You get boots-on-the-ground learning, hands-on experience, and direct instruction by me, Meg.
While I always cover the ground work needed for a solid basis, each workshop is unique as it is guided by your questions, comments, and interests. Our discussion will cover the why, how, where, what, and who,
but the details we dive into will be brought into focus by your questions and what the land has for answers.
While I always cover the ground work needed for a solid basis, each workshop is unique as it is guided by your questions, comments, and interests. Our discussion will cover the why, how, where, what, and who,
but the details we dive into will be brought into focus by your questions and what the land has for answers.
Seed Saving Workshop | Sunday, September 17th, 2023
Whether you are new to gardening or an old green thumb, seed saving can be a daunting enterprise. In our western world, we are used to different aspects of agriculture put into neat little boxes and it is rare for a farm that grows crops to also grow their own seed (unless that crop is a seed, like grains). But that's exactly what gardeners are looking for and it's also how the non-western agricultural world works. Yet, you don't need to be a subsistence farmer to want to save your own seed. Maybe you want to birth a new type of tomato, acclimate your favorite frost-sensitive annual to your little to harsh climate, save money, or deepen your relationship with the plant world ?
We'll discuss:
We'll discuss:
- differences between preserving genetic lines and land race techniques
- regulations & laws restricting seed saving
- annual vs biennial vs perennial systems
- how to know when to harvest
- storing your seeds
- testing germination rates
- record keeping
- and resources for furthering your seed saving journey!
Relational Farming Workshop | July 9th, 2023
Some of the first questions folks ask me are: Do you have a problem with predators? deer? pests? rodents? frosts?
And my answer is always a resounding, no. Simply because I approach my farm systems with the idea that the deer, elk, lions, bears, eagles, wood rats, and climate were here before I or my farm were and so I need to include their needs along with the needs of the farm, my crops, livestock, pets, and myself!
This concept is very context based (as is ALL gardening, farming, and other land-tending practices) so none of my systems or methods are fixed. Our discussion will focus on the 'why' and 'how' behind the systems and methods I have used and how the 'where' influences those needs and decisions.
I'm not trying to turn 'problems' into 'solutions' (gag), instead I recognize that I don't really own the land I am living, farming, and working on but that I share it with my other-than-human neighbors and instead of relying on conflict resolution tactics (which is typically fatal for rodents, pests, deer, and predators) I would rather not let conflicts arise.
This is a particularly broad ranging and often philosophical topic that frequently requires a substantial worldview shift by us.
And my answer is always a resounding, no. Simply because I approach my farm systems with the idea that the deer, elk, lions, bears, eagles, wood rats, and climate were here before I or my farm were and so I need to include their needs along with the needs of the farm, my crops, livestock, pets, and myself!
This concept is very context based (as is ALL gardening, farming, and other land-tending practices) so none of my systems or methods are fixed. Our discussion will focus on the 'why' and 'how' behind the systems and methods I have used and how the 'where' influences those needs and decisions.
I'm not trying to turn 'problems' into 'solutions' (gag), instead I recognize that I don't really own the land I am living, farming, and working on but that I share it with my other-than-human neighbors and instead of relying on conflict resolution tactics (which is typically fatal for rodents, pests, deer, and predators) I would rather not let conflicts arise.
This is a particularly broad ranging and often philosophical topic that frequently requires a substantial worldview shift by us.
- Come prepared to think deeply & broadly, decenter your own needs, and build a different relationship with the non-human world we are surrounded by and depend upon.