As always, the creative community around central Ohio is offering a full slate of special events to usher in the spring growing season. Here's a selection of dates we recommend:

County Soil and Water Conservation District Tree Sales - Many counties around Ohio offer bare root saplings at discounted rates during the early spring. Franklin has a nice variety of shrubs and several fruit trees, Delaware has sugar maples, and Greene has a great price on sugar maple packs.

Maple Madness - March 8/9 & 15/16 - The Ohio Maple Producer's Association has pulled together a driving tour of maple sugaring operations all over the state.

Naomi's Garden Maple Syrup Tour - March 15 - Our personal favorite maple producer is Therese who sells at the Clintonville Farmers' Market. She is offering a tour this year through the market by pre-registration.

Kids Keep Chickens - April 12 - Lil is co-teaching her first class with me, Rachel, on April 12. We're leading an hour-long class about keeping chickens for children, including a story, craft, and snuggle time with a real hen.

Wilmington College Food Symposium - April 23, 2014 - This day-long FREE event will feature a cake bake-off, panel discussion (including Rachel!), campus and college farm tours, and keynote by Joel Salatin.

Yellow Springs Earthship Build - April 12/13, May 17/18, June 7/8 and/or June 28/29 - Help a family build an earthship under the guidance of the expert builders at Blue Rock Station.

Do you know of any food and farm events to add to the list? Share them in the comments!