Workshops

Sat August 1st 9 - 11:30 am

Discover how to transform flowers into stunning, eco-friendly dyes in this hands-on workshop led by Greta Nelson. She will guide you step-by-step through the process of bundle dyeing and flower pounding,  natural dyeing techniques that use plant materials harvested from our demonstration garden to create one-of-a-kind patterns and colors. The workshop will begin with a short talk on the dye and mordant process and then transition to craft time where you will get to play with flowers and plants, creating  your own uniquely dyed textile piece to take home with you. This workshop offers an inspiring opportunity to connect with nature and the art of sustainable textile design.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $45. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $55. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $35.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

Sat August 8th 9 am - 12 pm

Resilient Roots invites you to learn how to preserve your summer fruits and veggies. Kim Concra from Cape Cod Cooperative Extension will guide us through various methods of canning that you can do in your own kitchen.  Join us for a hands-on introduction to home canning where you'll learn the essential procedures and safety practices needed for successful water-bath canning. We'll cover proper equipment, preparing jars, safe food handling, processing times, and the importance of following tested recipes.

You will be able to watch as Kim demonstrates the methods, emphasizing the safety aspects of food preservation. There will be an opportunity to be hands-on in the process and you take home a jar of pickles.

Perfect for beginners and anyone looking to refresh their canning skills. No prior experience necessary.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $45. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $55. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $35.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

6 pm

Herb Club is a relaxed, hands-on gathering for anyone curious about growing, using, and enjoying herbs in everyday life. Each session explores a few different herbs. We explore practical gardening tips with tastings, simple preparations, and shared knowledge.

Participants take turns hosting the gatherings and presenting featured herbs, creating a welcoming, collaborative environment where everyone both teaches and learns. Think about what herb you would like to teach about as you will be signing up for that at the May meeting. Also let us know if you can host one of the meetings at your house.

You’ll gain confidence growing and harvesting herbs, discover new ways to use them in cooking, teas, and simple wellness practices, and build community along the way.

People often bring food to share and some are made with the designated herbs.

Our dates this year all fall on a Thursday and we meet at 6pm:

May 28
June 25
July 23
August 27
September 24
October 22

The first meeting will be at Fuller Farm in Marston Mills.

2-4 pm

Conifer trees… our shelter, our food, our medicine.  Pines, spruce, and fir trees are abundant nearby, but did you know we can learn from them and enjoy their crops? Join our workshop to reconnect with the delicious and amazing properties of these majestic trees while learning the process of making Mugolio - Pinecone Syrup. Learn about the medicinal properties of these local trees, what nutrients they hold, what they taste like, and we will be making your own delicious jar of pinecone syrup to take home. 

Bridget Bride from Stoneledge Gardens will guide us about the process and enlighten us about these amazing plants.

9 - 12 pm Dreaming of fruit trees, but think your yard is too small? Join us for a hands-on workshop with professional gardener and horticulturist Marjorie Williams, who will share simple, time-tested pruning techniques that make it possible to grow four to eight fruit trees in the space of just a couple of full-sized ones. No dwarf trees needed. With the right kind of pruning (done just twice a year, in March and again around the summer solstice) you can keep trees smaller, healthier, and more productive.

We’ll start indoors with some pruning basics and before-and-after photos to help everything click. Then we’ll head out to the Resilient Roots demonstration garden to watch Marjorie prune fruit trees in real time, so you can see exactly how it’s done.

Marjorie will also share tips for bringing new life to overgrown rhododendrons, azaleas, and forsythia.

Marjorie has over 40 years of pruning experience and is a graduate of the New York Botanical GardenProgram. She also trained with world-renowned Bonsai Master Yuji Yoshimura and previously ran her own garden installation and maintenance business.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $32. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $42. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $22.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

9 - 11 pm

This workshop explores how to continue gardening with confidence, comfort, and joy as our bodies and abilities change over time. Rooted in the experience of Marjorie Williams and her work with clients, “Thriving in the Garden at Every Age” takes an adaptive approach that recognizes both gardens and gardeners are always evolving.

Participants will learn practical strategies to make gardening more accessible, efficient, and safe over the long run. The session will be resource-rich, with take-home materials and follow-up emails that include adapted tools, techniques, and design ideas. There will also be plenty of hands-on examples to see and touch, helping bring these concepts to life in a tangible way.

Whether you’re planning ahead or already adjusting how you garden, this workshop offers thoughtful, doable solutions to help you keep growing on your own terms.

Marjorie has over 40 years of gardening experience and is a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden Program . She previously ran her own garden installation and maintenance business.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $32. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $42. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $22.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

9-11:30 am

Join us to learn about growing herbs that not only heal but also nourish. Kirsti and Kristie will guide you to explore some of the most common and useful herbs you can grow at home to start your own backyard apothecary and add more flavor to your kitchen.

You’ll learn how to grow these herbs successfully, when and how to harvest them, and the best ways to dry and store them so they keep their potency. We’ll also talk about simple culinary uses and how to cook with these herbs, make teas, infusions, and everyday remedies that fit easily into your daily life.

This workshop is all about practical, down-to-earth skills you can use right away—no prior experience needed.

We will have herb plants available for sale after the class.

Kirsti Frazier is an enthusiastic gardener and lover of all things botanical, especially herbs.  She's grown and written about herbs for years and loves connecting people with their nourishing and supportive energy.  Kristie Kapp has been growing herbs and sharing what she knows for a long time. She loves working with herbs that restore and heal, and enjoys using herbs in simple, everyday ways, both in the kitchen and for home remedies.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $32. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $42. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $22.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us at sprout@resroots.org. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

1-3 pm

Berries are one of the fastest and easiest ways to get a big return on the time and money you put into your backyard. Join us to learn how to successfully grow blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in our Cape soil.

We’ll dig into what each of these berries needs to thrive, including plant selection and where to source them, soil prep, ongoing fertility, pruning and maintenance, common pests and diseases, and tips for harvesting and storing your berries so nothing goes to waste.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve what you’re already growing, this workshop will give you practical, down-to-earth guidance you can use right away.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $32. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $42. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $22.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us at sprout@resroots.org. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

This workshop is in West Barnstable at Homespun Farm.

The health of your plants starts with the soil. But boosting your garden's resilience and productivity doesn't have to mean buying bags of fertilizer. 

We'll show you how in our May 9th workshop, where we are collaborating with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA). We'll go beyond composting to teach you ways to increase biological activity and mineral availability in your soil using readily available materials that cost little or nothing. Healthy soils translate into plants that will also benefit from increased pest and disease resistance, higher yields, and greater nutrient density. 

We will also look at the microbial life under the microscope of a variety of soils, so you can see first-hand what a healthy, robust garden soil should look like, and we will show you techniques to make that happen in your own garden.

Registration for this class is being organized by NOFA, so the button will take you to their website for sign-up.

10 am -12 pm Learn how to grow healthy, delicious shiitake mushrooms on logs at this hands-on workshop. You will learn all the necessary steps for growing shiitakes yourself, including the type of logs used, when to harvest them, how to inoculate the logs, and where to store them. We will provide the instructions, materials, and tools you need. You will get hands-on experience inoculating one log to take home, included in the fee. 

You will inoculate your log this April and be able to harvest mushrooms in 16 months! Your logs should produce for 3-4 years and you can harvest several times a year if you manage it well.

Be aware that this workshop takes place in an unheated barn, so dress for it being cold. Also, we will work in groups, so there will be about a 10-minute wait for some of the participants as the groups work through the stages of creating your logs.

This workshop takes place in Marstons Mills.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $45. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $55. If it’s not within your means to pay the full cost, you are welcome to pay $35.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us. Access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out: sprout@resroots.org.

10 am -12 pm Learn how to grow healthy, delicious shiitake mushrooms on logs at this hands-on workshop. You will learn all the necessary steps for growing shiitakes yourself, including the type of logs used, when to harvest them, how to inoculate the logs, and where to store them. We will provide the instructions, materials, and tools you need. You will get hands-on experience inoculating one log to take home, included in the fee. 

You will be harvesting mushrooms in about 16 months and will be able to continue harvesting several times a year, for 3-4 years.

Be aware that this workshop is held in an unheated barn, so dress warmly in layers. Log inoculation will happen in groups, which means some participants may have a short, roughly 10-minute wait before starting.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. The cost for us to bring you the workshop is $45. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $55. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $35.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us—access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

This workshop takes place in Marstons Mills.

Is your shovel dull? Hand-snips don't cut quite right? Bring them to this workshop and learn helpful tips and tricks to keep your garden tools sharp and in good shape! Kelly Barber, Director of Land Stewardship with Barnstable Land Trust, will talk us through and demonstrate proper sharpening and care techniques for common garden tools. You will then have the opportunity during this workshop to apply these techniques to two of your own tools with guidance and support from Kelly.

Bring up to two tools (hand snips, loppers, and/or a shovel), plus gloves, eye protection, and a sharpening file. BLT and Resilient Roots will have limited amounts of each of these items in case you do not have them. Be aware that this workshop is held in an unheated barn, so dress warmly in layers.

This workshop takes place in Marstons Mills.

2 - 4:30 pm Throughout the year, we've presented several herb workshops--growing herbs, using herbs medicinally, and cooking with herbs--and now we're offering an opportunity to make a variety of herbal products that are perfect for giving as gifts this holiday season.

We will demonstrate how to make six types of herbal gifts as well as the instructions and recipes to make more on your own. There is a material fee built into the price.

This workshop takes place at the West Barnstable Community Building.

Saturday, March 7, 2026, 9-11:30 am‍ ‍

Why start your own seeds? Nursery-grown plants are often pot-bound. This root stress can push a plant out of vegetative growth and into early flowering, resulting in reduced size and lower fruit production; seedlings with flowers or fruit are a clear sign of this stress. Homegrown plants typically develop stronger stems, healthier root systems, and greater resistance to pests and disease.

Buying plants also limits genetic and varietal diversity, since nurseries prioritize what ships and displays well. Starting from seed allows you to select varieties based on flavor, disease resistance, and compatibility with your specific soil and growing conditions.

This workshop covers everything you need to know to start your own vegetable and flower seedlings for your garden. Learn when to start your seeds, when to transplant your plants so they don’t become pot-bound and consequently stunted and less productive, as well as when and how to acclimate your plants to the outdoors and plant them in your garden. Timing is key to having a successful garden.

We will show you the equipment and supplies you need and take you through all the steps. There will be hands-on learning as well as a presentation.   

This workshop will take place in West Barnstable.

We have a sliding-scale fee system. It costs $32 for us to bring you this workshop. If you feel you can help out another person to come, you can choose to pay $42. If you can't afford the full cost, you are welcome to pay $22.

If the workshop fee is out of reach, please email us—access matters to us, and we’ll do our best to work something out.

9:30 am - noon Join us for a special tour of the New England Biochar facility in Eastham with proprietor Bob Wells. Biochar has become a buzzword in the gardening world, celebrated not only for improving soil health but also as a potential game-changer in the fight against climate change. Bob will share the story of biochar, its rich history, its promise for the future, and how he built a business from the ground up, transforming waste materials into a product with the potential to change the world. This is a unique opportunity to see how biochar is made, learn how to use it in your own garden, and be inspired by its possibilities.

There will be an opportunity to purchase some biochar during the tour (cash or check).

9:30 am - 12:30 pm Russ Cohen, author and expert on native edible plants, is returning to Fuller Farm this fall for his popular walk that teaches us about the many local wild plants that we can eat. During the walk, he’ll point out all the edible options right in our backyards. He'll help us identify species and offer tips on the edible parts, seasons of availability, and preparation methods. He'll also provide guidelines for safe, ethical, and environmentally responsible foraging.

Russ's passion is connecting to nature through his taste buds and inspiring others to do the same. He has a nursery where he grows plants from seed (some of which he has collected himself), and he collaborates with many educational, governmental, tribal, agricultural, and environmental groups to plant plants from his nursery on their properties. Russ is the author of Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten.