Workshops and Workstays

Workshops

Daytime 2021 Upcoming Workshops and Workbees

Some workshops are flexible in time and topic, so let us know your interests in advance so we can make it work. We offer numerous workshops and workbees in the 2 hour range ~$20. These are often seasonal or often cater to the requests of overnight guests and the nearby community. Others can be booked with short notice as they are recurring re-skilling workshops lend toward a more informal and workbee-style mutual exchange.

April-May multiple dates TBD Mushroom log inoculation workbees. Learn about and help inoculate logs with shiitake and oyster spawn. Take your own log home as a thank you and to experience raising one for yourself.

TBD Come on a plant tasting tour of two permaculture farms in Grey County growing unique crops: Fiddlehead Nursery, near Kimberley, and Eden In Season, near Meaford, for a taste of some of the best edible perennials you can grow in this area. Starts at Fiddlehead Nursery at 1pm, then proceeds to Eden in Season at 3pm. $30. Please RSVP, and also enquire about carpooling if you need a ride.

throughout the season We accommodate a number of guest stay requests and host impromptu workshops over the year. Let us know in advance so we can include you.

Short-term guests

Short-Term Work Exchanges (WWOOF, HelpX)

Work exchanges happen constantly at the farm informally with locals and friends. These are typically free-of-charge re-skilling type events which can be such things as garden help, food fermenting/processing, woodlot management, construction, meditation, etc.

We welcome interested overnight visitors who want to immerse themselves in our community and country life. Guests participate in workbees, learn about homesteading one-on-one, join us in social events, and experience community living. We are listed on a number of work exchange directories that enable visitors a personal experience into various aspects of permaculture. Short-term guests generally contribute 4-5 hours/day in exchange for room and board. For better or worse, all guests will be subjected to a live performance of the spoken word poem In Compost We Trust.

Priorities for 2021 (besides home construction) include:

• spring: pruning, inoculating mushroom logs, grafting
• summer: berry harvesting
• autumn: fruit harvesting

As the Garden of Eating is in its infancy, we are outfitted with a trailer or pitch-your-own-accommodations and outdoor facilities. We have utilities and wifi, well water, and a small pond. We often go to neighbouring ecological farms and community projects to provide a greater diversity of gardening experiences. As a member of our community, we often collectively prep meals and go on outings together.

Some of our area's amenities include:

• hiking the Bruce Trail
• gorgeous views atop the Irish Mountain Lookout
• caving
• kayaking
• swimming
• 5 minute drive to Meaford
• 25 minute drive to Owen Sound

Longer-term interns

Long-Term Internship and Micro-Enterprises (FarmLINK, community resilience)

As we transition toward a diversified farm, our interdependence with the surrounding community grows. We seek new ways of affirming trust, sharing our bounty, and developing a common interest in a philosophy and land base we are committed to. You may have time, skills, resources, or a complementary business beneficial to everyone's success. There is considerably more freedom for you to carve out your path; this is your invitation to participate.

Below is a list of some areas of focus you can intensify your learning on as well as ideas to initiate your new project:

• Food: fermenting (kraut, bread, dosa, kombucha, kefir, koji, vinegar), composting, medicinal teas and tinctures, wild edibles, cooking, preserving and freezing
• Woodlot: mushrooms, tree trimming, wood hauling, coppice, livestock, silvopasture
• Construction: house, sunroom, mechanical systems, natural building, aquaponics
• Annuals: sunroom starts, transplants, sheet mulching, fertility (bokashi, compost tea)
• Forest gardening: observation, herbs, tree maintenance, disease