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FARM SCHOOL 8-WEEK COURSE

Farming 101 Menu
SYLLABUS

Dates and details of what is covered each week for the upcoming session. 

REGISTRATION

Submit your information to begin your registration for Farming 101.

TESTIMONIALS

See what our farm school graduates say about their experience on the farm.

RESOURCE PAGE

Useful links, podcasts, recipes, where to get supplies and more!

Teaching Regenerative Farming

Using cutting-edge practices, taught year-round in coastal Southern California's unique climate, we teach regenerative farming. What we teach is applicable to all forms of agriculture, urban and rural, whether you're an entrepreneur, a home grower, or simply have agricultural curiosity.

Farming 101: 8-WeeAgriculture Course 


This introductory course teaches the fundamentals of regenerative sustainable farming and is appropriate for those of all experience levels, whether you already grow your own food and want to improve your practices, or just want to spend more time with the soil and are curious as to how food grows. Farming 101 is fully scalable and can be applied to container gardening (pots, hanging baskets, vertical gardens), backyards, building community gardens, all the way up to a small-scale working farm.

 

After completing this 8-week course, you will understand the ecology of cultivation, the food web, generating strong healthy living soil for strong healthy harvests, agricultural sustainability, and much more! Students are actively learning and practicing farming skills while participating as vital members of the Wild Willow Farm community and meeting like-minded people. This system provides you with the framework to develop a well-rounded set of farming skills and the freedom to explore and specialize in your interest areas.

 

Each week will focus on a specific topic that begins with a online lecture followed by hands-on knowledge application on Saturday (lab days) at the farm. Farming 101 covers:  making living soil, bed building, propagation, irrigation, integrated pest management (IPM), and holistic care.

 

Click here for a more detailed syllabus.

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Times & Days

Farming 101 classes work around most work schedules: 

  • Online lectures each week; these can be watched anywhere at anytime

  • Saturday 9AM-4PM labs at Wild Willow Farm

  • The course is eight weeks long and meets every Saturday

 

Yearly Sessions: 
  • Spring: April 6th to May 25th

  • Summer: June 22nd to August 10th 

  • Fall: October 12th to December 7th (there will be no class on October 19th)

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Alumni Perks

Upon graduating the Farming 101 course, you will have access to:

  • FREE attendance to any future academic Farming 101 courses/classes to refresh or strengthen your knowledge! The first and last days of the course are not academic days and therefore not available for drop in. If you would like to attend a specific class please email areli.perez@rcdsandiego.org.

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Cost

$700 Total - This covers materials, lectures, and labs.

Upon signing up you will receive a link to pay the $100 registration fee. This registration secures your spot for the indicated Farm School session and is a deposit on the total tuition. Your registration is non-refundable.

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Check out the FAQ below to learn about payment options.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I don't have any experience with farming, can I still apply?
Absolutely, we literally start from the ground up! Whether you have had many years of experience or none at all, we want to make sure everyone understands the fundamental principles of growing food in a more traditional regenerative way. Someone that has had experience will learn best practices to grow more efficiently with higher production and healthier crops, honing in their skills even more.
 
Q: Who can apply to farm school?
We encourage anyone interested in farming, gardening, sustainability, plant ecology, the soil food web, or those who want to learn how food is grown to apply. We have had students who simply wanted to spend more time outdoors, make new friends with likeminded people, to get their fingers in the soil, or even those who don't have space to grow but want to prepare for when they start growing their own food.
 
We recommend you be at least 16 years of age. We can also cater to people of varying abilities. Please let us know in your application, if there may be some limitations or special needs. We preach the importance of crop diversity in a food production space and this principle extends to the acceptance of diversity with the people who want to be on our farm.
 
Q: What skills will I gain from farm school?
Each week will focus on a specific topic that includes reading assignments, a Wednesday lecture, followed by a Saturday lab day on the farm to practice what you have been learning. The topics include building life back into the soil, bed preparation, propagation, irrigation, IPM (integrated pest management), and building overall resiliency in crop production.

You will learn best practices on cultivating the healthiest food possible, while minimizing challenges. For more details, check out our syllabus.
 
Q: What is the commitment for the course?
Our class times and days works with most schedules. We meet twice a week:

  1.  Lectures: 2 hours weekly online lectures

  2.  Farm labs: 7 hours on Saturdays 9am-4pm located at Wild Willow Farm.


Q: What is the application process?

  1. Application: First, you must submit an application for acceptance into the program.

  2. Acceptance: Once accepted, you will receive an email with payment instruction to secure your spot in the farm school session you requested. Each session is limited to keep the class at an optimal size for your learning experience. If we don't receive your $100 deposit, your spot will be given to the next applicant who pays the deposit.

  3. Confirmation: When we receive payment, you will get a welcome packet with detailed instruction of the class structure, the course syllabus, and a liability waiver before the start of the course.


Q: Do you have a pay plan?
Yes. The $100 deposit used to secure your spot in your selected course is used towards your tuition! At orientation, the first half of your tuition is due, and the remainder of the balance is due 3 weeks after.

At any point before the course start date, you may make payments towards your tuition starting months in advance, creating your own self-regulated payment plan.


Each class is so fundamentally important, it is crucial you don't miss any classes to gain the full amount of knowledge necessary since everything we teach is interconnected. We do understand that things come up and it might not be possible to make every class, but if you do miss a class, you will have a lifetime membership to join any and all future Farming 101 classes for free as part of your tuition cost!

WE BEGIN WITH THE SOIL

Our farming philosophy begins with the development of healthy, rich, living soil that offers multiple beneficial effects, including plant health, water retention, carbon sequestration, and natural resistances to pests and disease.

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PROGRAM GOALS

  1. Educate students in the basic mechanics and philosophy of how to grow food ethically and ecologically using means suitable for urban and small-scale farming or gardening.
     

  2. Cultivate new growers using hands-on learning experiences on a working farm; provide food literacy and understanding of what a healthy food system can look like and how to achieve it.
     

  3. Empower everyone to grow food where they live -- for their own health, the health of their families, their communities and the world.

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If you really pay attention, you’ll notice that there is an insurrection taking place. Sounds dramatic, right? Well, it is. Tribes of folks both young and old are taking up shovels against those who would stand in the way of them living an awake, healthy, purposeful, and independent life. 

- JAY REID, FARM SCHOOL STUDENT

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