Forest Farming Intensive

Join us for a weekend-long forest farming workshop! Over the course of two days, we’ll explore the rich history and cultural significance of our plant and fungal allies and examine the contemporary production methods used to produce non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Open to both novice and experienced land stewards and forest farmers, our goal is for you to leave with an understanding of how to assess a property for forest farming potential and how to put your ideas into practice.

Tickets are available for one or both days of workshops, and participants are invited to join us for a potluck BBQ on Saturday at 5 PM. Want to camp?

Book your stay at Wild Hudson Valley Eco Camp for two nights of camping and admission to both days of workshops!

Saturday August 22, 2026 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Forest Farming Fungi: Mushroom Cultivation & Farm Tour

-Tour Wild Hudson Valley's mushroom laying yard and harvest shiitake mushrooms straight from the log

-Explore field and forest to find wild mushrooms and learn about mushroom anatomy, life cycle, and identification

-Discuss foraging wild mushrooms, including what habitats and seasons you can find different mushroom species, the legal requirements for selling wild mushrooms, as well as stewardship, sustainability, and general safety

- Learn to grow your own mushrooms on both wood chips and on logs, including what types of wood are best for growing different species of mushrooms, where you can source mushroom spawn, and how to care for your logs & beds to ensure bountiful harvests

-Inoculate your own log! Together as a group, we’ll inoculate freshly cut logs with shiitake mushroom spawn. Each participant will go home with their own inoculated log, which will produce mushrooms several times a year for years to come!

Please note: Saturday's workshop will take place entirely outdoors, so please dress accordingly. We’ll take a lunch break halfway through the day, please bring your own lunch and water/drinks. We’ll have a medicinal mushroom tea for everyone to try! Before lunch, we will be on the farm with no access to bathrooms (just the great outdoors). After lunch, we’ll caravan to another part of the property where we’ll have bathrooms nearby.

Sunday August 23, 2026 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Forest Farming Plants: From Foraging to Cultivation

-Visit Wild Hudson Valley's woods-grown beds and wild-simulated ginseng garden

-Learn about a variety of forest understory species with both cultural and economic significance, such as American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), ramps/wild leeks (Allium tricoccum), black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), and many more

-Discuss forest farming techniques ranging from foraging and careful stewardship of wild plant populations to intensively-managed raised bed cultivation

-Explore the woods to identify wild edible and medicinal plant species that owners Anna and Justin steward and forage as part of their diversified forest farming operation

-Consider benefits and challenges of each of these production systems and share lessons learned and favorite forest farming resources

-Participate in a hands-on forest farm planting! Collect seed, plant and propagate rhizomes of different forest botanical species like ginseng, ramps, and goldenseal!

Please note: Sunday's workshop will take place entirely in the woods, so please dress accordingly and keep in mind that we will be on the farm with no access to bathrooms (just the great outdoors!). We’ll take a lunch break halfway through the day, please bring your own lunch and water/drinks. We’ll have ginseng tea for everyone to try! Seating will be limited, and you are welcome to bring a camp chair or picnic blanket.