Learn practical, northern-tested skills
that help you grow more of your own food.
Offered by Taiga Farm & Seed and held just down the road at our sister farm, The Boreal Farm, these hands-on sessions are built for cold-climate food gardeners. Each workshop gives you time to ask questions, get your hands in the soil, and leave with skills you can apply immediately in your own garden.
Food Gardening Workshops
Who Its For
Food gardeners at any stage who want practical, place-based knowledge that strengthens their skills and their harvests.
What to Expect
Held at our sister farm and built for cold-climate growers, these workshops focus on real skills you can apply immediately. You’ll get hands-on time, clear guidance, and space to ask questions as you build confidence in your own garden.
Every class we teach builds from these ecological foundations.
Protect the Soil
Keep it covered with mulch, crops, or living plants to reduce erosion, moderate temperature, and support soil biology.
Disturb Less
Minimize unnecessary tilling and digging. Build soil structure steadily instead of resetting it each season.
Grow with Diversity
Rotate crops, interplant thoughtfully, and include perennials to strengthen resilience and ecological balance.
Keep Roots Living
Keep living plants in the soil as long as possible, even in cold climates, to feed microbes and build lasting fertility.
Workshops Follow the Rhythm of the Northern Season
From frozen ground to fall reset, each session meets the moment in real time. You can step in anywhere or follow the full arc.
Late Winter: Plan with Intention
Before the soil thaws, we build the foundation. We focus on soil health, smart crop selection, seed starting, and designing a garden that works within Northern time limits.
You’ll leave with a plan, not just inspiration.
Spring: Establish Strong Roots
As the ground warms, we shift to action.
Transplanting, soil temperature, mulching, early crops, and setting beds up for stability instead of stress.
This is where good seasons begin.
Early Summer: Grow with Strategy
Rapid growth demands clear decisions.
We cover succession planting, interplanting, managing vigor, and building resilience through diversity.
The goal isn’t bigger plants. It’s steady harvests.
Late Summer: Read the Garden
Now we refine. Harvest timing, seed saving basics, identifying patterns in pests and disease, and preparing for the next wave.
Observation replaces guesswork.
Fall: Close the Loop
The season doesn’t end at harvest.
We focus on cover crops, soil building, perennial structure, and garlic planting, setting next year up before winter arrives.
Strong gardens are built in the quiet months.
Workshops are offered seasonally and announced as they open. Join the list or view upcoming sessions to step into the arc.
Meet Your Instructor
Caroline began her growing journey with a few containers in the city and now manages a 25-acre certified organic farm in northeastern Minnesota. As the founder of The Boreal Farm and Taiga Farm & Seed, she brings firsthand experience in small-scale production, organic methods, and the realities of short-season growing.
She mentors farmers through the University of Minnesota’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), chairs the SFA Fruit, Vegetable & Specialty Crop Networking Group, and serves on statewide boards supporting sustainable agriculture.
Her focus is simple: helping Northern growers build lasting skill, practical confidence, and harvests that improve year after year.
