Workshops – Alemany Farm

Check out our upcoming late summer/fall workshops!

Suggested donation levels are listed below. No one turned away for lack of funds. Our workshops are donation-based and support the farm. Please give at the suggested level or higher if you are able.

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Upcoming Workshops

We Can Pickle That!: Kimchi and Banh Mi Pickles

Saturday, September 30, 10 am to 12 pm at Alemany Farm
Instructor: Mei Ling Hui
Suggested Donation: $30 + $15 materials fee

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn about the basics of pickle making, both with vinegars and natural fermentation, and tips you need to know to make sure your pickles are safe, crunchy, and delicious. At this workshop, you’ll make your own jar of carrot & daikon pickles and kimchi to take home for fermenting on your own.

**Bring your own cutting board and knife

Mei Ling Hui leads RPD’s community garden and urban farm programming and was one of the inaugural Master Food Preserver volunteers serving the Bay Area. She has taught workshops all over the Bay Area, including at the San Mateo County Fair and Maker Faire.

Making Color Magic in the Dye Garden

Sunday, October 1, 10 am to 12 pm at Alemany Farm
Instructor: LisaRuth Elliott
Suggested Donation: $40 (includes materials fee; all materials and fabric provided)

This workshop introduces you to a variety of plants you can use to make color—both foraged and cultivated—providing you with basic information on supplies needed and how to make choices of plants and fibers to use. Walk the early fall farmscape and learn to read it as a color palette holding a wide range of hues. You will participate in dyeing with coreopsis and madder from the Alemany Farm Dye Garden, taking home freshly-dyed lengths of fabric, along with a how-to-guide and bibliography for handy at-home reference. We’ll talk briefly about growing dye plants from seed, and we’ll dip our toe into the popular world of ecoprinting with blooms from the dye garden.

Please note: This is an introductory workshop. If you have some experience and are looking for more advanced instruction, this workshop may not be for you.

LisaRuth Elliott, a Friends of Alemany Farm Auxiliary member and farm volunteer since 2010, is a visual and fiber artist, weaver and creator of textiles. Learn more about her work at www.lisaruthcreates.com and follow her urban and color making adventures on Instagram: @lisaruthcreates and @sfurbanwanderer

Rescheduled:

Beginning Urban Beekeeping

Saturday, October 7, 10 am – 12 pm at Alemany Farm
Instructor: Dan DeCuir
Suggested Donation: $30

Beginning Urban Beekeeping is designed to teach participants everything they need to know if they want to start a new hive or where to go for more in depth resources and information on beekeeping.

Whether you’re already keeping bees or simply curious about what beekeeping involves, there will be something for you in this class. We’ll cover some basics on bees, the progress of bees through the seasons, how to keep a colony healthy and what to look for at this time of year. We’ll also talk about swarming, pest management, and more. We’ll discuss honest harvest and extraction methods. This workshop will cover topics such as maintaining bee health, and hive overwintering success. Please bring sturdy shoes and long pants/shirts.

This short course will be both mostly lecture, but some hands-on also.
No special skills needed. We’ll visit the apiary and take a look inside (bee suits/gloves provided)
Students will learn basic bee biology, bee equipment/tool essentials, and tips for urban beekeeping success.
Beekeeping is a natural extension of gardening…the two go together well.

Dan has kept bees for over ten years, and brings decades of gardening experience to his workshops.

Medicinal Plant Identification and Herb Walk

Saturday, October 14, 10 am to 12 pm at Alemany Farm
Instructor: Bonnie Rose Weaver
Suggested Donation: $30

Put plants in focus. The first step to deepen your relationship with herbs is to learn how to identify them. Get nerdy in the garden as we get up close and personal with plant families, leaf structure and flower composition.

Learn the basics of botany and then put this knowledge to the test as we stroll through the wild and cultivated areas of Alemany Farm. Through botanical vocabulary and careful observation, start to witness the community of plant neighbors that surround you.

Bonnie Rose Weaver is a clinical herbalist, educator and artist based on the traditional lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, modern day San Francisco, California. Bonnie Rose is a medicinal plant cultivator and the founder of the Medicine Garden at Alemany Farm. Learn more about their work and current offerings at bonnieroseweaver.com and @bonnieroseweaver.

Take a Chill Pill: Herbs for the Nervous System

Saturday, November 4, 10 am to 12 pm at Alemany Farm
Instructor: Bonnie Rose Weaver
Suggested Donation: $30

It’s not easy being a human. Thankfully long, long ago, some plants figured that out and found ways to support our nervous system. We call these plants nervines; herbs that act on the nervous system.

In this workshop participants will become acquainted with the nervines that live and grow at Alemany Farm. We will discuss indication, preparation, dosage, and cultivation techniques of each herb.

Please bring your own tea cup or mug (BYOM) to try herbal teas made in the garden.

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