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Monday | September 5 | 2:45 – 4:00 PM
Instructor: Takashi Yogi
Learn essential skills for creating a “caring culture” in your farm, workplace or home. Practice basic approaches to handling conflictive situations. In this class, Takashi introduces the premises and methods of non-violent communication for all.
Monday | October 3 | 10:45 – 12:00
Instructor: Takashi Yogi
Plumbing is essential on the farm and an important skill for householders. This class introduces you to the physics and mechanics of plumbing and specific applications.
A series of four workshops with beloved teacher Takashi Yogi on Non-Violent Communication, Basic Carpentry, Plumbing for Farmers and Householders, and Basic Electricity for Farmers and Householders. Held Mondays in September and October.
Sign up for one or more of the classes in our ten-week course on climate resilient farming. Each class is $20. Dates and times are listed below.
A ten-week course in the basics of small farm agriculture with climate resilience in mind. Hear from local experts, participate in hands-on workshops, and share your experience with others.
With 8 weeks remaining, this course is still open at the discounted price above.
Saturday | August 27 | 9 AM to 12 PM
Location: Ridgewood Ranch
A woodworking workshop using suppressed growth Doug Fir poles and hand tools to produce fine rustic furniture, with master woodworker John Cunnan.
Eating & Growing Wild: “Salad University”
$35
Sat | Mar 26 | 2pm-5pm (PST)
Instructors: William Taylor and Jaye Alison Moscariello
Format: Zoom
Learn about Floodgate Farm’s creations using wild plants, learn to identify, how to use, and the health-giving properties of dozens of plants, both cultivated and wild. These can also bring additional income to new or established farms. We will show photos of what we use in the salad mix, smoothies, wild chips. We will also cover drying plants for winter use in colder climates, make a smoothie using the ones we grew in Massachusetts, and discuss how we make our wild chips and other products. There will be time for questions and discussion, and we’ll offer electronic access to handouts.
Instructors’ Bio: Bill Taylor, Farmer from 2003-present, gardener since 1972, Salad University Instructor, Pianist, Composer. Jaye Alison Moscariello, Painter, Farmer since 2009, Salad Univ. Instructor, Self-Taught Raw Foods Chef, Producer, filmmaker.
Introduction to Natural Building
$30
Sat | Mar 19 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Instructor: Amanda Fischer
Format: Zoom
Join Amanda Fischer of Muddy Hands & Healthy Home Artisans for an introductory exploration of the art of Natural Building. This class will demonstrate different natural building wall systems, including their function and application. We will discuss each material’s thermal properties and explore site- and climate-specific design. Let’s reconnect with home while supporting our health, the planet, and future generations. Come with questions for your current or future project ideas.
Herbal First Aid: Medicinal Plants of Mendocino County
$150
Fri | Mar 18 & 25 | 3 – 5 pm
Instructor: Tara Bluecloud, Clinical Herbalist
Format: Zoom
There is medicine all around us, if you know how to use it. Participants in this two-day workshop will gain valuable knowledge of the uses and applications of common local plants that can be safely administered in minor first aid for both humans and animals. We will cover the identification, preparation and application of at least five medicinal plants that are easily found throughout the region.
Medicinal Mycology: Spore to Harvest
$40
Sat | April 16 |11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Instructor: Michael Cole of Optimistic Orchard
Format: Zoom
Are you interested in cultivating medicinal mushrooms for personal use or for profit, or do you simply want to understand the process? If so, come along on a journey through each step of cultivation! We will explain how to cultivate medicinal mushrooms from spore to fruiting body, including making grain jars, inoculation, transferring from jars to bulk substrate, introducing fruiting conditions, harvesting, and avoiding contamination. We will teach you how to do all this while keeping your environmental impact in mind and will answer any questions you may have.
Bookkeeping and Taxes for Small Farms and Businesses
$25
Sat | April 2 | 10am-12pm
Instructor: Michael Foley
Format: Zoom
Every small business and start-up needs basic bookkeeping skills. Join us to learn about basic bookkeeping concepts, what you need to keep track of, how to inform your bookkeeping with taxes in mind, and tips on ways of keeping your books, including paper and pen, spreadsheets, and accounting software (NOT Quick Books or Quicken, which are unsuitable for small-scale uses). Participants will be given access to a spreadsheet designed for small farm use, and questions will be encouraged during the workshop and in follow-up communication.
Medicinal Mycology: Healing Properties
$40
Sat | Feb 26 | 11:00am-1:00pm
Instructor: Michael Cole of Optimistic Orchard
Format: Zoom
The DNA in fungi more closely resembles the DNA in the animal kingdom than it does the DNA in the plant kingdom. Mycological tinctures have many health benefits and can have positive impacts on your physical, mental, and emotional health. In this class we will learn about the benefits of medicinal mushrooms, how to prepare them, and how to do a double extraction process. We will also discuss complementary tincture ingredients, bottling, and proper storage, all while keeping environmental impact in mind.
Soil as an Essential Ecosystem
$40 ($30 w/ discount code)
Tues | Feb 22 | 1 – 3 pm
Instructor: Paul Maschka
Format: Zoom
Soil is life. In this course we will go deep into the biology and geology that makes up living soil. We will discuss how early agriculturalists and modern agriculture still do not understand the living dynamic that is soil, and why the hidden second half of nature beneath our feet is essential to our survival. We will discuss present-day viable alternative agricultural methods that perpetuate life, sequester carbon, and result in less disruption to the teeming ecosystem of living soil. The methods shared are human-scale practices with only small scale motorized equipment, if any.
Jumping the Regulatory Hurdles to Managing a Food or Farming Business
Sunday | January 29 | Noon to 3 PM
Instructor: Michael Foley
Location: TBA
Doing business requires more than just a passion for what you are doing, some capital, and an ability to market your product. This workshop deals with the licenses, permits and regulations that affect farm and food businesses
Cultural Competency in Agriculture
$45
Sat | Jan 29 | 2:00 – 4:30 pm
Instructor: Kanyon “Coyote Woman” Sayers-Roods & Anna Hope FarPorte
Format: Zoom
Join instructors Kanyon “Coyote Woman” Sayers-Roods and Anna-Hope FarPorte to deepen your awareness of what it means to be on the land growing crops. In this class we will study the history of colonialism, how historical land policy and present-day U.S. property laws impact our modern cultural awarenesses and social inequities. Participants will learn about Indigenous land care practices, how we all have ancestors Indigenous to land, the cultural origins of common crops, the importance of writing Land Acknowledgements and how to write them, and what actions can be taken to repair the injustices of the past.
Sida & Bidens Health Benefits
$30 ($20 w/ discount code)
Sat | Feb 5 | 2:00-4:30pm
Instructor: William Bruneau
Format: Zoom
Join author William Bruneau for an exploration into the health benefits of genus Sida and Bidens, considered by many herbalists to be two of the most powerful herbal antimicrobials in the world, but virtually unknown in this country. Both herbs are exceedingly easy to grow, and William will explain how he has grown these tropicals outdoors in Willits for the past eight years. Sida and Bidens have been used to treat a range of ailments from staph to Candida, and the class will explore their many uses, with questions from participants welcomed.
