Grow Your Groceries
Classes and Courses for the Urban Farmer
Soil Born Farms’ Grow Your Groceries program is a beginning farmer and gardener training program designed to provide knowledge and hands-on experience to the aspiring urban grower. Our instructors are experienced masters of organic agriculture and horticulture and experts in farm entrepreneurship. We offer single day classes in diverse subjects such as: preparing spring, summer, fall and winter gardens; building soil fertility; garden design and seasonality; irrigation and water management; natural pest management; composting; fruit tree care; seed saving; beekeeping; foraging wild edibles and more.
Intensive long-form courses include Beginning and Intermediate Home Gardening. Designed for those interested in growing an ample amount of fruits and vegetables in a home, school, or community garden, this course provides in-depth training on concepts and best practices in sustainable annual and perennial fruit and vegetable production.
| Event | Venue | Date | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Worm Composting Workshop | American River Ranch |
| Vermicomposting, the science of composting with worms, is an effective and easy way to put nutrients back into the soil and reduce waste in landfills. In this free class, we’ll discuss the basics of how to start and maintain a thriving vermiculture bin. You will learn which foods, types of bins and temperatures that provide an optimum environment for your worms as well as how to use your vermicompost in your containers, gardens, yards, or community green spaces. Participants who are Rancho Cordova residents will receive a free composting bin (one per family) after showing proof of residency. All participants will be entered into a raffle to win prizes. |
Register |
| Spring Gardening Clinic | American River Ranch |
| Free classes, talks and tours. Learn how to grow vibrant, tasty, and healthy plants from Soil Born Farm’s knowledgeable staff and community educators. This is a rain or shine event. Registration will occur at the event ONLY and be on a first-come, first-served basis. |
Register |
| Experience the Secret Life of Bees | American River Ranch |
| Experience the secret life of honey bees at American River Ranch. You will learn how bees are vital to our environment and how they live together and function. After talking about how bees and pollination help the farm, you will put on a beekeeping suit and see the bees up close and personal inside the hive. You will see worker bees doing their jobs, how honey is made, the famous waggle dance and maybe even spot the queen bee. Then you’ll enjoy a sample of honey made by the bees you just visited. Suggested ages 8 years and older. All participants must wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and socks that cover their ankles. Avoid wearing any heavily scented skin or hair products. |
Register |
| Beginning Home Gardener Course: Spring 2020 | American River Ranch |
| Designed for beginning gardeners, the Grow Your Groceries Beginning Home Gardener Course will cover the essential topics to help the new gardener create and maintain a thriving, abundant edible organic garden. Combining indoor presentations with interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities, this course will give you the knowledge and confidence to get out and grow food for you and your family. Course topics include garden design and seasonality, building healthy soil, garden preparation and planting, water and irrigation, garden ecology and pest control and growing herbs and perennials. |
Register |
| Growing Medicinal and Culinary Herbs | American River Ranch |
| Herbs in the home garden can add flavor to your meals, home remedies to your medicine cabinet, and beauty, diversity and beneficial insect habitat to your landscape. This hands-on class offers instructions for growing an array of herbs, and tips for harvesting and using what you grow. |
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| Permaculture Design Principles | American River Ranch |
| Permaculture uses nature’s design to grow food, fuel, fiber and medicine for our needs while also enhancing the land at the same time. You will get a crash course on how and why permaculture works, and then learn how to establish a food forest garden that is the best physical manifestation of nature. This class is lecture and hands-on. |
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| Introduction to Urban Backyard Beekeeping | American River Ranch |
| Are you planning to start your first backyard beehive this spring? Or are you just curious about urban beekeeping? Do you consider yourself a beginner beekeeper and want to learn new strategies or brush up on your beekeeping skills? This workshop will cover the basics for a successful start to backyard beekeeping. |
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Attending the Grow Your Groceries course helped jump-start my farm career. I have always dreamed of starting a flower farm and, after just 2 or 3 classes, I was selling my flowers wholesale to a local florist. ~ Amber Gardner, Amberchella Flowers
