Monthly Farm Tours, May-Sept

Tour Dates in 2024 – Click on the date you want to reserve your spot! (payment can be taken online or at the event)
-July 13, 1-3pm, Saturday
-August 11, 1-3pm, Sunday
-September 14, 1-3pm, Saturday

Tour Cost: $10-20 (sliding scale) per person, kids FREE
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

We host tours on our farm during the growing season. Come see what cool things we have going on!

• Budding Food Forest
• Perennial Food & Medicine Crops
• Mud Oven
• Beautiful Polyculture Gardens
• Mobile Chicken Houses
• Mound Beds
• Natural Buildings made of straw and mud
• And more! 

Need a different date? Book a private tour on your own schedule – more info here

Growing Fruits & Nuts At Home Class – NOTE TIME CHANGE

July 14, 2024
Sunday, 10am-12noon (Note: was 1-3pm)
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Class Fee: $10-30 (sliding scale)
Register Here (payment can be taken online or at the event)

Growing your own fruit and nuts can be empowering and tasty. In this 2 hr class we will cover specific site and soil preferences for over a dozen different types of fruits and nuts that grow at Red Beet Row food forest. We will cover a number of topics concerning fertilizing, pollination, pest and disease control and food storage with special recommendations for organic culture. We will sample as many ripe fruits as we can find on the day of the class.

(We will reschedule w/registrants if weather is bad. Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather. )

Acorn Processing Class

October 12, 2024
Saturday, 1-3pm
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Class Fee: $10-30 (sliding scale)
Register Here (payment can be taken online or at the event)

Join us at the end of the growing season when the harvest is plenty! We’ll walk you through our woods and farm scape. Learn how to ID oak trees, harvest different types of acorns, and process acorns for food. John will have tasty treats on-hand made from acorn flour.

(We will reschedule w/registrants if weather is bad. Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather. )

Perennial Vegetables Class

Growing vegetables that come back year after year can be easy! Perennial vegetables are available much earlier in the year than most garden veggies and often more nutrient dense. We’ll cover starting plants from seeds and root divisions, where and how to plant, fertilizing and weed control as well as culinary aspects of food preservation and storage. After we talk about growing the plants we will tour our gardens to sample some of our favorite vegetables. Participants will take home perennial vegetable plants!

Home Repair Class: Patching Holes & Cracks in Drywall & Plaster

Being rescheduled from March 29, 2024 and April 13, 2024 to new dates coming soon.

Repairing walls and ceilings is a low-cost fix you can do yourself, with some practice. In this hands-on class, we’ll use models of walls for you to try your hand at repairing cracks and holes in drywall and plaster. Learn what tools you need and how to use them. Learn what products to buy and which to avoid. Taught by Stephanie Blessing, who has been plastering walls for 5 years.

Free Farm Tour & Spring Plant Sale!

Tours: 10am & 3pm
Plant Sale: 9:30am-4:30pm
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Register Here, not required but helpful (Cash donations appreciated at the farm)

Come for a FREE farm tour of Red Beet Row, stay for the plant sale! Tours will be given at 10am and at 3pm.

Join us for our first major on-farm event of the year as we welcome visitors to come check us out! See what cools things we have going on!

• Budding Food Forest
• Perennial Food & Medicine Crops
• Mud Oven
• Beautiful Polyculture Gardens
• Mobile Chicken Houses
• Mound Beds
• Natural Buildings made of straw and mud
• And more! 

Our awesome unique food and medicine plants will be available for purchase. We’ll have for sale started plants of:

• Perennial Vegetables
• Culinary & Medicinal Herbs
• Natives
• Heirlooms
• Tomatoes & Peppers
• Low Maintenance & Well-Adapted
• And more!

(We will reschedule w/registrants if weather is bad. Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather. )

Bringing Natural Predators into the Vegetable Garden

Our gardens don’t have to be overrun by pests. We’ll talk about specific pest and predator interactions here in northeast Ohio and how we can create a garden space that invites predators and deters pests. 
Free Class! Please donate seeds to your local Seed Library

Homesteading 101

Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Discussion about tips, tools, and references for starting your permaculture inspired homestead. We’ll cover orchards, gardens, livestock, earthworks and more! All the basics on where to put things on your land and how to start building your dreams with references based on northeast Ohio resources.

Workshop breakdown: One hour of classroom, one hour of touring Red Beet Row and looking at the homesteading systems, one hour of designing your own homestead.

Click here to Register (pay options include: cash, check, card, venmo, zelle)

Dress to be outside (mostly in the sun) the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

The At-Home Perennial Nursery

Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Plants for free, or almost! In this class we will go over everything it takes to set up your own homestead nursery for woody plants and perennials. Learn to propagate plants you find in the wild, plants from friends, as well as rare and endemic plants in your region.  We will cover all things “seeds,” including how to get the trickiest seeds to germinate and grow. We will also show how to grow certain plants from cuttings and division with specific details on timing and ideal conditions.

Class breakdown: One hour of classroom time understanding how native and perennial plants are propagated, one hour of touring our nursery and gardens with specific information on propagation and seedling management, and one hour of potting up seedlings, cold-stratification of gathered seed, and digging up of roots for propagation. All class participants will go home with plants.

Click here to Register (pay options include: cash, check, card, venmo, zelle)

Dress to be outside (mostly in the sun) the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

Hands-On Ceramic Tile

Class Fee: Sliding Scale $15-35, you will take home your tiled project
Limit: 15 people (Registration required by )
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

In this hands-on class, learn to lay ceramic tile for a backsplash, bathroom, patio, or art project! We will be using store-bought materials for this one (no mud or straw). Students will practice making a design, applying thinset tile mortar, cutting tile using both manual and power tools, laying tile, and grouting. You will take your finished project home with you. We will also look at examples of ceramic tile that were adhered and grouted using clay mud harvested from our soil and sand, rather than store-bought products. It’s an action-packed class! In a beautiful farm setting!

Creating an Edible Landscape

Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Join us at Red Beet Row for an afternoon of ecological landscaping with edible plants! We will tour the gardens of uncommon fruit trees, unusual herbs, perennials and native support species to show you how they grow together ecologically. From plant guilds to fertility we will cover all the basics of how to select the right plants for your project and help them grow.

Half the class will be a talk covering ecological design, plant guilds, insects/disease problems, and natural fertility. Half the class will be a tour of the edible landscaping that covers several acres of our farm where we will show how we manage the plants in the landscape for low-maintenance and high productivity. Class participants will be able to take seeds and plants home, depending on what is available at the time.

Dress to be outside (mostly in the sun) the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

Fruit & Nut Orchard Tour

Class Fee: Sliding Scale, $10-30
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Join John Wright on a curated tour of the trees and shrubs of Red Beet Row. All of the unusual fruits and nuts will be on display as we amble from wetland field to forest. Native and cultivated plants will share the stage in this culinary and ethnobotanical tour of what is possible in the cold wet reaches of Northeast Ohio. This event will be entirely outdoors so please dress accordingly – Boots are a must!

Homesteading 101

Roundtable discussion about tips, tools, and references for starting your permaculture inspired homestead. We’ll cover orchards, gardens, livestock, earthworks and more! Where to put things on your land, how to start building your dreams with references based on northeast Ohio resources.

Starting Your Permaculture No Till Garden

We will demystify no till and permaculture gardening to give you a solid base for planning and implementing your garden dreams. Major points we’ll cover: cover crops, composting, companion planting, and perennial vegetables. We’ll talk design, placement, and diagnostic tools that are useful for making good decisions. Our overall goal is to leave you with most of the information and references you need to create a healthy and sustainable food system on your property.

Ecology of Wild Edibles

In this class we will discuss the role that native wild foods have in supporting pollinators as well as other local fauna. We’ll discuss the human role in this ecology and how we can increase our food stocks and nutrition while providing food and habitat for many other organisms in our local ecosystem.

Winter Fruit Tree Pruning

Although its cold and snowy outside, winter is a great time of year for pruning fruiting trees and shrubs. Join us as John Wright from Red Beet Row helps us tackle the basics of winter pruning and maintenance of common fruits and nuts in Bending Oak’s beautiful food forest. This will include a wholistic view of the tree and will enable us to map out a plan for deciding on branch removal and desired tree shape that would make for the best outcome. Together we will practice basic techniques on the proper way to make cuts and  manage trees and shrubs of different heights and growth patterns. We’ll go over the proper tools needed and their maintenance as well as sanitary practices in the orchard.

Seed Saving Independence

Never buy seed again! In this hands-on class, we’ll save seeds from this year’s garden vegetables to use in next year’s beds. We teach you when to collect ripe seed and how to properly clean it. We also share the specific seed mixtures that have performed well for us in our gardens. Go home with seeds. Food independence is possible!

Winter Witchhazel Witch Stick Magic!

Witchhazel is wonderful winter medicine from trees! Great for treating poison ivy, burns, wounds, acne, varicose veins, perineal tear, diarrhea, and more. In this hands-on class, learn to make Witchhazel solution from tree bark!  Steph and John from Red Beet Row farm will discuss how to identify and harvest from the Witchhazel plant, a small native understory tree that blooms in winter! Steph makes witchhazel solution every winter for her “Witch Sticks,” witchhazel solution in a roll-on applicator. A water infusion from the bark creates a cleansing healing solution that draws out infection while tightening the skin.

Mud Party

Click here to email us and let us know you want to participate
FREE Event! WE feed YOU
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

We have mud parties to teach natural building techniques on our farm buildings and to have fun! It’s a wonderful community building activity.

Mud parties involve harvesting clay from our soil, mixing it with sand and straw to make natural plaster, cob, and light straw clay insulation for our farm buildings. Natural Building can only be learned by doing – come have fun getting muddy! We’ll have food and music and the awesome company of friends!

Camping is encouraged! We have spots for tent and car camping – Click here for more info on our camping situation – amenities or LACK OF! Camping is FREE for work parties.

(Dress to be outside (mostly in the sun) the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather. )

Forest Gardening

Forest gardens can produce staple foods, fruit, fuel wood, animal fodder, mushrooms, medicinal plants, and more. Our main topics for this class include appropriate food plants for our region, plant spacing and relative positioning, evaluating microclimates and soils, restoring ecological function, and fertility management.  Learn to design an ecologically sound landscape that supports YOUR needs!

Mothers Day Plant Sale at Ashtabula Harbor Farmers Market

Location: 1119 Bridge St, Ashtabula, OH

We will be selling awesome food and medicine plants alongside other local growers. Vegetables, herbs, and flower plants will be available. Other vendors include Farm 153, Octagon Acres, Windy Hill Farm, Lillie Road Farm, Lex Sandella, Sarah Brower of Harbor Gardens, and Chris Martello from The Herb Garden School of Cooking! Knife sharpening will also be available – bring your dulled knives.

Summer Fruit Tree Pruning

Bring pruners and gloves if you have em

Fruit trees usually need pruned twice a year – once while dormant in winter and once while active in summer. In this class we practice hands-on fruit tree pruning of fresh green growth. This will include a holistic view of the tree to map out a plan for deciding on branch removal and desired tree shape. In this session we will also be training branches with a focus of reducing overall pruning over time. Together we will practice basic techniques on the proper way to make cuts to manage trees and shrubs of different heights and growth patterns. We’ll go over the proper tools needed and their maintenance as well as sanitary practices in the orchard.

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

Plumbing: Learn to Fix Dripping Faucet & Clogged Drain

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll have a few sink models to try your hand at taking apart faucets, drains, and sink pieces so you can see how to replace what and when. Learn to deal with stubborn stuck parts, what tools you need, and what materials to buy. Take plumbing repairs into your own hands! Steph will be teaching this class to get word out about her new Home Repair services.

Earth Plaster Work Party

Free event – WE feed YOU!
Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Come help us spread mud on walls! We’re harvesting clay from our soil, mixing it with sand and straw to make natural plaster (an ancient technology) and spreading it on the walls of our straw-stuffed farm building! Come learn how to do it, and have fun getting muddy! It’s a party! We’ll have food and music and the awesome company of friends! Come join us!

Camping is encouraged! We have spots for tent and car camping – let us know if you plan to camp.

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

How to Build Healthy Soils

Healthy soils are the basis for all life on earth; along with plants they create the world as we know it from rock and air. But how do they do that? And how can we make it happen faster? In this beginner-level class we will take a deep dive into the great and mysterious soil beneath our feet. The topics we have chosen are especially suited to the backyard and small-scale farmer and include: cover cropping, composting, debris management, tools and implements, and soil inoculation. Participants will learn how to evaluate their soils and use organic amendments in a holistic way geared towards Northeastern Ohio landscapes.

Hands-On Fruit Tree Pruning 1: Winter Class

Bring pruners and gloves if you have em

Although its cold and snowy outside, winter is a great time of year for pruning fruiting trees and shrubs. We will gather in the driveway of the house next to the farm and then head out to the field to practice hands-on fruit tree pruning. This will include a holistic view of the tree to map out a plan for deciding on branch removal and desired tree shape. Together we will practice basic techniques on the proper way to make cuts to manage trees and shrubs of different heights and growth patterns. We’ll go over the proper tools needed and their maintenance as well as sanitary practices in the orchard.

Seed Harvest, Storage, and Stratification for Woody and Herbaceous Plants in Agroforestry Systems

Location: Kelly’s Working Well Farm, 16495 S Franklin St, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023

Class offered in partnership with Kelly’s Working Well Farm in Chagrin Falls.

Participants will receive instruction on how to locate and harvest seeds to grow for use in their gardens or farms, as well as how to process, store and stratify the seed for planting next season.  We may go for a hike together to gather fresh seeds, if the weather permits.  Folks may assist the farm staff with planting of potted trees, shrubs, and perennials in the agroforestry system at Kelly’s Working Well Farm.  We will have a variety of locally harvested seeds for participants to take home, as well as a small variety of plants for sale.

Free locally sourced seasonal farm lunch will be served!

Classes will be led by John Wright of Red Beet Row, and
Jessica Burns, farmhand at Kelly’s Working Well Farm and gardener at the Holden Arboretum

Clay Soil Plaster Work Parties!

Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Free event – WE feed YOU!
RSVP – let us know if you plan to come

Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Come help us spread mud on walls! We’re harvesting clay from our soil, mixing it with sand and straw to make natural plaster (an ancient technology) and spreading it on the walls of our straw-stuffed farm building! Come learn how to do it, and have fun getting muddy! It’s a party! We’ll have food and music and the awesome company of friends! Come join us!

Camping is encouraged! We have spots for tent and car camping – let us know if you plan to camp.

Homemade Fertility

Learn how to build fertility on your land naturally. In this class we will discuss combining techniques for maximizing soil fertility: cover crops, composting, plant diversity, foliar sprays, animal integration and finally a list of natural products you can use to support long term sustainable soil health. We will make compost and you will go home with the info you need to make your own high quality compost. Class participants should also plan to take cover crop seeds home as we will be working with seeds and how we create mixes throughout the year. We’ll also observe plants for nutritional deficiencies and drought stress and talk about the best natural solutions.

This class is designed to support the backyard gardeners in producing biologically rich soils close to home. Not everything in our gardens is perfect but we know how to fix it and we want to teach you!

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.
We ask all attendees to keep 6-foot distance from each other, and wear a mask if you aren’t fully vaccinated. Please read our “What to expect at Red Beet Row” document so you can plan.

Off-Grid Solar Electricity

Meeting basic needs includes more than just food and medicine – energy, too!  In this class, learn from amateur electrician Jim Walts how to design and install a small off-grid solar electric system.  Jim lives off-grid with solar power as his sole source of energy in his mobile tiny home.  Lessons will be applicable for small electrical needs and beginner projects!  Jim will cover the basic components of an off-grid electrical system, how to size your own system, review the latest products with which he is familiar, and much more.

We welcome Jim Walts as a new teacher at Red Beet Row, but not a new face!  If you’ve come for class during the summer, Jim was likely here.  He lives a nomadic life in a tiny home he made himself.  During summer he’s up north with us, during winter he’s south or west. Solar electricity is one of his many expert skills!  He’s also a woodworker, tech nerd, amateur mechanic, and nomad-living off-grid wizard!

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.
We ask all attendees to keep 6-foot distance from each other, and wear a mask if you aren’t fully vaccinated. Please read our “What to expect at Red Beet Row” document so you can plan.

Hugelkulture: Growing in Mound Beds!

During this in-person class we’ll look at several examples of successful mound gardens. We’ll talk about mulching techniques, where plants are happiest, and long-term maintenance of these drought-tolerant raised beds. We’ll also build a hugel bed to learn the fine details of bed installation. Bring work gloves and a shovel, if you’ve got them. You are not required to do the manual labor part to be in this class.

Austrian Sepp Holzer popularized “hugelkulture” in the U.S. Although many cultures grow food on mounds all over the globe. Hugel beds shed water better in times of excess rain, and they retain water in times of drought.  Hugel beds create microclimates, allowing you to grow plants that like shade, sun, dry, and moist conditions, all in the same bed. Whether you have an excavator or a shovel to use, you too can grow in mounds.

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.
We ask all attendees to keep 6-foot distance from each other, and wear a mask if you plan to get close. Please read our “What to expect at Red Beet Row” document so you can plan.

Propagation of Woody and Herbaceous Perennial Plants

Volunteer and join us at Kelly’s Working Well Farm for the first of a free four-part volunteer workshop series on Propagation, Planting, and Caring for Woody and Herbaceous Perennial Plants in Agroforestry Systems. Participants will receive instruction and assist with planting stratified seeds and rooting cuttings to be planted on the farm, and will have the opportunity to take home a variety of native, edible, medicinal, pollinator-friendly seeds and cuttings. Free locally sourced seasonal farm lunch will be served!

Classes will be led by John Wright of Red Beet Row, and
Jessica Burns, farmhand at Kelly’s Working Well Farm and gardener at the Holden Arboretum

Make Wild Salad You WANT to Eat

In this garden stroll, we’ll investigate a mixture of about 10 common wild and domestic plants that grow with little to no care. We’ll show you how to creatively make colorful and tasty salads from your yard and wider wild landscape. Topics include flavor ratios, timing, plant parts to use, and no fuss propagation methods.

Please bring a container to take your own harvested salad home with you.

Fruit & Nut Trees: Pruning and Holistic Orchard Techniques

Come to the farm to learn about fruits and nuts! We’ll look at the common fruit and nut trees and bushes we have planted here in our baby agroforestry system.  We’ll discuss the specific needs of each, how you can grow them, and how to cheaply and easily propagate them from local sources.  We’ll also focus on pruning and have hands-on pruning practice.  Holistic natural methods of fertility are highlighted. Species examples include: Chestnuts, Apples, Walnuts, Elderberries, and more!

Bring a pair of gardening gloves and pruners for the hands-on pruning practice. (If you don’t have either, we can supply you.)

Natural Rope Making

Cordage is the ancient art of turning plants into rope!  Join us, with teacher Isaac Coblentz, in the chilly Fall season when plant fibers are ripe for harvesting for cordage.  We’ll be making rope from plants you can find in your back yard: Nettle, Dogbane, Marshmallow, Yucca, and others.  The class includes a discussion about wildcrafting ethics, timing, plant ID, and harvesting. Go home with rope you made yourself!

Isaac Coblentz is teaching this class. He has been weaving natural fibers into baskets and other useful objects since he was 7 years old.  Isaac learned turning fibers into cordage over the last 4 or 5 years.  He loves plants, crafts, compost, and opportunities to connect human beings to the natural world.  Isaac is a regular figure at Red Beet Row and returning teacher!

Apples Apples Apples!

Learn MORE than just the basics in this class on growing apple trees.  John Wright, of Red Beet Row education farm, will teach how to choose a site for planting apple trees, fertilization methods, pruning methods, and disease and pest management.  He’ll even talk about harvesting and processing your bounty!  Organic, non-toxic growing practices will be highlighted.  

First Time Gardening

Turn your thumb green this spring! Learn to plant and maintain a non-toxic home garden. In this class, we’ll explore both easy and labor-intensive methods for establishing a new garden bed. We’ll review where, how, and when to purchase and sow seeds and starts.  We’ll also touch on how to maintain and harvest from the garden without use of chemicals, carburetors, or cash!  Create a sustainable garden that fits you. 

Red Beet Row Spring Plant Sale & Farm Tours!

Location: Red Beet Row, 2889 E Maple Rd, Jefferson, OH 44047

Email us to RSVP for a tour (rsvp not required)

Come for a FREE farm tour of Red Beet Row, stay for the plant sale! Tours will be given at 10am and at 3pm.

Join us for our first on-farm event of the year as we welcome visitors to come check us out! See what cools things we have going on – mud oven, polyculture gardens, mobile chicken houses, mound beds, natural buildings, and more!

Our awesome unique food and medicine plants will be available for purchase.

Dress to be outside the whole time you are with us. Please check the weather.

Reeds & Roots Skillshares

North East Ohio’s Earthskills Gatherings
Click here for more

Learn sustainable living skills in workshops, activities, and evening entertainment. Topics include: Wild Mushroom ID, Herbalism, Food Preservation, Natural Building, Weaving, Sustainable Agriculture, and much more!

Acorn Processing Class

Join us at the end of the growing season when the harvest is plenty! We’ll walk you through our woods and farm scape. Learn how to ID oak trees, harvest different types of acorns, and process acorns for food. John will have tasty treats on-hand made from acorn flour.

Earthworks Farm Tour

Last year at Red Beet Row we used an NRCS grant to excavate wetlands. We simultaneously established about an acre of mound beds (hugelkultur) for growing. We used permaculture and contour planning to implement a water harvesting (and shedding) landscape that we hope will grow high quality forest and orchard products for our farm business. In this class we will tour you through our earthworks experiment – you’ll get to see it in its first year and compare it to future years as we grow! We’ll explain what we are trying and why. We’ll also tour you through the rest of our small farm.  We have buildings made of reclaimed and natural materials, goats, fruit trees, polyculture beds, no-till gardens, and more! Dress to be outside for the whole class – rain or shine.

Perennial Roots for Cold & Changing Climates

Free! But please bring SEED donations for the in-house seed libraries.
(This is a program to support Ashtabula Co Community Seed Libraries.)
Join John Wright as we discuss how to cultivate a sustainable culture of roots and tubers in Northeast Ohio. He’ll have roots and seeds for tasting and propagation. Topics include: growing, winter harvesting, storage and preservation. We’ll cover a variety of common and uncommon roots and tubers.

Spring Tree ID & Folklore

Join us at this new farm Resilient Acres as we teach how to properly identify trees and shrubs in the spring! We’ll be using buds, barks, twigs, flowers, and leftover leaves to make positive IDs. This class will give you the keys for proper identification of trees and shrubs in the northeast Ohio landscape. Traditional folklore and uses will be discussed.

Summer Tree ID & Folklore

Join us at this new farm Resilient Acres as we teach how to properly identify trees and shrubs in the summer! We’ll be using buds, barks, twigs, flowers, and leaves to make positive IDs. This class will give you the keys for proper identification of trees and shrubs in the northeast Ohio landscape. Traditional folklore and uses will be discussed. We will be walking around the property for much of the class- please come prepared to be outside!

Back Yard Fruit Trees

2 Chances to Learn!
Free! But please bring SEED donations for the in-house seed libraries.
(This is a program to support Ashtabula Co Community Seed Libraries.)
Part 1: Henderson Library
In part one of this class we’ll cover the basic care and culture of apples, pears, bramble fruits and persimmon. We will explore site selection, fertilization, pruning, disease and pest management and harvest. Organic practices will be highlighted.

Part 2: Kingsville Library
In part two of this class we’ll cover the basic care and culture of stone fruits (peaches, cherries, plums, apricots, almond) and paw paw. We will explore site selection, fertilization, pruning, disease and pest management and harvest. Organic practices will be highlighted.

No Till, Now Chill: How to Maintain Easy No-Till Garden Beds

(This is a program to support Ashtabula Co Community Seed Libraries.) In this hands-on class, we’ll show you how to make and maintain garden beds that do not need tilled. Tillage destroys complex microbiology in the soil that feed and benefit plants. Learning to keep a no-till garden results in lower disease and pest pressure, healthier plants and thus healthier food, and in the long run less work for you! We’ll cover hugelkulture (mound gardening), mulching, living mulches, polyculture planting, methods that involve chicken or livestock rotations, and compost-making from materials you already have.

Dreams of the Medicinal Orchard

What does our own personal garden of eden look like? Can we grow the diversity of medicinal herbs we need for our practices in the microspace of a backyard, or a large farm? How can we integrate the trees and shrub medicine we want to grow locally with the other herbs in our gardens? We hope to answer these questions with a technique called forest gardening. In designing a forest garden we can think of the plants occurring in layers as they do in the forest. As gardener herbalists we find ourselves wanting to grow herbs and mushrooms that may fit into all the layers of the forest. Forest gardening gives us tools for the ecological cultivation of a diversity of ‘wild quality’ herbs with the benefit of increased disease and pest resistance, soil creation, improved habitat for many species and reduced water and fertility needs over time.

Perennial Vegetable Tour

In this tour, we’ll walk you through our gardens and show off the perennial food plants we grow at Red Beet Row. Perennial plants are easier and more reliable than annuals. Perennials grow back year after year, requiring little maintenance or disturbance. Plants include both wild and cultivated vegetable varieties.  We’ll show you both how to identify the plants, and how to use them. Expand what you like to eat! Come out and test your taste buds!

Edimentals in the Garden

Join us as we meander through Red Beet Row’s gardens to find the most ornamental of wild and cultivated edible plants. We’ll focus on colors, flowers, and underutilized pieces and parts of well and lesser known garden plants. This class is both tasty and beautiful! Dress to be outside rain or shine!

How to Use Invasive Weeds

Phragmites, Autumn Olive, Garlic Mustard, and more! In this powerpoint presentation, learn how to identify, harvest, and use the plants most abundant around us! Learn delicious and nutritious recipes. Learn which plants are medicine. Learn about thatching roofs with reeds. Stop spraying those pesky weeds and start using them!

Staple Crops, Staple Seed

In this powerpoint presentation, learn about the crops that feed us most! Staple crops have sustained civilizations since antiquity. In this class we hope to tap into the gardener/farmer in all of us by discussing the culture surrounding the most widely grown and eaten staple crops in our region.  We’ll talk about site and soil, variety selection, seed saving and cultural management for several crops that have proven themselves to grow well here and be accepted by most American diets.  Potatoes, corn, beans, cabbage, tomatoes, and parsnips!

First Time Gardening

In this powerpoint presentation, learn how to establish garden beds naturally. Learn how to plant and maintain a non-toxic home garden. We’ll explore both easy and labor-intensive options for establishing a new garden bed. We’ll review where, how, and when to purchase and sow seeds and starts.  We’ll also touch on how to maintain and harvest from the garden without use of chemicals, carburetors, or cash!  Create a sustainable garden that fits you. Turn your thumb green this spring!

First Up!

What are the first edible & medicinal plants popping up in the Spring? We’ll walk around our gardens, field, and forest to teach the first foods mother nature has to offer – both cultivated crops and wild forage. We’ll taste as we walk. If there’s time, we’ll also show you what we’re planting first and how.

This class is appropriate for all skill levels – beginner to advanced gardeners.

Dress to be outside for the whole class – rain or shine.

Plant Sale at Kelly’s Farm

Location: Kelly’s Working Well Farm, Chagrin Falls

Click here for more details on Kelly’s webpage

Come check out this awesome farm in Chagrin Falls and get cool plants! We are selling plants alongside other local growers. Find perennial food, trees & shrubs, and annual garden plants. Kelly’s farm is an awesome example of sustainable living. Join us in this ideal setting amongst farm buildings made of straw and clay!

Garden Mounds: Learn Swales, Ditches, Berms, Hugelkulture!

Drought? Monsoon? Gardening in our current climate means being prepared for extreme weather.  In this class, learn how to design to maximize food production in the face of unpredictable weather.  We teach you methods for directing water so can prepare for both drought and flood. 

We also teach you hugelkultur!  Or, gardening with earth mounds.  Austrian Sepp Holzer popularized this permaculture technique in the US.  Indigenous cultures have grown food on mounds since forever, across the globe.  Hugel beds shed water better in times of excess rain, and they retain water in times of drought.  Hugel beds create microclimates, allowing you to grow plants that like shade, sun, dry, and moist conditions, all in the same bed!

Homemade Fertilizer

Learn how to build fertility into your land naturally and responsibly. In this hands-on class, we’ll make homemade fertilizer out of weeds from the yard. We’ll discuss which plants to use for different soil deficiencies. Several techniques combined feed the soil without need for synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. We’ll also highlight home composting methods, vermiculture (worm compost), and a bit on cover cropping. Go home with fertilizer and cover crop seeds.

This class is appropriate for all skill levels – beginner to advanced gardeners. Dress to be outside for the whole class – rain or shine.

Potluck & Farm Tour

Join us for a farm-fresh lunch. We’ll have homegrown goodies. Bring a dish if you’re in the mood. We’ll visit and eat at 12, then host a tour of the farm from 1-3:30. Highlights: underground greenhouse, no-till gardens, hugelkultur beds, chicken tractors, solar dehydrator, bicycle grain grinder, polyculture and perennial garden beds.

Useful Plants Tour

This tour is for true plant lovers! We’ll take an intensive look at the plants in our gardens and field, both wild and cultivated. We’ll review their uses & lore. We’ll explain how we propagate them, as well. We’ll focus on less-commonly-known plants: perennial vegetables, medicinal herbs, uncommon fruits, and plants that feed the soil. Useful plants only!

Fiber Arts Fundraiser, for Ashtabula County Historical Society

Location: Blakeslee Log Cabin, 441 Seven Hills Rd, Ashtabula OH

This is a fundraiser for the Ashtabula County Historical Society.  Celebrate Historic Fiber Arts!  Learn to make useful beautiful objects out of nature!

In celebration of fiber arts, the Ashtabula County Historical Society is inviting fiber artists, plant and animal lovers, children, elders, families, and beginners alike to gather at the historic Blakeslee Log Cabin in June for some awesome programs!  Come learn and share the skills of transforming plant and animal fibers into baskets, rope, cloths, blankets, and art! 

Fiber arts include: Basket Weaving, Quilting, Knitting/Crocheting, Spinning, Dying, Felting, Cordage, and more! Only natural materials from the earth (no synthetics) will be used to learn historically accurate techniques.  Connect with fiber enthusiasts and skilled practitioners.  Bring your questions and curiosity.  We hope you will join us!

Our program includes:

• Ongoing LIVE demonstrations of spinning at the spinning wheel.  At least 2 wheels will be on-hand for anyone to try their hand at spinning under guidance by experienced volunteers.
• Kids activities with fiber and wool throughout the afternoon.  Learn felting, yarn-making, and hand-spinning.  Take home felted balls and spun yarn you made yourself.
• Random Weave Basket Class, 3-4pm.  The easiest weave to learn for beginners – materials will be on hand for you to weave your own basket to take home.  Class will also cover a variety of plant and salvaged materials that can be adapted for this technique, emphasizing locally available materials.
  (Ongoing basket weaving demonstrations during non-class times, as well)
• Knitting Techniques Class, 4-5pm.  Learn how to read a pattern, a couple of casting-on techniques, the two main knitting techniques (English and Continental), the knit stitch, the purl stitch, how to shape by adding and decreasing stitches, knitting in the round with circular or double pointed needles, felting knitted items, darning, and more!  
  (Ongoing knitting and felting demonstrations during non-class times, as well)
• Get a tour of historic Blakeslee Log Cabin!  Built in 1810, the oldest log cabin in Ohio on its own foundation (never moved), the Historical Society purchased the cabin in 1989 and restored it to its original condition.  Hear the history of the immigrant families who lived here 200 years ago.
• A 50/50 Raffle – bring some cash to try and win more cash!  Participants do not have to be present to win.
• Ongoing cordage demonstrations.  Learn to make rope from plant fibers.
• See examples of natural dyes from plants.
• See completed knitted projects (hats, socks, gloves, sweaters, stuffed animals, felted items) knitting books, knitting supplies, and several different yarns.
• See some of ACHS’s historic quilts on display!
• And more! Bring your own fiber projects to share what you’ve made!  Come demonstrate a skill!

Can you help demonstrate or teach any of these skills? Or can you lead an activity for kids?  If so, please contact us!

Connecting Agroecology in Nicaragua to NE Ohio

Join us to hear lessons on farming, community, and women-centered agricultural practices! Jordan Deskins will speak about her experience in Nicaragua with agroecology, anti-imperialism, and community-based agriculture and connect it to agroecology and the local food movement in Northeast Ohio. Following will be a lively discussion on amplifying agroecology and solidarity. Sponsored by the IRTF, Red Beet Row, and Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union. Masking and social distancing required.

Jordan is an intern with the InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia, and a former intern with Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (ATC, the Rural Workers Association) in Nicaragua

Dorset Community Project: A permaculture food forest

Ongoing active project – let us know if you want to help out!

Location: Dorset Township Community Center, 2681 OH-193, Dorset, OH 44032

Transform fallow property at the Dorset Community Center into a food forest!

Purpose:
– Enhance the beauty of the Dorset Community Center
– Help the ecological health of the planet
– Introduce the concept of community food in a food forest setting
– Educate community members about plants, pollinators, nutritional food, and medical sovereignty
– Improve the sense of community in Dorset, bridging relationships, and bringing people together

2023 NEO Pollinator Summer Festival & Plant Sale

June 10, 2023, Saturday, 8am-4pm
Speakers: 8am-12 noon, $15 fee
Afternoon Activities: 12-4pm, FREE
Click here for the full schedule & to register with OSU

Location: Gateway Elementary School Auditorium & Outdoor Learning Center, 229 Gateway Avenue, Conneaut, Ohio 44030

Join us for a day of pollinator education and celebration in beautiful Conneaut, Ohio.  John will be giving a Plant Walk in the afternoon, and we are selling plants 12-4pm. The 2023 Northeast Ohio Pollinator Summer Symposium is an all-day pollinator focused event that will feature a variety of speakers, tours, and vendors.  The morning session will cost $15 and include many wonderful speakers. The afternoon session will be FREE and include LIVE MUSIC, tours, kids activities, food trucks, demonstrations, and plant sales!