardening to help you produce the most from your gardening space. Topics include techniques to plant densely, vertical gardening, interplanting, succession planting, day-length strategies and cultivar choices.

The program also will be offered online. Register at https://tinyurl.com/4cfrr7pp.

Seed Starting

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Seed Starting Workshop will be at 10 a.m. March 28 at the DuPage County Extension office, 1100 E. Warrenville Road, Suite 170, Naperville.

Learn how to start seeds indoors with certified master gardeners. Participants will take home a starter pot and helpful handouts.

Cost is $15. Register at https://tinyurl.com/4ybf6efp.

Composting Workshop

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. — The Composting Workshop will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Jackson County Extension office, 402 Ava Road, Murphysboro.

Leftover food scraps? Don’t toss them, compost them. Composting is beneficial for the environment as well as for you. Nutrient-rich soil can promote healthier plant growth and suppress plant disease. Join State Master Naturalist and Climate Change Specialist Duane Friend as he shares different methods of composting and how to utilize it on our homestead during this free program.

Program highlights include:

• The composting process.

• Carbon/nitrogen ratio.

• What can be used and should not be used in home compost.

• Methods of composting (bins, barrels, piles, etc.).

• Managing the process (air, water, temperature).

• Troubleshooting.

• Simple testing methods for compost use as a soil amendment.

Water Management

URBANA, Ill. — Join Champaign County master gardeners and guest presenter Chris Enroth, Extension horticulture educator, for the online program Water Management in the Home Landscape at 7 p.m. March 28.

Discussed will be the issues surrounding the pressures on our nation’s water quality; design solutions for homeowners to reduce their impact; and the fundamentals and creative design strategies of bioswales, living roofs, rain gardens, permeable paving and rain barrels.

Insects and Diseases

URBANA, Ill. — Insects and diseases will be the topic in the online Growing Great Vegetables program from 6 to 7 p.m. March 28.

New and experienced growers alike are challenged by pests, diseases, and disorders of vegetable plants. Learn about insects, diseases, and wildlife pests and how to prevent and handle them.

Presenters will be Ken Johnson and Ryan Pankau, Illinois Extension horticulture educators.

Cost is $10. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ypucfcr5.

Drying Hardwood

EDINBURGH, Ind. — The program Kiln Drying Hardwood Lumber will be 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET March 29 at MacBeath Hardwood Co., 320 N. Kyle St., Edinburgh.

Featured will be various methods and types of dry kilns, their pros and cons. Learn to develop a kiln-drying schedule and a way to select and check kiln samples. Discuss lumber-drying defects and how to prevent them.

Speakers will be Rado Gazo, a professor of wood processing and industrial engineering at Purdue University, and Brian H. Bond, a professor and Extension specialist in the area of wood products at Virginia Tech.

For more information about this Hardwood University Workshop, visit https://tinyurl.com/mr2jn9cc.

Electric Cars

URBANA, Ill. — The online program Scaling Up to Millions of Electric Cars — Solving the 90% Energy Problem for EVs will be noon to 1 p.m. March 29.

In the U.S., more than 95% of passenger car trips are 30 miles or less, based on federal survey data. As vehicles convert to electricity, this means that about 90% of passenger car energy can be, and probably will be, delivered through conventional electrical outlets at home, work, and shopping places. Safety protection, metering, billing and other functions can be supported by a car to turn a “dumb” electrical outlet into a smart vehicle charge point. Scaling to millions or even hundreds of millions of charge locations becomes cost-effective.

The program explores how to think differently about charge infrastructure to move toward ubiquitous energy access. It considers how community projects and modest incentives can bring vast growth in low-cost charge access.

Presenter will be Philip Krein, Grainger Endowed Chair Professor Emeritus in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics at the University of Illinois.

Natural Disasters

URBANA, Ill. — The online program Natural Disasters will be at 6 p.m. March 29. Tornadoes, floods and flash floods are major disasters that occur in Illinois. State Master Naturalist and Climate Change Specialist Duane Friend will discuss recent trends with these disasters, and will talk about how to prepare if one or both of these occur in your area.

Victory Gardens

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — The program Victory Gardens will be at 10 a.m. March 29 at the Kankakee Extension office, 1650 Commerce Drive, Bourbonnais.

Victory Gardens were a staple during World Wars I and II as a means of growing fresh food and boosting overall morale. A garden can still help you do both those things today. Planting a garden helps supplement fresh foods during the summer months, decreasing your overall grocery bill, and leaving you feeling better in the end.

Learn how to plant a victory garden and leave with the skills (and seeds) needed to plan your own garden. Register at https://tinyurl.com/47j4v5uf.

Pasture Management

WATERLOO, Ill. — The Pasture Management Workshop will be 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 29 at the Monroe County Annex, 901 Illinois Ave., Waterloo.

Extension Educators Travis Meteer and Nathan Johanning will cover a wide range of pasture topics, including establishment and maintenance, weed and fertility management, grazing strategies, and cover crops to enhance grazing. Even small changes in management, species, or grazing habits can make a big difference in pasture health, and the amount and quality of grazing your animals can experience.

The Monroe County Cattleman’s Association is partnering with University of Illinois Extension for the program and to provide a meal at the start of the program.

This free program is open to anyone with livestock, from a few horses to a large beef herd and anything in between.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/3e7xyfu5. For more information, call 618-939-3434 or email Johanning at njohann@illinois.edu.

Microbes in Food

URBANA, Ill. — The online program Beneficial and Dangerous Microbes in Our Food will be noon to 1 p.m. March 29.

While we may associate microbes in our food with harmful outbreaks of foodborne illness, microbes can play a positive role in our diet and even be a source of food themselves. Take a tour of the most common harmful, and helpful, microbes we encounter in our food.

Cash Leases

BENTON, Ill. — The Annie’s Project Farming Financial Literacy Series program Evaluating and Adjusting Cash Leases will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 30 at the Franklin County Extension office, 1212 Route 14 West, Benton.

Covered will be the various types of farm leases. There will be several examples of lease forms to determine what system will work best for you.

This program is free, but registration is required. Visit go.illinois.edu/FarmFinances2023 or call 618-687-1727 to reserve a spot.

Utilizing Rainwater

MILAN, Ill. — The two-part program Utilizing Rainwater in the Home Landscape will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 30 and April 6 at the Rock Island County Extension office, 321 2nd Ave. W, Milan.

Participants will learn methods for managing stormwater to reduce runoff and make good use of this precious resource on site. Stormwater management methods, plant selection, project design and landscape maintenance will be discussed. At the conclusion of the course, participants will be invited to participate in the construction of a rain garden this spring.

Cost is $50; lunch will be provided. Register at https://tinyurl.com/2s3f43sa.

Tree Sale

VALPARAISO, Ind. — The Porter County Extension Annual Tree Sale will be 8 to 11 a.m. April 1 at the Porter County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, 215 E. Division Road, Valparaiso.

Apple, cherry and peach trees will be available, as well as small fruits, including asparagus, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb and strawberries.

Fruit trees are $30, small fruits are $15.

For a preorder form and plant descriptions, visit https://tinyurl.com/hvvwezdv. For more information, call 219-465-3555 or email brow2274@purdue.edu.

Preserving Safely

ARTHUR, Ill. — The program Preserving Safely: Freezing, Drying and Fermenting will be 1 to 2:30 p.m. April 1 at the Arthur Public Library, 225 S. Walnut St., Arthur.

University of Illinois Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educator Caitlin Mellendorf will share up-to-date information and processes to preserve safely at home. Register for this free program by calling the library at 217-543-2037 or register in person.

Gardener’s Day

MACOMB, Ill. — The 25th annual Gardener’s Day will be 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 1 at Spoon River College Outreach Center, 2500 E. Jackson, Macomb.

Educational sessions will include Establishment of Pollinator Habitat and Turf Stands, Making Fruit Trees within Reach for Everyone, Garden Journal Workshop, New Plants for the 2023 Growing Season, Soil Science is Not Rocket Science, Protect Yourself from Ticks and Mosquitoes, Design Your Own Living Landscape, Nature-made Holiday Ornaments, Weatherproofing Your Trees, Invasive Species, Succession Planting and Season Extension, and Nature Impressions Tile Workshop.

Cost is $40. Registration Includes educational sessions, lunch, access to vendor displays, and a chance to win a door prize. Register at https://tinyurl.com/2wt3fzje.

Spring Fling

AUBURN, Ind. — The DeKalb County Extension Homemakers Spring Fling will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET April 1 at the DeKalb County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall, 708 S. Union St., Auburn.

Registration, coffee and muffins will be at 9 a.m., followed by a speaker from Fortify Life at 9:30 a.m., Miss DeKalb County Lauren Brown at 10:30 a.m. and brunch at 11:15 a.m. Make-it-and-take-it craft stations will open at noon.

Cost is $10. Register by calling 260-925-0617.

Calendar: Safety standards for farmers markets