Classes @ the Farm
Classes can be booked directly with the instructor. If you would like to have the class at the farm, the instructor will coordinate with us on scheduling of you class.
Classes with either Sarah or Sylvain as your instructor can be made through this website - just find our contact at the bottom of the page or under the menu tab 'Classes & Events'
*Classes held at Talking Tree Farm are non-refundable but may be transferable to another person. Participant is responsible for finding a replacement attendee. Class seats may NOT be transferred to a future class date. If classes are canceled, ticket fee will be refunded.
Choose from these classes:
Please contact your instructor for availability & scheduling.
Farm Tour
- Sarah or Sylvain Clavieres
This is a walk about around our 4 acre farm and a Q&A time. We recommend a tour for groups coming to the farm for the first time. It’s an opportunity to see all the systems at play contributing to a regenerative approach to farming.
Chicken Butchering Class
- Joshua Schwencke
A step-by-step course in bringing poultry to the dinner table. This immersive class walks participants through the slaughtering, butchering, & brining of chickens.
Composting - 1.5 hours
- A Compost Queen
In this class, learn the steps to composting at home. What system is best for your household, what should go in the compost, & how to maintain it until its ready to use. Most importantly, we will discuss why everyone should do it!
Soil Life
- A Compost Queen
Learn about what is happening right under your feet. How to feed and take care of your soil, what it does for us in return, and why it's so important for our garden & planet!
Beekeeping
- Cecile Bee
Learn all about bees & beekeeping. Understand the respect and seasonal maintenance given to our favorite little workers in the garden so that they thrive.
Seed-Saving Class
- Sarah or Sylvain Clavieres
Come discover the impact seed saving can make! See for yourself how to save seeds from an array of vegetables. Learn the differences between GMO & heirloom, & about selective breeding with open pollinated heirloom seeds. Get an understanding of when & how to harvest seed, & how to properly store them.
Garden Pest Control
- Sylvain Clavieres
Learn natures secrets of keeping those pests away that destroy your garden! Discover and recognize the difference between a pest & a beneficial insect. Add to your toolbox natural approaches to handling pest pressure & leave with a new perspective of how a balanced ecosystem works.
Worm Farming
- Sylvain or Sarah Clavieres
You might consider keeping worms for pets after learning how amazing they are! These composters & soil builders are very cool & can be your solution to food waste in your household. Come learn the biology of a worm & learn all about the benefits you get from vermi-composting.
Food Forest
- Sylvain or Sarah Clavieres
Learn how to create a food forest from plants & trees that do well in our area & that always serve more than one purpose! It's an edible landscape that is a low-maintenance / dense / balanced ecosystem, full of perineal, self-seeding, fruit trees, & life! Feed yourself while nature does the work for you.
Pickling, Canning, & Preserves - 1.5 hours
- Joshua Schwencke
Capturing the season is made easy with a course centered around the preservation techniques from years ago. This course will walk participants through safely preserving and pickling there home-grown harvest. All attending are requested to bring a mason jar no smaller than one quart.
Working in the Garden
- Brandon Cawthon
Help a farmer with tasks around the farm. Get your hands dirty while being supervised and given instruction. Get a feel of how much work it takes to get food onto your plate 3x a day.
Growing Your Food
- Sarah or Sylvain Clavieres
A complete explanation of a circular garden & a sustainable food system & the resources needed to start growing your own food at home in a way the planet approves.
Family Herbal Medicine
- Lynn Stafford
Learn what medicinal herbs grow well in our climate, their properties, and best ways to implement them into you & your family's life. This class includes making something as a family with the herbalist for you to take home.
Permaculture Design
- Sylvain Clavieres
A step-by-step instruction on how to transform your personal property or backyard into a productive and beautiful oasis using permaculture principles. You will need to bring satellite images and measurements of your land with you for an immersive consultation and design class.
Mosaic Garden Art
- Betsy Gruy
Transform a rock into a work of art. You will learn how to design and tile your mosaic piece & be able to take home your creation with the necessary grout kit to finish at home once glue is dried. At the end of this class, leave with the knowledge to mosaic anything!
Girls Only BBQ
- Joshua Schwencke
Take your survival skills to the next level by learning what firewood to use, & how to prepare a meal over an open flame in an outdoor setting.
Propagating
- Sylvain Clavieres
Learn how to turn one or two plants into 50! Using methods like separating, cuttings, & air layering, you can expand your garden or food forest quickly and on a budget! Find out what plants in our area are easier to propagate than others and the best methods to use.
Sourdough Starter & Campfire Garden Pita
- Joshua Schwencke
We ask that each participant bring an empty mason jar to take their starter home in.
Harvesting Hand Salads & Making Salad Dressing
- Joshua Schwencke
From the field to your hand, this course walks participants through the farm to discover a unique preparation of salads. Learn to make farm style mason jar vinaigrettes.
Cheese Making
-Dorothy Herbst
Cheese making made easy with this hands-on, easy to follow course. Cheese makers will make a farmhouse mozzarella and learn about cheese aging and preservation.
