Soil Health for a Thriving Garden - September 17, 2025
September 17, 2025
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
In this full-day, hands-on workshop, join fellow gardeners and an expert horticulturist to explore and understand the materials and practices that bring your soil alive and make your crops thrive. We’ll talk about the science of fertility and soil while we practice: understanding a soil with on-farm tests and a soil test, planting cover crops, managing cover crops, terminating cover crops, preparing a seedbed for planting, choosing common fertilizers and amendments. Throughout the day we’ll have the opportunity to discuss all sorts of related topics based on student interest (such as no-till, composting, intercropping, and crop scheduling.)
Schedule
9am: Introductions
9:30 - 11am: How soil works
11am - 12pm: Tillage for fertility
12am - 1pm: Lunch (provided by folk school) and conversation
1 - 2pm: Understand a soil test
2 - 3pm: Compost and fertilizers
3 - 4pm: Terminate and plant cover crops
What to Bring
Clothing and shoes to get dirty and be outside most of the day, gardening gloves, empty yogurt container to bring home organic fertilizer. Optional: Notebook, your favorite tillage and/or weeding tools.
Tuition: $110
Materials: $10
This course is for students 16+,
Your Instructor
SAM OSCHWALD TILTON
(he/him)
Sam Oschwald Tilton is a former vegetable farmer and small farm machinery nerd. He works as an organic agronomist, helping farmers improve their weed management, soil, and machinery systems. Through his business, Glacial Drift Enterprises, he also delivers hands-on trainings and works with organizations to develop resources. He organizes the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day. Sam lives in Minneapolis and enjoys gardening with the neighborhood.