Ira Wallace | Mother Earth News FAIR

Ira Wallace is on the board of the Organic Seed Alliance and is a worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, where she coordinates variety selection and new seed grower contracts. Southern Exposure helps people keep control of their food supply through seed saving and sustainable gardening. Books by This Speaker: Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast

Ira will be speaking at the Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kansas Fairs

Workshops

Check It Out!

Summer Planting for an Abundant Fall and Winter Harvest

A bountiful fall and winter plan starts in the heat of summer. Learn how to plan, create, and produce garden bounty all year, starting now. This workshop focuses on the all-season garden tasks in summer, including extensive summer succession plantings as well as when and how to plant crops in summer for a fall and winter harvest.

Organic Gardening

Available In:

North Carolina, Sunday 1:00-1:30 p.m., Mother Earth Living Stage

Maryland, Saturday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Growing Great Garlic and Perennial Onions

Learn about heirloom garlic and perennial onion varieties, from planting to cultivation and harvesting at home. Ira Wallace covers soil preparation, weed control, and disease prevention, as well as curing and storage requirements. Add these culinary essentials to your garden!

Organic Gardening

Available In:

North Carolina, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Maryland, Saturday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Garlic, Onions, Shallots, Perennial Onions, and Leeks Choosing the right fall planted alliums for your garden!

Fall is the perfect time to plant garlic, shallots, perennial onions, and leeks. Learn about what distinguishes the different alliums, uncommon and everyday. Look at samples and leave with a sample of something new and fun to plant in your garden this fall. Ira Wallace curates the Heirloom Allium collection at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Modern Homesteading Organic Gardening

Available In:

Pennsylvania, Friday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Grit Stage

Extending the Harvest Creating a four season garden

Learn how to plan, create, and produce garden bounty all year. This workshop focuses on the all-season garden, including in-depth succession planting, planting summer crops for a fall garden, and fruit planting for late winter.

Organic Gardening

Available In:

Texas, Saturday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Kansas, Sunday 11:30-12:30 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage

Edible Alliums for All Seasons Onions, garlic, and more

Deer resistant and dynamic, edible alliums provide color in the garden, attract pollinators, and add flavor to the table from the first showers of spring to the last leaves of fall (and through winter in the South). Learn which of them to start in spring and which are better planted in fall. Find out the right timing for seeds, plus hear tips and techniques for how to grow and use onions, chives, garlic scallions, leeks, and their kin where summers are hot and winters mild.

Organic Gardening

Available In:

Texas, Sunday 1:00-1:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Kansas, Saturday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Beyond the Basics Growing common and uncommon greens for exciting salads, braising greens, and more all year

Fresh-picked salad greens are among the most rewarding vegetables a gardener can grow. Ira Wallace still grows a variety of lettuces year-round in her garden, but it's the unusual greens that add so much diversity in taste, color, and texture. Let Wallace introduce you to some extraordinary greens and give you a few tips on timing and technique for stretching your salad season and livening up your braising pan, as well as adding excitement to your salad bowl in every season.

Organic Gardening

Available In:

Texas, Saturday 1:00-1:30 p.m., Grit Stage

North Carolina, Saturday 1:00-1:30 p.m., Mother Earth Living Stage

Maryland, Sunday 1:00-1:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Pennsylvania, Saturday 11:30-12:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Kansas, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Cappers Farmer Stage

Better Backyard Tomatoes

Everyone loves a vine-ripened homegrown tomato. Learn some great techniques for trellising, pruning, and amending your soil to maximize tomato production, health, and taste. This workshop also covers staking, proper garden siting, mulching, watering, disease and pest control, harvesting, the heirloom vs. hybrid debate, and selecting the right varieties to grow some great-tasting tomatoes in your garden!

Organic Gardening

Available In:

Texas, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Maryland, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Heirloom Gardener Stage

Attracting Pollinators to Your Vegetable Garden

Bees and other native pollinators are important for the productivity of your vegetable garden. Learn how to add herbs and flowers, seed saving, and other practices that welcome pollinators and other beneficial insects to your vegetable garden for an abundant harvest of cukes, squash, peppers, and more!

Organic Gardening

Available In:

Pennsylvania, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Grit Stage