Check Out The Clover Valley Farm Trail Self Serve Farm Stands Every Sunday 12-5pm
Clover Valley Farm Fest Sunday August 27th 12-4 at Agate Acres!!! Food, Fun and Farmers!!! Please Join Us!!
CLASSES
Teaching both through community outreach and on the farm is incredibly important to me. I continue to offer courses through our local Community Education program as well as in-person throughout the year, and I encourage anyone interested in visiting the farm to contact me to set up an appointment for a tour. Here is a brief list of some of the classes I have to offer throughout the year.
Watch for upcoming classes for 2023 here as well as on Facebook and Instagram @ Little Waldo Farm.
Gardening encourages us to be active, learn from nature, and eat healthier. Research has shown that gardening improves both your mental and physical health, plus you get beautiful flowers and delicious tasting food. Gardening is a gateway to a healthier and more wholesome life, and I look forward to sharing that with all of you.
Planting for Pollinators
Are you interested in supporting bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects? Have you thought about adding a pollinator garden to your landscape, or just wanted to add plants that are beneficial for them? Do you know about bee friendly lawns or how you might create a pollinator friendly landscape? In this class you will discover which plants best support which pollinators, as well as other habitat improving elements to surly bring them in. Class held Thursday August 24th at the farm from 1-3pm.
Gardening with Natives with Special Focus on Pollinator and Wildlife Habitat
Are you interested in adding native plants to your landscape? Do you enjoy watching wildlife, bees, or birds, but have trouble with rabbits or deer munching on your precious ornamentals? This class will focus on those plants that will attract a variety of wildlife and beneficial insects to your landscape, but help to keep the deer and rabbits from destroying those plants you appreciate so much. Class scheduled tentatively for Wednesday August 23rd from 4:30-6:00pm.
Fall Garden Maintenance
As the season winds down, are you considering what you might do now to prepare for a successful next season? This class will help you understand what methods will work for your gardening situation to ensure you are putting things to bed properly. We'll discuss soil management, vegetation clean-up, as well as fall cover-cropping, and fall bulb planting. Class held through LSSD #381 Community Education Program at THHS. Scheduled for Wednesday October 4th from 6-7:30pm. Link coming soon!!
Basic Gardening
Are you interested in what it takes to have a garden. If you've thought about starting a garden, but aren't sure where to begin, this is the class for you. We will discuss the basic needs for having a successful garden, and how to keep things low maintenance. This class will help you to decide what kind of garden space will work for you, and a variety of methods to help achieve healthy happy plants. Watch for class sessions winter 2023 and spring 2024!!
Companion Planting for Home and Container Gardening
Do you know which plants might enjoy other plant's company? Incorporating flowers with your veggies, herbs with your flowers and all of the like together can benefit your growing spaces in ways you may not be aware of. This course will help you decide which plants you can incorporate into your planting designs to help benefit your yields. Class to be held Thursday August 31st from 1-3pm on the farm.
Succession Planting for the Northern Garden
Did you know even in our short growing season it is possible to harvest certain crops multiple times? Succession planting is a great way to utilize growing spaces efficiently and it is also a more successful way to keep those cooler weather loving crops healthy and happy. Discussing those vegetables and fruits that we can grow for multiple harvests, we'll give you the tips and tricks to be sure your growing season is full of harvesting from beginning to end. Class to be held Monday August 29th from 1-3pm at the farm.
Growing Fruit in Northern Minnesota
Would you love to have your own fresh fruits right in your own back yard? Did you know there are over a dozen fruits we grow up here besides apples, blueberries and raspberries? In this class we'll discuss the varieties and requirements necessary to grow fruits all season long. Knowing which varieties are needed in proper pollination for good fruit set and spacial requirements is key to harvesting delicious, high-yielding fruits. Class held Wednesday August 2nd on the farm from 12-1:30pm.
Themed Gardening; Pizza and Salsa Gardens
Do you love fresh garden grown ingredients for making salsas and pizzas? Have you considered planting a garden themed for making these foods? Join me to learn how to design a garden that will provide you with some of the best components to make garden fresh salsa and pizzas. Design, space, plant varieties and timing will be discussed to help you have success in making delicious home grown food. Seasonal class- watch for spring session dates for 2024!!
Honey Beekeeping
A Note About Honey Beekeeping
Honey beekeeping is a wonderful and challenging hobby. Though we often hear about the "Save the Bees" campaigns, it is not honeybees that need the most help. Luckily for honeybees they are an incredibly important agricultural commodity across the globe. They are also the most researched insect to date, and because of this, they have much more monetary support to continue their survival. Our native bee populations including some of our 20 species of native bumblebees are showing serious declines and honeybees can impact this. I encourage those interested in honey beekeeping to evaluate their prospective hive locations and monitor for presence of native populations. Honeybees are competition for floral resources, and the more we can plant flowers, especially native flowers, trees and shrubs, the less of an impact our hobby beekeeping may create.
Intro to Honey Beekeeping I & II
Have you thought about becoming a beekeeper, or pondered about having a beehive on your property? This class is a two part series on honeybees and their care in the Northland. Honey beekeeping is a fascinating hobby, but there are some key concepts to caring for them throughout our changing seasons. If you are interested in learning the basics of beekeeping, the first session will focus on introductory beekeeping, helping you to decide if this hobby is right for you. Intro to Honey Beekeeping II will focus on the more in-depth details of honey production, swarming, and over-wintering. You must take Intro to Honey Beekeeping I to register for the second session. Class held Wednesday August 30th on the farm from 4:30-6:30pm.