EVENTS | Salamander Springs

Salamander Springs Farm
UPCOMING EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

2025 Schedule:

APRIL-NOVEMBER 2025: MONTHLY FARM TOURS at Salamander Springs Farm, usually on the second Saturday of each month.

Schedule & sign-up info on FARM TOURS page.

PERMACULTURE SKILLS DAYS & INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS at Salamander Springs Farm:

Details & registration on WORKSHOPS page:

JUNE 7, 2025 Integrate Cover Crops without Tillage:

Learn continuous relay cropping inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s work. Provides early season skills further developed in the July Soils and September Permaculture in Practice workshops. Includes no-till methods of cover crop management in staple crops and vegetable beds, soil health, crop polycultures including cornfield milpa system Susana learned in Latin America

Details & registration

JULY 19, 2025 Soil Health Principles & Practice:

Build healthy mycorrhizal soils that retain carbon, water and nutrients in the soil for nutrient-rich food without outside inputs! Learn to develop contour swales for water and nutrient capture, permanent beds and no-till fields, use cover crops without tillage, biochar, mulches, compost, humanure and cycling “wastes.” Details & registration

AUGUST 16, 2025 Crop Seed Selection & Saving:

Locally-adapted seeds are crucial for a resilient future. Salamander Springs Farm has focused on developing local landrace varieties of staple foods and native crops of this continent. Understand and work with pollination of different crop families, learn to harvest, dry, process and store seed at a low-tech homestead-scale. Details & registration

SEPTEMBER 12-14, 2025 PERMACULTURE IN PRACTICE WEEKEND INTENSIVE at Salamander Springs Farm

Since 2007, this inspirational weekend intensive has provided a transformative experience cherished by participants. Immerse yourself in learning the practices needed to build and live on an off-grid, regenerative permaculture farm. Hands-on learning of no-till systems, staple crops, hugulkultur, soil building, swales & water management, seed saving, off-grid systems, natural building, and more. Includes gourmet meals from the farm, camping accommodations including a solar shower, wonderful spring water, educational workshop materials to take home. This fun and memorable weekend has filled quickly in the past so register early! Details & registration

SEPTEMBER 23-24 , 2025, Kentucky Extension Master Gardeners State Conference:

Susana will be Keynote for the Kentucky Extension Master Gardeners State Conference hosted by the Lake Cumberland Association, Somerset, KY. Details & registration

SEPTEMBER 27, 2025 ANNUAL CORN HARVEST & SHUCKING PARTY at Salamander Springs Farm: 1-5 p.m., Community potluck & bonfire following. Camping available. (Rain date: October 11). Sign up for newsletter below to receive details.

OCTOBER 3-5, 2025 SOUTHEAST REGIONAL BIODYNAMIC CONFERENCE:

Barefoot Farmer/Long Hungry Creek Farm, Red Boiling Springs, TN: Susana will illustrate the interface of permaculture & biodynamic principles in Salamander Springs Farm practices, as well as the traditional milpa agriculture she learned in the 1990's during 8 years working with Mayan farmers in Latin America. By integrating holistic farming and lifestyle practices with a locally-adapted diet centered upon the native staple crops of this continent, we can provide for the needs of local community over the demands of outside markets. The workshop will include key practices to regenerate biological fertility in our depleted soils, such as no tillage and continuous polycultures of food and cover crops, as well as selecting & saving our own landrace seed for resilient, locally adapted nutrient dense food.

Salamander Springs Farm also has a booth at this event with the staples cornmeal, popcorn and dry beans, dried herbs, seeds and more. southeastbiodynamics.com/2025-workshop

OCTOBER 18, 2025 Fall/Winter Cover Crop Workshop, Sustainable Berea Urban Farm, Berea, KY

Susana will lead a hands-on workshop on fall cover crops for gardens and fields under 2 acres. Increase your soil health, future yields and provide soil cover and weed suppression. Learn how to select, plant, and manage fall/winter cover crops such as crimson clover, Austrian winter pea, cereal rye, hairy vetch, flax, and various brassica family species including daikon radish. Participants will be given a small bag of cover crop mix to take home. Registration: www.sustainableberea.org/event-details-registration/fall-cover-crops

OCTOBER 25, 2025 Installation Workshop for off-grid solar-powered springwater pumping system at Salamander Springs Farm!

To replace a deteriorated 70+ year old concrete cistern at the top of the watershed, Salamander Springs Farm partnered with local organizations Mountain Association and Appalachia Science in the Public Interest to create a replicable model for accessing on-site water (such as rainwater catchment, well and spring water) which improves on the limitations of the current gravity-fed spring water system. We'll install and demonstrate this off-grid system with a small solar-powered DC pump, pressure tank and an underground concrete cistern. The pump house will also serve as a root cellar.
Thanks to a Central Appalachian Network ACRR mini-grant this workshop is available for a nominal sliding fee of $25-50 to help cover supplies and meal catering costs, and the contributions of Appalachia Science in the Public Interest in creating educational resources and technical papers for the benefit of future generations.

Hands-on workshop limited to 15 people. 9:30 AM - 4 PM with nutritious local lunch provided. EMAIL SANDRA to reserve a spot.

NOVEMBER 7-9, 2025, HERITAGE FOOD FESTIVAL: www.heritagefoodfest.org

Terrapin Hill Farm, Harrodsburg, KY. Susana will keynote this festival on Saturday evening and teach about growing a milpa with the complete diet of traditional Native American staple crops, as well as seed saving for resilience. She will also demonstrate processing corn and dry beans and assist with a demonstration of nixtamalization of corn for tortilla/tamales.

JANUARY 30-31, 2026, Organic Association of Kentucky 15th Annual Conference: www.oak-ky.org/annual-conference

Kentucky State University Farm, Frankfort, KY. Susana will teach a 2 hour workshop on seed saving for many important crop families.