seeding, grafting, pruning, terracing, planting, OH MY!
ALL WORKSHOPS ARE FREE! This is how we operate:
a food forest guild helps you design a project/workshop
you (steward/landowner) acquire trees and materials (the guild can facilitate)
whoever shows up at the workshop does the work
you (the host) provide water & snacks/meals
no one is tracking who shows up… come when it’s in your flow
we have fun sharing, learning, and developing long-term relationships with trees, plants, and even with each other!
Dryland Permaculture Workshop @ VETERANS OFF GRID
Annual spring orchard day at VOG! We’ll be planting drought tolerant trees, shrubs, and perennials. We’ll build on successes, learn from failures in super tough conditions, and do some landscaping to capture every drop of rain from this landscape.
Permaculture Planting for Schools - TISA
We planted two apple trees and two locusts at Taos Integrated School of the Arts last year. They need more to create shade, lower temps, and yield for kids to learn about ecosystems! We’ll prep this soil and plant a Taos Apricot, a pear, a honey locust, as well as landscape a crabapple basin that sheds water onto the walkways. Let’s SLOW, SPREAD, and SOAK water toward those roots!
Windbreak Tree Planting Workshop - POTLUCK DINNER!
Pay it forward to the founder who is starting an orchard (almost) from scratch! Some fruit trees are already here, but the abandoned farm land in the Cañon neighborhood needs serious windbreak love. We’ll prep soil and plant many support species: Black Locust, Honey Locust, Hawthorne, Korean Maple, Tartarian Maple, and Lacebark Elm, OH MY! We’ll end with a potluck dinner and dancing. Woo-hoo!
TAOS LAND TRUST - Food Forest Workshop
Join us to plant more fruit and support trees. TLT has an agricultural well so these will be well cared for this summer. We’ll also discuss how to run a MONTHLY FOOD FOREST CLUB to give this amazing site the regular care it needs.
Tree Pruning Workshop
Anastasia has 5-10 year-old plum trees that are overgrown and haven’t been pruned for many years. Last year we tackled one big tree by both pruning and training (tying branches downward) and we’ll observe the results. Then, we’ll practice on another couple of trees and give them some of the same or even better love!
Tree Grafting Club & Workshop
Grafting Season! We have hundreds of apple scions and rootstock coming. Learn the details and practice, practice, practice. We’ll geek out on details as we all get better at this nuanced skill.
Pruning Workshop
We learned the reasons WHY to prune/train fruit trees and HOW. Training trees is pulling branches down with ropes and weights while pruning is actually making cuts.
Dryland Orchard Protection Workshop - CARSON, NM
At Veterans Off Grid where conditions are harsh (dry/windy), we’ll employ a series of strategies: Using pallet windbreaks, rocks as mulch to lower temperatures, biochar to improve moisture retention and microbe habitats, landscaping to direct surface water, tough cover crops, shrubs, and trees. :-)
LAZY RIVER Irrigation Mapping & Installation Workshop IN LAMA
Emily only gets acequia water 1 hr each week so we're gonna set it up to make maximum use of her water near the building site for a food forest! We'll practice 3 different methods of measuring elevation contours and mapping a lazy river to both irrigate and mimic a swale to trap water from big rain events.
In the map below, La Lama Road in the lower left connects to the highway from Taos. The grey/white pin in the lower right is Emily’s place. :-)
Winter Prep, Plant, & Tree-Training workshop at TAOS LAND TRUST
We'll plant some more trees, more comfrey, add mulch, and train trees for winter hardening. PIZZA provided!
LAZY RIVER Irrigation Mapping & Installation Workshop
We'll practice 3 different methods of measuring elevation contours and mapping a lazy river to both irrigate and mimic a swale to trap water from big rain events.
TISA School Orchard & Greenhouse Workshop
We will plant about 5 trees (yield and support), prepping soil with mulch, and sculpting berms to collect roof catchment water… because they pay for all their city water! TISA has a nearly blank canvas to create more shade, drop temperatures, save on air conditioning, and create rich green-learning environments for elementary and middle-school kids.
Food Forest Planting Workshop at Questa Farmers Market
A small lot has been mapped and flagged. We will add 6-9 new support and fruit trees and create pathways & irrigation venitas.
Permaculture Site Planning
Come to a private home which is (nearly) a blank slate for permaculture design. In one of the driest watersheds east of Paseo, you’ll get some intro instruction, template maps of the site, and break into teams to scheme-and-dream of what’s possible to grow and build here. We’ll report out and learn from each other. BRING YOUR SITE MAPS for an afternoon of applying what you’ve learned to design your own permaculture dream!
EARLYBIRD TOURS Saturday afternoon of two orchards, one mature food forest, one in transition from traditional to Food Forest with new trees, perennials, and irrigation added. See details in previous event. :-)
Early bird FOOD FOREST TOURS for Site Planning Event: All welcome!
Meet at Harmony Farm to view orchards and gardens in transition to permaculture and then shift to 78 Torres Rd in Ranchos for tour of a mature Food Forest. Live and breathe actual permaculture for 4 hours, OH MY! :-)
Roots & Wings Community School - Terracing & Planting Workshop
3 existing fruit trees will be bermed, and 3 new trees will be terraced and planted. This site only has roof catchment and paid city water, so preserving every drop is key!
Botany Workshop
Happy Spring! Learn the basics of plant identification, nutrition, and ecology with a permaculture twist. Once you learn some patterns, you can learn to read the landscape and hear the (open) secrets of the plants!
Planting & Landscaping Workshop at a School! DATE CHANGED
DATE HAS BEEN MOVED UP ONE WEEK!
TISA is a K-8 school with huge potential for campus beautification and integrating natural spaces with curriculum. Join us for planting, landscaping for moisture retention, and perennials planting. Good times for KIDS!
Food Forest Tour & Intro to Permaculture
See a mature food forest in its 12th summer. Fruitlets, perennials, edible walking onions, irrigation, landscaping, flowers, OH MY!
Planting Workshop at Family Farm
Planting workshop in Lyden, NM, Saturday April 27, 10AM - 4PM, Lunch provided, Lots more trees going in to revitalize this family farm!
Food Forest Workshop @ Taos Land Trust
This huge (1/3 acre) food forest will get new trees, more perennials, pruning/training, seed collection, OH MY! Snacks provided.
Planting and Permaculture Workshop
We planted several trees at a glorious shaded site at NFO two falls ago. Trees are doing well. Time to add more and juice the system with perennials!
Sheet Mulch Soil Improvement Workshop
One of the funkiest high’n’dry-but-surviving situations I’ve seen in Taos. These twin pear trees are producing, but not growing either. Let’s help them thrive!
Drylands Workshop @ Veterans Off Grid
We’ll focus on planting perennials and shrubs to support trees and add windbreaks. LUNCH provided! Go to the Contact page at veteransoffgrid.org for a MAP.
Food Forest Planting Day
We’ll prep/terrace basins for new trees and plant perennials to support existing trees. Soil will be pre-tilled. BRING water bottle/notebook. SNACKS provided!
Tree pruning & Training Workshop
We’ll review the principles of tree pruning and training for maximizing self-shading and yield. Handouts available. Many opportunities within our network to practice. BRING your favorite pruners if you have them though none are required.
Winter Germination w/ Native Plant Society
We’ll focus on details of germinating seeds of perennials, shrubs, & some annuals, seed cleaning requirements, potting mixes, etc. BRING favorite seeds, some 1 gallon milk jugs if you have them, and/or potting soil.
