Gardening Workshops: Pruning & Trellising

Join Kate and her team to learn about regenerative gardening practices and how to implement them at home. Each class will cover a different topic and incorporate some hands-on learning. These workshops are designed for ages 16 - adult. New and experienced gardeners will enjoy expanding their knowledge and getting their hands dirty.

This class will take place in the production garden. We’ll cover: 

• How to prune indeterminate tomatoes for yield and plant health

• A variety of trellis techniques for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peas, and beans

Cost: $25 pp

Ages: 16 yrs - adult

Register HERE FOR GARDEN WORKSHOPS

Beginning Sourdough Class

Curious about sourdough but not sure where to start?  You journey can begin at Bowers School Farm.  This class is designed for beginners.  Learn the history of this heirloom dough, the steps to make it, and take home both a fresh loaf and your own starter to keep on baking. 

Ages: 10 yrs through adult

$80 per person

Required items to bring with you from home per person:

• mixing bowl (8”-12” diameter),

• mixing spoon,

• tea or flour sack towel (lint free).

MICHIGAN NATIVE PLANT SALE

Help us support our local ecosystems with native plants in your garden this year! Join Bowers School Farm and East

Michigan Native Plants for our 2025 Michigan Native Plant Sale. We have a wide variety of grasses and wildflowers for purchase with some changes from last year.

Pick-up and sales are on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 10 am - 2 pm during Open Barn.

All proceeds from the Michigan Native Plant Sale will support the Master Gardeners of Oakland County who volunteer to provide our horticultural gardens.

Pre-Sales will begin Early February 2025.

Diverse Learners Day at the Farm

We will be exploring the farm and gardens to start our planting for the season.

 

This specialized program is designed for children with special needs and 2 family members. It provides a more accessible, supported experience for the child and their family that might otherwise be challenging due to complex learning needs or challenges (i.e. sensory needs, language impairments, emotional, behavioral, or cognitive learning challenges, physical needs, etc.). Each session will provide families with various interactive activities for engagement.

Beginning Sourdough Class

Curious about sourdough but not sure where to start?  You journey can begin at Bowers School Farm.  This class is designed for beginners.  Learn the history of this heirloom dough, the steps to make it, and take home both a fresh loaf and your own starter to keep on baking. 

Ages: 10 yrs through adult

$80 per person

Required items to bring with you from home per person:

• mixing bowl (8”-12” diameter),

• mixing spoon,

• tea or flour sack towel (lint free).

Registrations are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

Gardening Workshops: Building Healthy Soil

Join Kate and her team to learn about regenerative gardening practices and how to implement them at home. Each class will cover a different topic and incorporate some hands-on learning. These workshops are designed for ages 16 - adult. New and experienced gardeners will enjoy expanding their knowledge and getting their hands dirty.

This class will take place in the production garden. We’ll cover: 

• The composition of healthy soil and why it’s important for growing healthy plants

• Practical techniques for building healthy soil including crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, and mulching

Cost: $25 pp

Ages: 16 yrs - adult

Register HERE FOR GARDEN WORKSHOPS

FFA Flower Baskets

Support FFA by purchasing beautiful hanging baskets full of blooms. Our FFA students with Bloomfield Hills Schools planted and cared for the flowers as a fundraiser for their FFA program.

Grown on site at Bowers Farm with Proven Winners seeds.

Remaining baskets will be sold in the Farm Store starting Saturday May 10.

Pasture Pals (ages 3-5 yr)

An immersive, hands-on, getting dirty, learning big, and exploring what it takes to help keep the farm buzzing along!  It takes many hands to make light work and YOU get to be part of the team! Activities are based on monthly themes.  This is a child/parent program where parents assist their child where needed.

April Theme: Springtime on the Farm  

Cost: sliding scale based on what you can pay per child. (What is a sliding scale? Look here)

• Sustaining Cost: $20

• Pay it Forward Cost: $25

This is NOT a child drop-off program. A parent must attend with their child. Additional children and adults may not attend due to space constraints and program design

You, Me & the Barns

Toddlers can explore the farm with a parent or caregiver and discover how agriculture enriches our lives. Children aged 2-3 immerse themselves in the natural world, using their senses to experience firsthand the joys of farm life and participate in educational activities tailored just for them based on monthly themes

April Theme: Spring on the Farm

Ages: 2-3 yr old with an adult

Cost: sliding scale based on what you can pay per child. (What is a sliding scale? Look here)

• Sustaining Cost: $20

• Pay it Forward Cost: $25

This is NOT a child drop-off program. A parent must attend with their child. Additional children and adults may not attend due to space constraints and program design.

Please confirm your date and time since registrations are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

You, Me & the Barns

Toddlers can explore the farm with a parent or caregiver and discover how agriculture enriches our lives. Children aged 2-3 immerse themselves in the natural world, using their senses to experience firsthand the joys of farm life and participate in educational activities tailored just for them based on monthly themes.

April Theme: Spring on the Farm

Ages: 2-3 yr old with an adult

Cost: sliding scale based on what you can pay per child. (What is a sliding scale? Look here)

• Sustaining Cost: $20

• Pay it Forward Cost: $25

This is NOT a child drop-off program. A parent must attend with their child. Additional children and adults may not attend due to space constraints and program design.

Please confirm your date and time since registrations are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

Gardening Workshops: Intro to Gardening with Patty

Join Kate and her team to learn about regenerative gardening practices and how to implement them at home. Each class will cover a different topic and incorporate some hands-on learning. These workshops are designed for ages 16 - adult. New and experienced gardeners will enjoy expanding their knowledge and getting their hands dirty.

This class will take place in the classroom and cover the basics of starting a home vegetable garden. We’ll cover: 

• Crop selection and seeding 

• Site selection and growing options

• Soil basics

• Moisture and irrigation

Cost: $25 pp

Ages: 16 yrs - adult

Register HERE FOR GARDEN WORKSHOPS

Riding School at Bowers Farm

Register early as there are limited spots available. Details and registration HERE.

Spring Break Day Camp - HORSE CAMP

This introductory horse camp includes hands-on activities with the horses while learning the basics of horse behavior, anatomy, and care. It will foster strong relationships between camper and horse, and give campers the skills needed to create these relationships in the future. After this camp, participants will have a general understanding of how we care for and bond with horses. Riding will occur daily, weather permitting. No prior riding experience required.

Campers will leave with confidence, new friendships, and an unforgettable week of equestrian adventure.

The part of the week will focus on the history and many styles of English Riding discipline, including jumping, Dressage, racing, Saddle seat, endurance riding and polo! Experience the horses up close and personal during grooming and English tacking sessions and of course learning proper equitation of English riding.

The second part of the week will focus on western riding styles. Do you know what the horn is for on a western saddle? Want to learn to lasso? Let us teach you about the history of western riding and why cowboys wear chaps! Learn all about all the different contests that take place at a rodeo and western horse shows.

Campers must bring a lunch and 2 snacks each day, along with appropriate clothing for outside and farm work (long pants and closed shoes/boots required)

Ages: 10 - 15 yrs old

Cost: $550 for the week

Date/Time: March 24 - 28, 2025 at 9:30a - 3:30

Gardening Workshops: Seed Starting

Join Kate and her team to learn about regenerative gardening practices and how to implement them at home. Each class will cover a different topic and incorporate some hands-on learning. These workshops are designed for ages 16 - adult. New and experienced gardeners will enjoy expanding their knowledge and getting their hands dirty.

This class will take place in the greenhouse. Participants will have the opportunity to choose and sow their own vegetable seeds and take home a tray of seeded pots for growing and planting in their own garden at home. We’ll cover: 

• Best practices for sowing and germinating seeds indoors

• How to care for seedlings - lighting and watering

• When to plant outside

Cost: $50 pp

Ages: 16 yrs - adult

Register HERE FOR GARDEN WORKSHOPS

Pasture Pals (ages 3-5 yr)

An immersive, hands-on, getting dirty, learning big, and exploring what it takes to help keep the farm buzzing along!  It takes many hands to make light work and YOU get to be part of the team! Activities are based on monthly themes.  This is a child/parent program where parents assist their child where needed.

March theme: Ruminant Animals (Goats, Sheep, Cows!) 

Cost: sliding scale based on what you can pay per child. (What is a sliding scale? Look here)

• Sustaining Cost: $20

• Pay it Forward Cost: $25

This is NOT a child drop-off program. A parent must attend with their child. Additional children and adults may not attend due to space constraints and program design

Equine Explorers

Session 8: Careers (details on our Equine webpage here)

Registration required.

Ages 8 - adults

Join us this winter for furthering your equine education and experiences. Lou takes students into the classroom for some equine education necessary for the thriving equestrian, along with hands on experiences.

These courses are designed for all ages, whether you just love horses, you are a new horse owner, beginning lessons or an equine enthusiast looking to expand your knowledge this course is for you. Stay connected all winter long with our Bowers Riding School students and local equestrian enthusiasts with this fun, interactive classroom course. An excellent balance of science based classroom work and hands on horse activities (weather permitting, classes may include working with live horses)

You, Me & the Barns

Toddlers can explore the farm with a parent or caregiver and discover how agriculture enriches our lives. Children aged 2-3 immerse themselves in the natural world, using their senses to experience firsthand the joys of farm life and participate in educational activities tailored just for them based on monthly themes

March theme: Ruminant Animals (Goats, Sheep, and Cows!)

You, Me & the Barns

Toddlers can explore the farm with a parent or caregiver and discover how agriculture enriches our lives. Children aged 2-3 immerse themselves in the natural world, using their senses to experience firsthand the joys of farm life and participate in educational activities tailored just for them based on monthly themes

March theme: Ruminant Animals (Goats, Sheep, and Cows!)

Winter Birth Celebration at the Farm

Come and see what has been born this winter and meet the new baby animals at the farm!

Say Hello to the kids (goats)!
Envy the lambs with their growing wool coats!

Cost: $12 pp (members can automatically receive a $2 discount per ticket if you sign in to your account before registering)

Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Diverse Learners Day at the Farm - Winter Birth Celebration

Join us to welcome our new baby animals to the farm and explore the farm.

 

This specialized program is designed for children with special needs and 2 family members. It provides a more accessible, supported experience for the child and their family that might otherwise be challenging due to complex learning needs or challenges (i.e. sensory needs, language impairments, emotional, behavioral, or cognitive learning challenges, physical needs, etc.). Each session will provide families with various interactive activities for engagement.

Gardening Workshops: Growing Raspberries

Join Kate and her team to learn about regenerative gardening practices and how to implement them at home. Each class will cover a different topic and incorporate some hands-on learning. These workshops are designed for ages 16 - adult. New and experienced gardeners will enjoy expanding their knowledge and getting their hands dirty.

This class will start in the classroom where we’ll go over the basics of starting your own raspberry patch, followed by a hands-on portion outside in our raspberry patch to demonstrate pruning and trellising techniques. We’ll cover:

• Types and varieties of raspberries, where to source 

• When and how to plant

• Common pest and disease problems and solutions

• Fertility and irrigation needs

• Harvesting

• Pruning and trellising

Cost: $25 pp

Ages: 16 yrs - adult

Register HERE FOR GARDEN WORKSHOPS

Equine Explorers

Session 7: The World of Showing (details on our Equine webpage here)

Registration required.

Ages 8 - adults

Join us this winter for furthering your equine education and experiences. Lou takes students into the classroom for some equine education necessary for the thriving equestrian, along with hands on experiences.

These courses are designed for all ages, whether you just love horses, you are a new horse owner, beginning lessons or an equine enthusiast looking to expand your knowledge this course is for you. Stay connected all winter long with our Bowers Riding School students and local equestrian enthusiasts with this fun, interactive classroom course. An excellent balance of science based classroom work and hands on horse activities (weather permitting, classes may include working with live horses)

Native Plant Sale Pre-Orders

Pre-order you native plants. Pick-up must occur on May 17 at 10am - 2pm. We can not hold plants for you, so please ensure you can make arrangements.

Equine Explorers

Session 6: First Aid (details on our Equine webpage here)

Registration required.

Ages 8 - adults

Join us this winter for furthering your equine education and experiences. Lou takes students into the classroom for some equine education necessary for the thriving equestrian, along with hands on experiences.

These courses are designed for all ages, whether you just love horses, you are a new horse owner, beginning lessons or an equine enthusiast looking to expand your knowledge this course is for you. Stay connected all winter long with our Bowers Riding School students and local equestrian enthusiasts with this fun, interactive classroom course. An excellent balance of science based classroom work and hands on horse activities (weather permitting, classes may include working with live horses)

Pasture Pals (ages 3-5 yr)

An immersive, hands-on, getting dirty, learning big, and exploring what it takes to help keep the farm buzzing along!  It takes many hands to make light work and YOU get to be part of the team! Activities are based on monthly themes.  This is a child/parent program where parents assist their child where needed.

February theme: Baby Animals- Meet our newest additions! 

Cost: sliding scale based on what you can pay per child. (What is a sliding scale? Look here)

• Sustaining Cost: $20

• Pay it Forward Cost: $25

This is NOT a child drop-off program. A parent must attend with their child. Additional children and adults may not attend due to space constraints and program design