Welcome to our Farm Programs
SingleThread Farms has always derived inspiration from our chefs, colleagues, friends and community members. Our farming practices, approach to land stewardship and the crops we choose to grow are a reflection of these influences and a culmination of our collective experience. Our vision for SingleThread Farm at Dry Creek has always held this community at its core, and since the moment we broke ground and planted our first crops in 2020 we have dreamt of opening our doors and sharing our passion for sustainable agriculture.
SingleThread Farm Workshop Series enables us to do just that. Built on the cornerstones of Farming and Floristry, new workshops will be made available for booking each month throughout the year. Each workshop, like our menu, will be catered to the season in which it takes place - offering guests an opportunity to immerse themselves in discussions and hands-on experiences that are truly a reflection of the season.
Should you ever have any questions or be interested in private events or programming options, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Director of Farm Programming, Adam Smith.
Floral Workshops
Floral Workshops at SingleThread Farms are designed and led by SingleThread's team of floral designers. These workshops offer guests the opportunity to delve into many disciplines - flower growing and harvesting techniques, elements and execution of design, use of floral shop tools, identification of seasonal materials and more. Inspired by Katina’s time spent farming in Japan and the UK, as well as at home in Sonoma County, guests can expect to learn about principles of design and horticulture that range from the Japanese ikibana to classic English cottage garden.
Floral design is at the heart of the SingleThread experience - the presence of blooms, flowering branches and foraged materials create a singular experience in our dining rooms, welcome guests to the rooms of our Inn and fill the spaces of our Farm Store at Dry Creek. While ephemeral, flowers have the ability to imprint a joy and warmth on us that can be everlasting. We hope to share with participants our ethos as flower farmers and designers, empowering all to create floral designs that bring this joy to their homes and gardens.
Held at our Farm Store at Dry Creek and, depending on the season, among the growing blocks of our farm, these workshops generally last one hour and are a hands-on experience.
Agricultural Workshops
Our Agricultural Workshops are an opportunity for guests to join us in the field, where we will not only discuss our farming practices but put them into action with hands-on activities. Each workshop is unique to the season and topics of discussion and our work as a group will reflect this. Our goal is for guests to walk away with an understanding and appreciation of what is happening on our farm at this moment - to acknowledge that seasons change weekly, that no one day on the farm is the same as the next.
We will discuss the use of hand tools, varietal selection and crop planning, greenhouse practices, growing techniques, seasonal transitions on the farm and much more. Group sizes are kept small to allow for individual interests and questions to be addressed and, because of this, discussions are often organic in nature and cover a wide range of topics.
These workshops are held at SingleThread Farm at Dry Creek and typically last 2.5 hours. Guests are welcomed with refreshments and tea from our kitchen at SingleThread and light fare will be offered again as the workshops are concluded.
FIELD WALKS
The fields of SingleThread Farms are host to an incredible diversity of plant and animal life. Each of our growing blocks planted out in vegetables are intentionally bordered by perennials, the former filling CSA boxes and our kitchens while the latter provides habitat for fauna and blooms for our floral team. Organic compost and seasonal cover crops contribute to the life below ground as killdeer, great blue heron and owls hunt and nest above. As farmers we are also stewards of this land, and here in the Dry Creek Valley we have a unique opportunity to contribute to the region's diversity and ecology.
The diverse ecology of our farm plays host to more than just flora and fauna of the valley - chefs and farmers regularly walk the rows on our farm together, discussing what is in season and what is in transition, picking and tasting as they go. These walks inspire both parties, fueling the creation of new dishes and informing future plantings. This incredibly unique and intimate experience is something that we look forward to each week, and until now has been an exclusive benefit of working in the fields and kitchens at SingleThread.
Our Field Walk Series was designed to welcome guests to the farm and to follow in the footsteps of our chefs and farmers, tasting what is in season and discussing the details of growing, harvesting and utilizing the vegetables, fruits and flowers available at that time. These experiences last 1.5 hours and are led by our Director of Farm Programming, Adam Smith.
Guests will be welcomed with refreshments from the kitchen at SingleThread and will then be led on a tasting tour of the farm.
“Farms and their surrounding communities are intrinsically tied to one another. This wonderful truth is at the heart of community supported agriculture. As farmers we have the incredible opportunity to offer health and joy to our community by providing fresh food, and our community in turn has the ability to support our efforts and help sustain good farming and land management practices.
This can form a foundation for a very healthy, very long term relationship between people and their food sources. I think that in this relationship there should be the assumption that the bridge between farm and community is one that is traveled often - we want folks to see the food that we grow, to learn how we grow it and to bring home inspiration to their own kitchens and gardens.”
Adam Smith,
Director of Farm Programming
We also invite you to learn more about our local CSA program
GUEST FEEDBACK
“Adam was a great instructor and had an approachable way of conveying information to both beginners and more experienced gardeners. Touring the greenhouse and farm, understanding pest management control, resources shared that's used by the farm and where to shop for supplies, and hands-on planting of the Dahlias (and taking them home!).”
Caroline B.
“We attended the Floral Workshop and the Field Walk as well. Adam Smith is a personable educator, very knowledgable and very patient! We learned so much and look forward to more.”
Steven G.