Indiana Horticultural Society Field Day, July 27 2021
Hosted by:
Wea Creek Orchard
5618 South 200 East
Lafayette, IN 47909
The morning schedule is focused on soil health and is organized by the Pence Agronomy Group. The afternoon session concentrates on fruit (and pumpkins).
Growers are welcome to attend all parts of the program of interest to them.
Wea Creek Orchard
Wea Creek Orchard was established by The Kirkham family in 2008 on land that has been in the family since 1855. During that time, 7 generations of their family have raised sheep, cattle, pigs and now apples, peaches and pumpkins on the land.
The first tree planting at the farm was 340 apple trees and 60 peach trees. Since that initial planting in 2008, they have added about 200 trees every other year. They currently have about 5 acres of apples, 1 acre of peaches and 12 acres of pumpkins (and about 40 sweet cherry trees). All the produce is sold at the farm, through U-pick and a market in an old bank barn on the property. One of the successful new additions have been sunflowers sold for $1/stalk at the farm.
Hosting events such as festivals and weddings has become an important part of the farm business. The Kirkhams have also been involved in farm to school initiatives.
More information available at:
https://www.weacreekorchard.com
Attendance
The entire program is free and open to all who are interested. Lunch will be available from a number of food trucks on-site, and ice-cream will be available in the afternoon.
Schedule: July 27, 2021 (subject to change)
8:00 am. Coffee and donuts
8:30 am. Program starts – cover crops and soil health
11:30 – 12:00 pm Lunch on premises
12:00 Welcome and farm overview
12:30 – 12:50 pm Pumpkins and weed management. Liz Maynard and Stephen Meyers
1:00 – 1:20 pm Pollinators – speakers TBD
1:30 – 1:50 pm Pollination – Khalil Jahed
2:00 – 2:30 pm Break – ice cream
2:30 – 2:50 pm Best practices for social media. Ariana Torres
3:00 – 3:20 pm Young tree management. Tristand Tucker
3:30 – 3:50 pm Apple orchard systems. Peter Hirst
Wea Creek Orchard is a small orchard, but they are doing a number of innovative things that many will find interesting and informative. After the last year of virtual meetings I think many of us are welcoming the opportunity to meet together in person. There will be ample opportunities for informal discussion among growers. We look forward to seeing many growers face-to-face again.