Laying the Groundwork: Why We Created the Spring Garden Foundations Workshop

Every growing season begins long before the first seed touches soil.

On the farm, the quiet work of planning starts in the winter months — notebooks open on the kitchen table, seed catalogs scattered across the counter, sketches of garden beds and crop rotations slowly taking shape. Over the years we’ve learned something simple but important:

The most successful gardens don’t happen by accident. They happen because someone took the time to build a thoughtful foundation.

That belief is exactly what inspired the Spring Garden Foundations Workshop, which we’re co-hosting this season with our friends at 10:4 Farm.

Why This Workshop Exists

If you’ve ever ended a gardening season thinking:

• “I wish I had planted differently.”

• “Why did I grow so much of that and not enough of this?”

• “I felt like I was always behind.”

You’re not alone.

Most of the challenges gardeners experience don’t start in June or July — they begin months earlier, when decisions about soil, spacing, timing, and crop selection are made without a clear plan.

This workshop was created to slow that process down and bring gardeners back to the foundations.

Together we’ll walk through the building blocks that make a growing season feel more manageable and more enjoyable — understanding soil health, planning a garden layout that actually works, and aligning crops with your space, time, and goals.

Learning From the Farm

One of the things we care deeply about at Wendland Family Farm is sharing what we’re learning along the way.

Farming and gardening are lifelong teachers. Every season brings new lessons — some joyful, some humbling — and those experiences are meant to be shared.

Education has always been part of what we hope this farm can offer our community. Whether it’s through workshops, conversations at the farmers market, or simply welcoming people onto the land, we believe knowledge grows best when it’s passed from one gardener to another.

This workshop is an extension of that philosophy.

Instead of focusing on complicated techniques or overwhelming information, the goal is to give gardeners a calm, practical framework they can return to season after season.

A Morning of Intentional Learning at the Spring Garden Foundations Workshop

The workshop will take place March 21st from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 10:4 Farm in Donnellson, Iowa, where we’ll gather inside their greenhouse to spend the morning planning and learning together.

Participants will work through the core foundations of a healthy garden season — from soil health and fertility to planning crop timing and garden layout — all in a setting that encourages conversation and shared experience.

After the workshop, we’ll sit down together for a farm-fresh meal and continue the conversation around the table. Because sometimes the best learning happens there.

An Invitation to the Community

At its heart, this workshop isn’t about perfect gardens.

It’s about helping people feel confident enough to start.

Gardens have a beautiful way of bringing people closer — to the land, to the rhythms of the seasons, and to one another. If this workshop helps even a few people feel more connected to that process, then it has already done its job.

If you’re interested in joining us, ticket registration remains open until March 14th so we can prepare materials and seating for everyone attending.

If This Season Feels Like the Right Time

Gardening has a way of meeting people exactly where they are.

Some seasons we’re learning the basics. Some seasons we’re refining what we already know. And sometimes we simply want to spend time around others who care about growing things, too.

If this feels like the right season for you to slow down, ask questions, and build a stronger foundation for your garden, we would be honored to have you join us.

Because space in the greenhouse is limited, registration will close on March 14th so we can prepare materials and seating for everyone attending.

You can learn more about the workshop and reserve a spot here: Spring Garden Foundations Workshop

Whether we see you at the workshop or simply cross paths during the growing season, we’re grateful to share this community of gardeners together.

However your garden grows this year, we hope it brings you a season full of learning, patience, and a little bit of wonder.

—From the fields at Wendland Family Farm