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Events and Happenings at Wild Willow Farm

FOOD and FARMING CLASSES Weekly Basic Classes every Saturday
FARM SCHOOL Farming 101: Introduction to Farming Spring Session begins March 28

FARMSHARE CSA Now enrolling members
NOW ON SALE San Diego Garden-to-Table Almanac gardening tips for San Diego gardeners

VOLUNTEERING: Every Saturday 11am to 4pm
OPEN HOUSE/POTLUCK: Our signature community events resume in March 21!

Community Event: Open House-Potluck

Open House/Potluck

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Volunteering, Yoga, Native Plant Tour, Farm Tour,
Potluck, Live Music, Wood-fired Pizza, Bonfire and more.

at Wild Willow Farm

click here for a map (we recommend you use our map)

Free.
(donations in support of our programs are appreciated)

Check out photos from the May 2014 potluck,
taken by our friend Gregory Berg!

Schedule for the Day

Our farm is all about community, so what better way to say that than by hosting a monthly community gathering? On third Saturdays each month from March through November, we host volunteer opportunities, tours, a grand potluck meal, and bonfire.

Please Bring

Something yummy to share (extra points for something homemade using organic, locally grown ingredients). Please label your dish and ingredients (share your recipes!).

Your own plate, cup and eating utensils help us keep this a zero-waste event.
Please pack out your recylables and trash.

Jacket and warm clothing. It gets surprisingly cold here at night.

We welcome everyone, but please leave your pets at home.

Children: You may bring kids of any age you feel suitable to be around a farm, including contact with dirt, bugs, thistles and burrs, farm animals, tools, and nature. Children must remain under your direct supervision or awareness at all times. Please no unacompanied children. Wild Willow Farm does not offer childcare services and the farm is not a playground.

About our potlucks: volunteering, free mini-workshops, farm tour, potluck, bonfire, drumming. Farming is all about food. And food is best when shared with community. At our potlucks Wild Willow gives thanks to our amazing community of students, volunteers, educators, fans and eaters of every stripe. Familiar faces and new smiles are always welcome to these joyous gatherings that include educational workshops, volunteer activities, farm tour, potluck dinner, and drum circle around our cob firepit. See photos from our May 2014 potluck taken by Gregory Berg.

Scheduled 2015 Open House/Potlucks (weather permitting)

March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17.

Join the Wild Willow Farmshare CSA

We invite you to join us as we plant seeds for a healthy and delicious shared future.

Now enrolling for Full and Half Shares

Pickups in Imperial Beach, Chula Vista,
Mission Hills and Talmadge

Click here for more info or to join.

You are invited to become a Wild Willow Farm Shareholder -- our version of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Each weekly or bi-weekly Share includes a seasonal selection of farm-fresh vegetables with occasional fruits, cut flowers, and herbs -- the equivalent of about one grocery bag full of just-harvested produce. Contents of your Share will vary based on seasons and production cycles, but we aim for consistent volume.

Full Share: every week for 12 weeks = $240
Half Share: every other week for 12 weeks = $120

Both Full and Half Shares are $20/each/week, and are the same size. You may join any time shares are available.

Pickup Locations: Imperial Beach, Mission Hills, Chula Vista, Talmadge
Pickups are all on Wednesday afternoons/evenings.

Click here for more info or to join.

New Drop sites sought!

You can apply to become a FarmShare drop site with five or more weekly subscriptions (locations south of Interstate 8 and west of Interstate 15 preferred). To find out more, contact Dorothea at

San Diego Garden-to-Table Almanac 2015

San Diego Garden-to-Table Almanac 2015

NOW ON SALE

Daily guide to growing food organically in San Diego

Written and produced by San Diego Gardeners for San Diego Gardeners

Handy guide for everyone who grows food in San Diego

The Garden-to-Table Almanac is sold exclusively at local businesses, because we believe strengthening the local economy helps us all. When we all do better, we all do better.

Find a retailer in your neighborhood.

Click here for wholesale information.

Unlike all other almanacs out there that tell us how to grow food where it snows, The San Diego Garden-to-Table Almanac 2015 is chock-full of organic gardening tips just for the San Diego and Southern California urban gardener.

Assembled by the garden-savvy SD Roots, Wild Willow Farmers and the Victory Gardens San Diego teams, you'll find useful information for every season -- which in San Diego means just two: warm season and cool season (with a smidgen in between).

Click here to learn more.

Volunteer at Wild Willow Farm

Open Volunteering at Wild Willow Farm
every Saturday, 11am to 4pm (rain cancels)

No experience necessary. No reservations required.
Volunteer for all or a portion of the hours listed.

Come to the farm and participate in your food system as we grow Wild Willow Farm. Often the best way to learn is by doing, and you'll get a taste of the myriad things a farmer does while preparing and growing San Diego seasonal plantings of vegetables, greens, medicinal and culinary herbs and cover crops.

On-farm chores vary widely week to week and depend entirely on what's happening at the farm that day. Usual activities include composting (hands-on learning every week), watering, bed prep, weeding, mulching, animal care, planting and tending a huge range of plants and more.

No reservations are required. We've got the gloves, tools and tasks, just come prepared for sunshine and dirt (sun hat, appropriate clothing, sturdy closed-toe shoes) and please bring a lunch. We have plenty of drinking water, but having your own water bottle makes it easier for you.

Children: You may bring kids of any age you feel suitable to be around a farm, including contact with dirt, bugs, thistles and burrs, farm animals, tools, and nature. Rest assured we do not use any harmful chemicals on the soil or food we grow. Children must remain under your direct supervision or awareness at all times; we'll do our best to find appropriate activities for your family. Please no unacompanied children unless by prior arrangement, such as for school service hours. Wild Willow Farm does not offer childcare services and the farm is not a playground.

We welcome people of all ages and abilities, but please leave your pets at home.

Farm School Farming 101: Introduction to Farming

Farming 101:
Introduction to Farming

Revised format: now quicker and more affordable.

Five-week Course

CLASSES at University of San Diego (Linda Vista)
Wednesdays, 7pm-9pm
FIELD LABS at Wild Willow Farm
Saturdays, 9am-4pm

Cost: $400 + $25 registration fee (includes required textbook)

Wild Willow Farm's Farming 101: Introduction to 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.

2015 Farming 101 Course Dates

Apply for Farming 101 Now

The course consists of lectures and field labs where students learn what it takes to begin and operate a small organic farm business. This course is a prerequisite to becoming a Tier 1 Farming Student.

Farming 101 Class Schedule

Click here to see course guidelines and syllabus

Mandatory Orientation

Saturday, March 28 9am-noon (includes farm lunch)
Topic: Welcome, History of WWF, Farm Tour, Staff & Student Introductions; Introductory lecture: In the Spirit of Organics.
Film Symphony of the Soil after lunch (optional).

Week 1

Wednesday Class: It Starts with the Soil
Saturday Lab: Making & using compost, mulching, sheet composting, cover cropping.

Week 2

Wednesday Class: Growing Fertile Soil
Saturday Lab: Farm tools -- proper use and care; Evaluating soil texture and moisture; Bed preparation; Mechanical and manual tillage; Compost tea and extract.

Week 3

Wednesday Class: Seasonal Planting Techniques
Saturday Lab: Direct Sowing and Transplanting; Starting seeds; Planting practice.

Week 4

Wednesday Class: How Water Moves through the Soil
Saturday Lab: Irrigation practice and watering your farm under the southern sun.

Week 5

Wednesday Class: Pests, Pathogens & Attracting Beneficial Insects
Saturday Lab: Identifying pests, pathogens and beneficials, harvesting practice, cooking.
Graduation Potluck!

Apply Now

Ongoing Farm School Programs

Continue your farming education in our year-round School for Sustainable Farming program, with weekly classes, hands-on mentoring and additional enrollment benefits. Click here for more information