Applications for 2025 will open in January 2025
Overview
Denver Urban Gardens’ Food Forestry Training is a 15-session, hands-on and classroom-based, training course in designing, planting, and maintaining edible forest gardens in the urban setting.
The training coursework involves extensive education on species selection, soil amendment, planting, pruning, disease and pest management, and many more strategies for establishing thriving perennial edible crops in a dry climate. With a focus on practical skill-building, most sessions will be at existing DUG Food Forest locations, participating directly in the training.
Participants will get the training and experience necessary to embark on a variety of post-training pathways, including potential paid opportunities through DUG and starting small businesses in tree and land care.
The integration with existing food forest sites will allow graduates to take a leadership role within the training, or even be hired as paid site stewards for DUG community partners. There is a growing need for skilled care of trees and perennials around the Denver Metro area, and this course aims to fill that gap and to build a corps of people to address a wide range of needs in the area of green livelihoods.
On-site work will vary across locations within the DUG food forest network, with other classes being held at Denver Urban Gardens’ headquarters at The Horse Barn, located at 1031 33rd Street in the Posner Center for International Development in Denver.
The cost for participation in the Food Forestry Training is $150.00. If cost is a barrier for you, please let us know what you can afford to pay.
Required 2024 Training Dates
SESSION | DAY | DATE | TIME | LOCATION |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Monday | 2/26/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | Posner Center |
2 | Monday | 3/4/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
3 | Monday | 3/11/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
4 | Monday | 3/18/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | Local Non-DUG Orchard |
5 | Monday | 4/1/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
6 | Monday | 4/15/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | Half Moon Farm |
7 | Monday | 4/29/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
8 | Monday | 5/13/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | Half Moon Farm |
9 | Monday | 6/3/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
10 | Monday | 7/8/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
11 | Monday | 8/12/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | Local Non-DUG Orchard |
12 | Monday | 9/16/2024 | 4:30-7:30 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
13 | Saturday | 9/28/2024 | 9:00 am -1:00 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
14 | Saturday | 10/12/2024 | 9:00 am-1:00 pm | DUG Food Forest Site |
15 | Monday | 10/21/2024 | 6:00-8:00 pm | Posner Center (Graduation) |
Curriculum
The objective of the training is to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience needed to design, implement, and sustain thriving food forests in Colorado. Through a comprehensive curriculum and hands-on experience, participants will gain expertise in fruit tree and fruiting perennial care, ecological site assessment, plant selection, and dryland planting techniques. Our aim is to foster a new generation of urban land stewards capable of creating resilient and sustainable food ecosystems, contributing to local food security, and enhancing the overall well-being of our communities.
Core Educational Outcomes
- Basic operational knowledge for pruning young and mature fruit trees
- Be able to identify major fruit and nut trees, as well as a variety of edible bushes and shrubs
- Best practices for planting trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials
- Understand how to select planting sites and how to shape landform to direct and hold water
- Become familiar with a variety of techniques for soil stabilization and improvement
- Know how to pot up bare root trees and run a simple perennial nursery
- Become familiar with the full set of necessary tools and how to care for them
Additional Educational Outcomes
- Grafting and propagation expertise
- Comfort with compost tea and holistic spray applications
- Learn best practices for site design
- Comfort and expertise with pruning across a wide variety of plants
- Trellis design and construction
Topics Covered
pruning
site selection
land preparation
elements of space
mulch
grafting
tree identification
companion planting
harvesting
pest/disease management
soil amendments
pollination
tree health diagnosis
tree structuring/straightening
dryland planting techniques
passive landscape water catchment
tool orientation and care
potting bare root plants
weed management
coppicing
bare root storage
potted plant planting
propagation
air pruning
Course Schedule
Week 1: Climate, Context, Vocabulary, Introductions
- Orientation and cohort introductions
- What is a food forest?
- Climate/Hardiness Zones/Urban Context
- Plant Selection, Native vs. Adapted
- Goal Setting
Week 2: Pruning Introduction
- Tree pruning and maintenance
- Tool orientation/care/hygiene
- Tree structure
Week 3: Pruning Continued
- Trees of different ages
- Coppicing
- Scion wood saving
- Plant identification (dormant season)
- Pruning practice
Week 4: Tree Health and Remediation
- Mulching and fertilizing
- De-winterizing
- Pollenation
- Disease
Week 5: Site Preparation
- Land preparation
- Amendments and soil
- Dryland planting techniques
- Passive landscape water catchment
- Mulching
Week 6: Grafting
- Bench grafting
- Hand and tool grafting
- Young tree care and labeling
Week 7: Planting Techniques and Watering Methods
- Inoculant
- Bare root management
- Deep watering
- Guilds and companion plants
Week 8: Nursery Care
- Bare root storing/potting
- Materials selection and pros/cons
- Nursery care
Week 9: Vegetation Management and Early Season Maintenance
- Weed management
- Propagation
- Pest & disease management
- Fruit Thinning
Week 10: Guest Speaker
Based on availability and may vary
Week 11: Topping Trees
- Summer Pruning
- Weed management
- Harvest
Week 12: Expansion Project Prep
- Tree health diagnostic
- Fall planting
- Transplanting
- Mushroom inoculation
Week 13: Expansion Project
- Practice in all previous implementation techniques
- Capstone day
Week 14: Winter Preparation
- Harvesting
- Preserving
- Over-winter storing of potted trees
- Winter tree care
- Water tanks
- Fertilizing
Week 15: Graduation Ceremony
Group celebration