Join us for a hands-on Field Day at Merry Lea Teaching Farm to dig into food forests, cover cropping strategies, and on-farm seed saving.
We’ll explore their food forest system, cover crop trials, the farm’s incredible soil type diversity, and how seed saving is integrated into their production system. During the tour, you’ll also get a chance to see a live percolation test demos in the field.
Ready to register? Scroll to the bottom of this page to sign up!
What to Expect:
Arrival and Welcome 9:30 am ET
Farm Tour + Soil Infiltration Test Demos (1.5hrs) 10:00 am ET
We’ll kick the day off with a walking tour of Merry Lea highly diversified teaching farm led by farm manager Christi Nickey. The tour will highlight their diversified and regenerative approach, including their 1-acre market garden, cover crop trials, fruit and nut orchards, and 5-acre woody polyculture system. Throughout the tour, we’ll be performing soil infiltration tests, a useful tool you can use to measure water infiltration and soil quality in your own farm or garden.
Lunch + Learn: Seed Saving + Focus Topics (1.5) 11:30 am ET
Over lunch, Christi will present on seed sovereignty including how seed saving can be an important tool in your farm, methods they use at Merry Lea, and how it can be integrated into your farm business strategy. We’ll then have breakout groups to dive into a topic of your choice!
Who should attend:
We will be diving into the topics of seed saving, cover crops, and perennial food systems. This is an opportunity for growers and farmers to come together with agricultural professionals wanting to expand knowledge and network about implementing these tools on your farm and advocating for these practices in your community.
What to bring:
- Dress for the weather – close-toed shoes and long pants recommended
- A water bottle!
- Sunscreen and bug repellant
This is a working farm. Expect uneven terrain, tall vegetation, and interaction with local flora and fauna.
A Note on Biosecurity:
To reduce the risk of cross-contamination and spread of disease, we ask that all attendees:
- Wear shoes or boots that have not been worn on other farms with livestock or livestock buildings, or around a dense population of wild birds.
- Wear clean clothes that have not been worn around other livestock.
Lunch is provided, this event is free to attend. To guarantee your spot for lunch, RSVP is required by July 15, 2025.
Hosted by Urban Soil Health and Partners IN Food and Farming in partnership with Merry Lea Teaching Farm, Savanna Institute, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and Purdue Extension.
