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• 2026 Sustainable Farming Fundamentals Online Class

  • Start
    27 Jan 2026
  •  
  • End
    31 Mar 2026
  •  
  • Schedule
    10 sessions
  • Location
    Virtual

  Register

  Learn how to start your own farm from experienced farmers across the Chesapeake region! Spend the winter learning so that you can hit the ground running this spring. Each week we will explore a topic critical to the success of your sustainable farm operation - all growing scales and experience levels are welcome. This class is primarily designed for folks interested in growing vegetables, flowers and herbs in soil; however, many of the topics will apply to all new farming operations. The goal of this class is for you to gain a basic understanding of the following topics and for you to build community with other sustainable farmers.

  Class will meet virtually for ten Tuesday evenings from January 27th - March 31st, 2026. Most classes will feature multiple farmer speakers and will largely be lecture-based with ample opportunity for questions. Students will also complete weekly homework assignments and should expect to spend 30-60 minutes working outside of class each week. While this class is not offered for credit, students can earn a certificate of completion through active participation and homework completion.

  A series of hands-on field days will accompany the class series and will be announced in February 2026. New this year: workshops will be replicated around the region!
  

  You can also register for individual classes once the schedule is finalized in early January 2026.

  Week 1, 1/27/26: Intro to Soil Health, speakers include Lisa Garfield from Million Acre Challenge and Sarah Rider from Flying Plow Farm 

  Week 2, 2/3/26: Introductions, Goal Setting, and Site Selection with Laura Beth Resnick from Butterbee Farm

  Week 3, 2/10/26: Marketing & Farm Budgeting with Lisa Wheeler Duff from Oak Spring Farm and Maya Kosok from Hillen Homestead

  Week 4, 2/17/26: Farm Systems and Soil Preparation with Bryan Alexander from Good Dog Farm

  Week 5, 2/24/26: Plant Pest & Disease Management with Andrew Kness and Veronica Yurchak, University of Maryland Extension

  Week 6, 3/3/26: Crop planning, Crop Rotation, and Transplant Production with Casey Gustowarow from Fireside Farm

  Week 7, 3/10/26:   Business Planning & Marketing with Kristin Hanna from Maryland Department of Agriculture

  Week 8, 3/17/26: Harvest/Post Harvest Systems & Food Safety

  Week 9, 3/24/26: Intro to Livestock 

  Week 10, 3/31/26: Land Access and New Farmer Success Stories

  If the registration fee is is a financial barrier, please fill out this scholarship application.

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• Food Forest Field Day at Forested

  • When
    26 Feb 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Forested - 3507 Enterprise Road Bowie, MD 20721
  • Spaces left
    26

  Register

  Join us for a food forest tour of Forested with Bodhi Vasilopoulos. In this workshop we'll cover the basics of grafting fruit trees, including top working & bench grafting, an introduction to pruning fruit trees, and dive into plant diversity and no till practices to restore soil life. 

  Top-working is the process of grafting new varieties onto an established, in-ground tree—often by replacing the canopy or major limbs—to change or improve fruit production quickly using an existing root system. Bench grafting is done on young, dormant rootstocks off-site (typically in winter), joining a scion to a small rootstock that is then planted out to grow into a new tree. Attendees get to go home with one small apple tree participants graft themselves at the event!
  

  Forested Vision

  Our 50 year vision is for forest garden ecosystems to sustainably supply a large portion of all food and forest products people need and use for healthy living. We have a special focus on the eastern United States where the Forested research garden is located. We also offer education and services with worldwide application.

  About Bodhi Vasilopoulos

  Bodhi Vasilopoulos is the founder of Nature’s Love & Wisdom. He is a passionate forest gardener, herbalist, naturalist, and teacher. His teaching explores the intersection of foraging, agroforestry and food systems with ecology, activism, and cultural transformation. In addition, he helps manage Forested, a regenerative food forest farm and education center working to expand forest agriculture in Washington, DC, and Maryland. He serves as a sitting Council Member on the Montgomery County Food Council. He holds a BS in environmental science and engineering, multiple technical certifications, and over a decade of experience working with the land, applying his skills and knowledge towards service to life on Earth.
  

  Event details

  Please dress for the weather and bring hand pruners and cut proof gloves. Inclement weather date: March 5

    
  

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• Future Harvest Farm Tour at Nick’s Organic Farm

  • When
    28 Feb 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
  • Location
    2733 Buckeystown Pike Adamstown, MD 21710
  • Spaces left
    19

  Register

  Integrated Livestock & Crop Management: Diversity in your Field and Simplicity in your Sales
  

  
  

  Join Future Harvest on Saturday February 28th for our first ever tour of Nick’s Organic Farm (NOF) led by farmer Nick Maravell. Participants will tour the farm on foot or by wagon, weather dependent, and see behind the scenes of this remarkable operation. This event is free, registration required, and lunch will be provided.

  About the Farm

  Established in 1979, Nick’s Organic Farm (NOF) started by raising vegetables for food coops and restaurants, and we have gradually transitioned to an integrated crops and livestock farm. Situated on 175 acres in Maryland’s fertile Frederick Valley and protected from development by the Maryland Farmland Preservation program. NOF farm concentrates on selling value added products directly to the consumer, retailers, and other farms in the mid-Atlantic region. NOF attempts to keep their marketing and distribution methods simple.

  NOF crops follow a diverse 12 year rotation across which we graze our beef and poultry. NOF regenerative organic practices build our soil fertility and have increased our soil organic carbon over the decades of our stewardship. NOF uses a variety of practices, including no-till planting and shallow tillage, planting green, management intensive multi-species grazing, and multi-species cover cropping.

  The farm has participated in a variety of on-farm research projects. NOF products include 100% grass fed Black Angus beef, farm processed pastured chickens and turkeys, pastured eggs, field corn and soybeans, barley, open pollinated food grade heirloom corn and popcorn, cornmeal, ground poultry feeds, hay, baleage, straw, food grade corn seed and food grade soybean seed.

  The farm has been active in organic national and state policy issues, including establishing legislation and regulations for organic certification, advocating for on-farm organic research, and increasing cooperative and regional marketing for organic producers.

  Nick Maravell has helped start various state, regional, and national organizations dedicated to advancing organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture. Over the years Nick has presented testimony to Congress and Federal agencies. Nick served on the National Organic Standards Board from 2011 to 2015.

  
  

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