Looking to participate in hands-on farm training? Join this monthly workshop series! Gain skills more easily learned in person and by doing. Workshops cover topics like soil health, irrigation set up, & weed management, among others. All sessions occur at Ignatius Farm in Guelph, on weekday evenings from 4-6pm.

Register for the full series, or sign up for individual sessions here.

5 hands on workshops, 1 per month from May-September:

May 20th: Soil Health

Soil is more than just the dirt beneath our feet. Healthy soil filters water, can be a carbon sink, and grows healthy plants. Come walk and observe the land, and participate in some easy do-it-yourself soil tests. Be prepared to get your hands dirty! Facilitated by Lisa Conroy, Ignatius Farm Educator.

June 18th: Irrigation Set Up

There are many ways to water vegetables, but deciding what is right for you and how to set it up can be confusing. Ignatius Farm’s Assistant Farm Manager Don Bowyer will walk the group through a few types of irrigation, how to set up a well-thought out system, as well as tips and tricks for problem solving.

July 8th: Small Scale Weed Management

Weeds can be the bane of the gardener’s existence. This workshop will explore techniques and tools for good weed management practices on a hand farming scale. Be prepared to get dirty and try out various weeding tools. Facilitated by Lisa Conroy, Ignatius Farm Educator.

August 12th: Summer Orchard Pruning

Did you know that summer is an excellent time to prune your fruit trees? Besides the general reasons to prune for height, structure, and airflow, summer pruning is excellent for ensuring enough direct sunlight reaches fruit, and decreases potential disease pressure. This hands-on workshop will teach you how to decide what to cut and when as well as pruning best practices. Facilitated by Matt Soltys, the Urban Orchardist.

September 17th: Seed Saving

Saving seeds is an easy way to increase food sovereignty and to connect to the plants we grow. This hands-on workshop will cover the basics of seed saving, plus harvesting and cleaning some seeds as a group. Participants are encouraged to bring seeds they have grown to swap, or seeds that need to be cleaned. Facilitated by Lisa Conroy, Ignatius Farm Educator.

This New Farmer Training series is run by Ignatius Farm in partnership with EFAO.