We like to collaborate with others on community classes, and in 2024 we will partner again with Seed to Feed (an initiative of Church Community Services, located at 907 Oakland Ave., Elkhart IN 46516). We select class topics that are applicable to a wide range of interests! Classes are free of charge, though we gladly accept financial donations or by volunteering at the farm.
2024 List of Classes and Events:
SATURDAY Apr. 13th, 3-5:30pm Inoculating Mushroom Logs class held at Bushelcraft Farm. In partnership with guest instructor Nate Grossman of Mishawaka! Click here to sign up!
TBD: Planting for Pollinators class.
Tues May 28th, 6-7pm Building Raised Beds for Gardening class held at Bushelcraft Farm.
Tues June 25th, 6-7pm class TBD.
Tues July 30th, 6-7pm Rain Barrels for Gardening class held at Bushelcraft Farm.
Tues Aug 27th, 6-7pm Cooking Over a Backyard Fire class held at Bushelcraft Farm.
Tues Sept 24th, 6-7pm Storing Root Crops class held at Bushelcraft Farm.
Tues Oct 29th, Class at TBD.
2023 List of Classes and Events:
Tuesday August 15th, 5:30-6:30pm, Cover Crops For Your Garden for Fall, Bushelcraft Farm.
Tuesday July 18th, 6:30-7:30pm, Seed Saving! This class will be held at the Middlebury Public Library, and taught by director Jon Zirkle. Family friendly and hands-on demonstrations. Check it out! Please RSVP here so that library staff know you are coming.
Tuesday July 18th, 5:30-6:30pm, Food Preservation Class held at Church Community Services, co-hosted by Bushelcraft Farm staff. Event details on Facebook.
Tuesday June 20 (5:30-6:30pm): Pests, Repellents, Fungi, Oh My! Come to an awesome, hands-on class at Bushelcraft Farm, taught by staff at Seed to Feed/Church Community Services. Come away learning about key diseases, weeds, pests, and natural ways to deter them. See this Facebook link to learn more: https://fb.me/e/UYuPbV9V. Family friendly. Enter the farm along County Road 26, half way between SR 19 and County Road 7, north side of road (look for flag and open farm gate).
Tuesday May 30th (5:30-6:30pm): Cool Tools! Helpful Hand Tools for Gardening. This class is a partnership class hosted at Bushelcraft Farm and taught by director Jon Zirkle and also supported by Seed to Feed, Elkhart Co. (of Church Community Services). Family-friendly demonstration of a variety of garden tools. Attendees over the age of 10 are best suited to try out these non-motorized tools. RSVP here or email bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com. Space will be capped at 25 participants. See Facebook event for more details, as well!
**Date change…Monday April 3, 2023 (4-6:30 pm): Spring Kick-Off Event at Bushelcraft! Come for tours, snacks by the fire, see garden space for rent, learn about volunteer opportunities this season, and contribute to our fundraiser to fund a position at the farm!
Saturday Feb 18, 2023 (9-10am): Attracting Beneficial Insects and Creatures to Your Backyard and Garden. Facebook Live format. Here are the slides. See Facebook for a recording.
Farm Trivia and Scavenger Hunt Oct 27 (4:30-6:30pm) Scavenger Hunt at 4:45, finger food at 5pm, trivia at 5:30, and campfire socializing 6-6:30pm. Please RSVP by Wed. night Oct 26 by email at bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com.
Thursday September 8 (4:30-6pm) – Art on the Farm. Come make natural paints, sketch with charcoal, practice your photography skills, make a wild bouquet, or make a sculpture with upcycled farm materials (like drip tape!). Family and kid friendly. Please RSVP by email if you’re coming. You can bring other supplies from home.
Tues. August 9 (all day, starting at 8a.m.) – Hoophouse installation! Want to volunteer? We’d welcome the help. Email us at bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com to inquire/RSVP.
Tues. July 26, 2022 5:30-6:30 (in person but at Seed to Feed, 907 Oakland Ave. Elkhart). Companion planting in your garden and backyard. Hosted by Seed to Feed, taught by Jon Zirkle. Free of charge, donations appreciated! Email Abby at autterback@churchcommunityservices.org if you wish to go.
July 19, 2022, 4:30-7pm (in person) – Fundraiser meal and program! Want to learn more about our recent internship program, our infrastructure needs for the farm, and where we are going next? Want to support our work? We welcome individual and corporate sponsors!RSVP required by Monday July 18 (bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com) to attend. Space is limited. Event location is inside Southgate Crossing.
May 23, 2022 5:30-8:00pm (in person): On Farm Celebration and Spring Fundraiser. Come learn from our first cohort of high school interns about their projects, grab snacks, take a brief walking tour, get your face painted, and participate in our plant sale and silent auction! Families and kids welcomed, too. Free of charge, though donations and sponsorships are welcomed! Farm entrance on north side of CR 26 between CR 7 and SR 19, green flag by farm gate.
May 13, 2022 6:00-7:00pm (online): Corn plant cycle, corn genetics and garden recordkeeping. More information will be posted soon on our Facebook page and the Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families (RTCPF) page.
April 30, 2022 9:00-10:00am (online): Preparing to grow a backyard corn patch. A partnership class with the Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families (RTCPF) heritage corn project. Teachers include Jon Zirkle of Bushelcraft Farm, Zuleyja Prieto of RTCPF, John Sherck of Sherck Seeds (Bristol), and Faith Hunsberger, all participants in the RTCPF project. Learn about choosing your site, planting methods, planting dates, systems for making mounds, Three Sisters and Five Sisters planting, companion planting, mulching strategies, and more! RSVP to bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com or zuleyja prieto drazuleyja@gmail.com. **See YouTube video recording of this class.
April 19, 2022 5:30-6:30pm: Garden Veggies 2.0: diversify your garden with kohlrabi, fennel, okra, tomatillo, and more. In-person class at Bushelcraft Farm (outdoors), led by Bushelcraft Farm staff members Jon Zirkle, Mary Sheppard, and high school interns Giomar Cisneros and Elizabeth Miranda Ramirez. Find our farm entrance on CR 26 (north side of road), just a few hundred feet east of the parking lot at Southgate Market. We’ll provide snack, hot beverage, and a campfire, since it will likely be chilly. Families welcomed! RSVP to bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com.
Feb 24, 2022: 6:30-7:30. Growing at Home, But Not Alone. A class on sharing garden resources and starting a backyard garden with support from others. This class is part of the Zero Waste Goshen webinar series and will take place online.
Feb 19, 2022: 1:30-2:30. Growing Heritage Corn! Presentation at the Michiana Seed Swap (Goshen College).
January 31, 2022 7:30pm-8:30pm: Starting Indoor Garden Plants: Materials and Strategies. This online class (using Zoom) will feature long-time gardener and Bushelcraft Farm board member Lloyd Miller, as well as Jon Zirkle who directs Bushelcraft Farm. Learn about making pots out of newspaper and other free / low-cost materials you may have on hand to start raising garden plants for your 2022 garden, as well as information on cleaning and preparing trays, grow media for your plants, and more. E-mail us at bushelcrcraftfarm@gmail.com to RSVP for the class and get the Zoom link, and look for the Facebook event posting for more information.
February 19, 2022 (1:30-2:30pm) at Goshen College (1700 S. Main St., Goshen IN 46526): Bushelcraft Farm will participate in the Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families collaborative presentation at the Michiana Seed Swap. Learn about how backyard gardeners in northern Indiana are honoring, raising, saving, and sharing heritage corn seed, ways they are learning to cook with corn they grew at home, and cross cultural learning experiences that have happened as a result. A demonstration using a metate will happen, as well! Consider whether you want to start growing heritage corn in your backyard! This event is free, and can be found within the College Mennonite building on Goshen College campus. Bring seeds to share and swap, if you wish.
February 24, 2022 @6:30pm: Growing Food at Home and Reducing Household Waste (Jon Zirkle and Zuleyja Prieto, Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families). This class will be online and hosted by Goshen Public Library and in partnership with the Zero Waste Goshen initiative. More details coming soon.
Other classes coming up will cover topics like starting your 2022 garden, adding perennial vegetables and herbs to your garden, foliar plant sprays and compost tea, mushrooms, seed saving, native fruit trees (focus on pawpaws and persimmons), and outdoor classes on wellness and storytelling! Check this page again soon for updates.
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2021 Classes:
Jan 9, 2021: Planning your 2021 garden
Jan 22, 2021: Worms don’t waste: getting started with worm composting
Feb 4, 2021: Growing culinary mushrooms at home
Feb 15, 2021: Growing and grinding grains at home
Feb 27, 2021: Shoots! Harvest food at home in winter. Saturday Feb. 27th, 1-2pm (online via Zoom).
Mar 18, 2021: Growing food on a patio, deck, or balcony: herbs, vegetables, and attractive edibles. Thurs Mar 18, 5:30-6:45pm (online via Zoom)
Mar 20, 2021: Blessing of the Seeds. Saturday March 20th, 12noon in Goshen. More details coming soon. This gathering is specifically to bless heritage corn seed that will be grown on small plots throughout our region.
April 16, 2021: Soil Testing, Soil Fertility, and Heritage Backyard Corn. Friday April 16, from 5:30-6:30 pm. (online via Zoom).
April 30, 2021: Get To Know Your Garden Soil: Texture, Fertilizers, and Preparing to Grow. Friday April 30: from 5:30-6:30 pm. (online via Facebook Live). See link. This class is brought together through a partnership with Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families, and offered in English and Spanish, thanks to Zuleyja Prieto.
May 1, 2021: Growing and Saving Heirloom Seeds: Ensuring Goodness. Saturday May 1, 2-3pm at Ruthmere Museum in Elkhart, IN. See link for details. Free admission.
June 29, 2021: What Weeds Say About Soil. Located at Bushelcraft Farm.
Aug 31, 2021: Saving Tomato Seeds. 5-6pm. Located at Bushelcraft Farm. Meet in front of the big red barn (at 27751 CR 26, Elkhart IN 46517). Free of charge, but suggested donations.
Thurs. October 28th, 2021: Cover cropping with cereal rye: prepping gardens for winter. **Class will be held at Church Community Services in Elkhart at 907 Oakland Ave., 5-6pm. $5 donations. Snack provided.
Farm Open House & Fundraiser: Sat. Nov. 20th, 12 – 2pm, 2021. This mid-day event is family friendly and educational with tours, hands-on art, live music, and more. Will have a fire for roasting marshmallows, veggies, and hotdogs too. We hope to inspire and raise funds for our internship program in 2022. Want to volunteer at this open house? Email us!
Interested in a class or event you see? Email us at bushelcraftfarm@gmail.com to express your interest (RSVP at least the day before class).
More classes will be posted soon!
Bushelcraft Farm 