Wild Willow Farm | School for Sustainable Farming | Farmshare | Field Trips | Group Trips | Map/Location

Educating, Cultivating and Empowering Sustainable Food Communities in San Diego County

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Interviews with Staff

Common Good Podcast

San Diego Roots and Wild Willow Farm founder Mel Lions talks with Lee Van Ham of Jubilee Economics about the intersection of ecology and food production, and why healthy soil is so important to both.

 

SD Roots Works to:

GROW FOOD and teach others who want to grow their own food.

EDUCATE AND TRAIN the next generation of local farmers and gardeners though classes, workshops and training in gardening homesteading, and farming skills.

PROMOTE COMMUNITY as an effective means to change to a healthier, locally based food system.

HELP PEOPLE find food grown in San Diego County.

CELEBRATE local foods and their seasonality.

PRODUCE, ENCOURAGE and PARTICIPATE in events that strengthen the local food system.

PROMOTE the protection and preservation of farmland in San Diego County

SUPPORT school gardens and entrepreneurial youth training projects related to sustainable agriculture and the culinary arts.

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Upcoming Events & Classes

Wild Weed Identification Class Series
Wild Herbal Medicines July 28
Poisonous Plants August 12
Intro to Botany & Foraging August 19
Plant Taxonomy, Properties & Cooking Sept 9

Mead and Honey July 22

Jar Series Class #3: Jamming and Canning July 29

Intro to Beekeeping (2-part class) August 4 & 11

Summertime Holistic Orchard Care August 18

Farming 101: Intro to Regenerative Farming Fall session starts Sep 29

Mead & Honey Workshop

Mead and Honey

Sunday, July 22, 10am to 1pm

Please bring your ID, this is a 21+ event!

Mead, or honey-wine, is a drink that is the fastest growing segment of the alcohol market, created from fermenting a honey-water mixture that can easily be made at home. Mead is an ancient beverage that was made throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and can come in a variety of ways by adding flavors, it can be dry, sweet, and/or sparkling.

Come join Paul Maschka, our farm school instructor and bee expert, in a journey of mead immersion from it's main ingredient, honey, to the process of fermentation. On a farm, you get a 4-D experience of seeing, tasting, hearing, and touching everything that is mead!

Experience Includes

History of mead and what it is
Beehive visit
Honey varieties and differences
Mead making demonstration
How to use various flavorings (hops, fruits, spices)
Mead and honey tastings
Paul Maschka's honey for purchase
Optional: bring appetizers to share for a mini potluck!
Preparation

We are a farm so come prepared! Please wear closed toed shoes (required) and sun protection (hats, sunscreen, long sleeves). Wear comfortable clothes. Bring a snack and refillable water bottle (we have filtered water at the farm).

For the beehive visit, we recommend tall socks, jeans, and a double layer of thin shirts (preferably baggy). You will get smoked to visit the hives, so prepared to get dirty! Please DO NOT wear perfumes or strong smelling soaps so we do not stimulate the bees unnecessarily.

Class size is limited to ensure maximum participation. Acceptance into the class is on a first paid/first served basis. Once we are sold out, we can't guarantee a place in the class. Walk-up purchases the day of class will incur an additional $5 charge, so make sure you purchase by 11:30PM the night before class! Space or class materials are not guaranteed if you have not purchased a ticket online.

Wild Weed Identification Series

Wild Weed Class #3 Wild Herbal Medicines

Saturday July 28 1pm to 4pm

Class Description

The third of four 3-hour classes builds on topics from the last 2 sessions and is also an introduction to wild medicines. We will go over simple herb preparation techniques and discuss common herbs to use. In this class, we will collect herbs for a tea mix and set them out to dry, as well as seeds if available. We will demonstrate some simple preservation techniques and resources for beginning herbalists and those new to wild herbs.

Activities

History of Herbal Medicines.
Safety, Properties, and Preparation of wild medicines.
How to prepare the body for herbal medicines.
Food as medicine.
Identify, collect, and prepare 1-3 herbs for drying, juicing, tincturing, or food.

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Wild Weed Class #4 Poisonous Plants

Sunday August 12 1pm to 4pm

The last of four 3-hour classes is an important follow-up on wild edibles and medicines covering commonly encountered poisonous plants of San Diego County and how to manage them. We explore the ecology of toxic, noxious, or invasive plants in this region, and learn how to identify them by exploring the farm. We will cover how even poisonous and invasive plants can help the environment if managed properly, discussing strategies for seeing the potential of even the lowliest weeds. We share our plant portfolios and enjoy a wild feast at the end of class.

Activities

Poisonous Plants and Fungi.
How to avoid poisoning with careful identification, identify look-alikes and what to do if poisoned.
Foraging habitats to be wary of.
Plant family descriptions.
The Call for Citizen Scientists, resources, and organizations.
Herbal tea mixes.
Herbal pesticides.
Collect and cook a wild feast!

About the Course

This is a 4-class series introduction to the wild plants that are found in San Diego County. The focus will be centered around ethnobotany of plants, identification, harvesting, consumption of, and learning key characteristics and traits. It is not mandatory to take all 4 classes, but it is highly recommended to take at least the first class.

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Wild Weed Class #1 Intro to Botany & Foraging

Sunday August 19, 10am to 1pm

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Wild Weed Class #2 Plant Taxonomy, Properties & Cooking
Sunday September 9, 10am to 1pm

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Wild Weed Class #3 Wild Herbal Medicines
Sunday September, 10am to 1pm

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Wild Weed Class #4 Poisonous Plants
Sunday October 14, 10am to 1pm

Jar Series

Class #2: Jamming & Canning

Sunday July 29, 1 to 3pm

This is class #2 and the last class of our jar class series where we are learning the dying art of preserving and canning food. In this class we're jammin' and hope you like jammin' too! Learn how to make jam using seasonal fruit and then can it for extended shelf-life using the water bath method. Canning was created because summer is a very productive season that typically produces more fruit than can be eaten and allows you to store the abundance and save it to consume at later less productive months. You will receive a jar of organic jam and directions to take home with you.

Topics covered

brief overview of preservation, jams and canning.
visiting our ingredients in the field.
how to make jam (tips on how to make a low-sugar jam set).
how to can jam using the water bath method.

Class size is limited to ensure maximum participation. Acceptance into the class is on a first paid/first served basis. Once we are sold out, we can't guarantee a place in the class. Walk-up purchases the day of class will incur an additional $5 charge, so make sure you purchase by 11:30PM the night before class! Space or class materials are not guaranteed if you have not purchased a ticket online.

Come prepared: Dress for a farm, which includes: sun hat, closed toe shoes, bring a refillable water bottle (can refill at the farm), sunscreen, and comfortable clothes.

Farming 101

Farming 101
Introduction to Small-scale Regenerative Farming

Seven-week Course, two days/week
Field Labs, Saturdays 9am to 4pm at Wild Willow Farm
6 Lectures, Wednesdays 6pm to 8pm in central San Diego

Wild Willow Farm's Farming 101: Introduction to Small-scale Regenerative Farming course offers students an introduction to techniques and strategies for small farming or agricultural advocacy, or to simply grow more of their own food.

Fall Session

Sep 29 to Nov

Complete Six-Topic Package
($700 + early enrollment discount).

Click for More Information

Introduction to Beekeeping

Two-part

Introduction to Beekeeping

Open to all levels of students.*

Focused on natural beekeeping methods.

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Beginning Beekeeping

Saturday, August 4, 9am to 4pm

Introduction to bee behavior and care.

Intermediate Beekeeping*

Saturday, August 11, 9am to 4pm

Includes interactive beehive visit to learn how to interact around a hive, harvest honey and honeycomb.
* To attend Intermediate class, you must attend the beginners class or have equivalent experience.

Cost: $60/class or $100/both (General Public)
Discounts available for farm school alumni or Farmers Guild member

What's all the buzz with bees?

Please join us at Wild Willow for a fun and informative course about keeping bees. If you have ever dreamt of getting to know honeybees a little better this is your chance. Get some hands-on experience with our resident bees and beekeeper. We'll discuss honeybee society, types of hives, hive parts, hive tools used, and beehive etiquette (do's and don'ts).

We will be doing a number of tasks that are common when caring for bees, such as

Observing bee behaviors
Looking inside hives to see the activities
Assessing the needs of the bees
Look for signs of pests
Indications to honey production
Attitudes of bees

Class size is limited to ensure maximum participation. Acceptance into the class is on a first paid/first served basis. Once we are sold out, we can't guarantee a place in the class. Walk-up purchases the day of class will incur an additional $5 charge, so make sure you purchase by 11:30PM the night before class! Space or class materials are not guaranteed if you have not purchased a ticket online.

Holistic Orchard Care

Summertime Holistic Orchard Care

Saturday, August 18, 9am to 4pm

This class introduces students to fruit tree care for backyard fruit trees or a small-scale orchard. This 1-day class will cover hands-on pruning and training methods and basic care. The emphasis is on organic production methods and is intended for students interested in organic agricultural production, edible landscaping, agroecological education and sustainable plant husbandry. 

Topics covered

Hands-on pruning and training practice and tree anatomy observation
Pest management
Irrigation needs
Soil and nutrients management

Walk-up purchases the day of class will be an additional $10 so make sure you purchase by 11:30PM the night before class! Space is not guaranteed if you have not purchased a ticket online.

Class size is limited to ensure maximum participation. Acceptance into the class is on a first paid/first served basis. Once we are sold out, we can't guarantee a place in the class. Walk-up purchases the day of class will incur an additional $5 charge, so make sure you purchase by 11:30PM the night before class! Space or class materials are not guaranteed if you have not purchased a ticket online.