Stack Your Farm’s Potential with Alley Cropping! Monthly Farm Tour

Think you’ve seen it all after one farm tour? Think again!

Join us monthly as we dive into the seasonal highlights of the Savanna Institute Illinois Demonstration Farms. Every first Saturday of the month, MJ Oviatt or Kaitie Adams will guide you on a walking tour of Savanna Institute Agroforestry Demonstration Farm (Urbana) or 4-H Memorial Camp Farm (Monticello), spotlighting certain aspects of these dynamic demonstration sites. 

First hour: walking tour of the farm

Second hour: interactive activity on the farm

August Focus

Stack Your Farm’s Potential with Alley Cropping!

• What is alley cropping?
• Design considerations: spacing, species selection, groundcover selection

• Oak, Hickory, Black Walnut hardwood timber markets
• Black Locust timber markets
• Land Equivalency Ratio (LER) theory
• Soil health benefits

August Interactive Activity:

• Learn how to measure the growth of a tree
• Learn how to do a simple soil health test to measure water holding capacity of your soil (Slump Test)

The Savanna Institute Illinois Demonstration Farms grow on the unceded lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Meskwaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw peoples. The soil we work with and the nourishment it provides are rich only because of generations of knowledge, wisdom, and care. This land continues to carry stories, fight for survival and identity, and celebrations of resilience and joy. It is our obligation as agroforesters not only to acknowledge this past, but actively support, listen to, and amplify the rights and demands of Indigenous communities, now and into the future.

Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Monticello.