Nourish the body, nourish the soul
Gather together where freshness meets the table at Taste 360
UPDATE: EVENT CANCELED
The first of its kind, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is hosting the perfect opportunity to fine-tune your backyard garden, learn more about the farm-to-table movement and gather information on agricultural entrepreneur opportunities at the Taste 360 conference on March 20-21 in College Station.
“The conference follows the model of a person’s daily activities to fully experience how Extension/horticulture can improve how you celebrate agriculture every day,” said Lisa Whittlesey, AgriLife Extension program specialist for horticulture and International Junior Master Gardener program coordinator, College Station. “Taste 360 will walk you through the many resources available to you within AgriLife to help expand your palate.
“We start with the morning and go throughout the day discussing how horticulture and plants can really improve and nourish your body and your soul. This is the place to go for anyone wanting to know more about where their food comes from, how to grow it in your own backyard, growing things to sell to local farmers markets or even starting your own business,” she said.
At this all-encompassing conference, participants will have the opportunity to engage with researchers, AgriLife Extension agents and program specialists on topics ranging from viticulture to microgreens, cut flowers, hops and bees.
The name of the conference gives insight into the experience participants should walk away with.
“The term ‘taste’ is to get you in tune with what resources you have so that as you go through your process of gardening or establishing your business, you know where to go for reliable resources. The ‘360’ is for all around. We will examine fruits and vegetables, but we are also looking at other areas of horticulture production such as cut flowers and discussing how to get into a farmers market and what other markets you can sell to,” said Jayla Fry, AgriLife Extension program specialist for horticulture, College Station.
The two-day event will begin at 5:15 p.m. March 20 with a tour of the Texas A&M Gardens, complete with wine pairings and appetizers followed by a farm-to-table dinner at Aggie-owned Ronin Farm & Restaurant.
Day 2 of the event will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the AgriLife Center on the Texas A&M campus, 556 John Kimbrough Blvd., followed by sessions starting with “Get Your Morning Buzz” and ending with “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” featuring mocktails in the Gardens and recipes for how to infuse herbs, plants and fruits into your beverages.
Registration is available for one or both days online at Taste 360 event with March 20 at $100, March 21 at $135 or $210 for both days.
In addition to the Gardens’ tour, wine and appetizer pairings and farm-to-table dinner, topics will include Texas A&M coffee research, backyard chickens, patio citrus, growing herbs, growing flowers to sell, practical tips for growing vegetables, native bees of Texas, how to begin selling at farmers markets, gardening apps, websites and technology, producing olives and olive oil in Texas, trees for shade and produce, winemaking, better whiskey and hops, and more. For a full list of sessions and agenda, visit Taste 360 agenda.
Path to the Plate, Dinner Tonight, Walk Across Texas, Texas Gardener Magazine, Texas Department of Agriculture and many other areas of AgriLife Extension will have booths available March 21.
