Grow Your Own Produce is a 10 class monthly series taught by permaculture expert Marisha Auerbach designed to help you grow a climate resilient garden that provides food from your landscape all year. Each two hour class features seasonally-relevant information about planning, growing, maintaining, and harvesting food from your own vegetable garden. Our class will help you develop adaptable low-input systems in your garden based on local resources that thrive, even with extreme weather. 2026 will be the 13th year of the workshop series!

Each month’s class is designed to help you maximize your efforts, and subsequent yields in the garden by providing an overview of key activities to engage in at the right time each month. We meet from February through November, on the first Wednesday of each month, on Zoom. Before the class meeting, participants will receive a collection of handouts supporting the key topics for the month, including a garden checklist for the month ahead. We will discuss different subjects pertinent to the garden that month, using slides and the month’s handouts as reference. There will be ample time during the class for questions. A few days after each session, participants will receive the recording of the class, and pdf of the slides. Students are invited to submit photographs and questions from their gardens, to be addressed at the next class.

These classes are available as a ten class series ($250), a five class consecutive series ($130), or as individual events ($30 each). For more information, email Marisha Auerbach or call (503)454-6656.

Marisha Auerbach has spent many years observing and interacting with her gardens, and in the gardens of the greater Pacific Northwest bioregion. She has been growing most of her own produce year ‘round for over the past decade. View testimonials from past students and find out more about Marisha and her work at permaculturerising.com.

Class Information:

Planning Your Edible Landscape

Wednesday, February 4th: 6 - 8 pm PST

Our workshop series kicks off with a practical understanding of how you can apply permaculture concepts to your design for your edible landscape. This session helps you to envision your landscape from the largest features to the smaller details. We explore how the climate informs our choices in the garden, how to map out your space, an understanding of microclimates and how to choose the right placement for fruit trees, berry bushes, and perennial elements like ecological support plants for a productive, low maintenance landscape and how to create the structure for your garden to supply you with diverse harvests throughout the year and for long-term resilience. You will get handouts with tools for planning a year round harvest, site analysis, and how to make overlays to consider the layout of your garden. It is ideal to have a base map of your site (paper or digital) to jot down ideas during the class. If you need help preparing a map, please reach out to Marisha beforehand.

Early Season Planting, Starting Seeds, & Perennial Vegetables

Wednesday, March 4th: 6 - 8 pm PST

March kicks off the beginning of the growing season for many regions in the US. This class is designed to help you start strong and continue with an understanding of how the growing season unfolds. We will cover what to plant by seed indoors and outdoors right now, highlighting the importance of locally adapted reliable varieties. You will learn about the temperature thresholds and strategies for successful seedstarting. This class will offer tips on how to prepare your garden beds for early season planting while planning ahead for having beds ready for more crops as the weather warms. Our conversation will begin about design for soil fertility with a composting system that works for you. We will continue this conversation in April’s class. Perennial vegetables tend to provide some of the earliest harvests. We will explore what to plant for your climate, how they offer resiliency for the garden, and some tips for growing and cooking these unique plants. Our handouts for the month include recommended vegetable varieties, guides for starting seeds, and the monthly “to do” list to help guide you through the month.

Mustard Greens in the Spring

Spring Crops and Regenerative Soil Building

Wednesday, April 8th: 6 - 8 pm PST

April is the perfect time for planting Broccoli, Kale, Cauliflower, Collards, and Cabbage, known as the Cole Crops. Now is the time of planting a wide range of spring greens. In this workshop, you will learn how to build and nourish the soil so these cool season vegetables can thrive. Since your garden depends on healthy soil, and it’s best to prepare the soil in advance of planting, we will discuss practical soil building strategies and composting techniques to apply right away and throughout the season. We will explore different easy, low cost methods to create and improve garden beds using local materials. You will learn how to assess your soil, understand what it needs, and choose amendments that support strong, nutrient-dense harvests. Handouts include your monthly “to do” list, soil and composting guides, and companion planting strategies to help your spring crops succeed.

Warm-season Crops, Edible Flowers and Attracting Pollinators

Wednesday, May 6th: 6 - 8 pm PST

May marks an acceleration point in the growing season with warmer days, longer light, and new growth. The weather trends warmer, the days are longer, many flowers begin to bloom, and the garden becomes exuberant with growth. This class focuses on considerations for growing warm season crops including Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Melons, Squashes, Tomatillos, and Basil. The lushness of May also brings vigorous weed growth so this month’s session will include help with weed id, understanding their reproductive strategies, and practical ways to manage them. You will learn how to identify and optimize microclimates to boost heat, extend the season, and increase your yields. We will talk about how pollination works, different types of pollinators, and how to attract both pollinators and beneficial insects to your garden to help with the productivity of your landscape. Many plants for attracting beneficial insects and pollinators are also edible flowers or cut flowers. This month’s class will highlight species that you can choose for their multifunctions: both edible and ecological. Handouts include the "to do" list for the month, guides for edible flowers and plants for beneficial insects, and tips for growing abundant warm season vegetables.

Purple Cape Cauliflower

From Maintenance to Abundance: June Garden Strategies

Wednesday, June 3rd: 6 - 8 pm PST

June marks the transition from planting the garden to tending and harvesting. We now need to focus on keeping plants healthy, reducing pests and disease, and keeping up with the harvest. For gardeners in small spaces, targeted strategies will help to maximize the abundance from your plot. We will cover practical techniques for abundance throughout the season including trellises for vining plants, how to optimize your yields throughout the season, and water-efficient methods to meet increased watering needs. Pests and diseases tend to appear in June. We will discuss how to identify an issue and natural strategies for responding to bring your garden back to balance. If you have a pest or disease issue, please email a picture so we can help you to find a solution. Handouts for the month will include resources on water efficiency, common pests & diseases, winter garden planning, the monthly task list, and more.

Berries, Herbs and Water Catchment

Wednesday, July 1st: 6 - 8 pm PST

July’s class focuses on savoring summer’s abundance, highlighting berries, medicinal herbs, and culinary herbs that you can grow, plus ideas for recipes, maximizing yield, and storage for other times in the year. It’s time to start planting the winter garden so this workshop will offer a primer on what to grow and how to plan the garden for continued harvest in the fall, winter, and spring. An introduction to water catchment will help you consider ways to increase resilience in the drier months of the summer. Handouts will include the monthly “to do” list, guides for growing berries and herbs, resources on winter gardening, and more.

Abundance of Summer Veggies

Seedsaving and the Winter Garden

Wednesday, August 5th, 6 - 8 pm PST

The dry weather in August encourages seeds to ripen fully. We will cover the fundamentals of how to collect, clean, and store seeds so you have the confidence to grow next year’s garden from your own harvest. August is a critical month for planting the winter garden to provide food for your household in autumn, winter, and spring. This class will highlight what to prioritize in the garden this month, how to save and store seeds, and what to plant now for harvests in the cool season. Handouts include seed saving guides, resources on winter gardening, and our monthly “to do” list.

Putting Up the Harvest

Wednesday, September 2nd: 6 - 8 pm PST

With the bounty of the garden and orchard cascading upon us, this workshop will help you learn practical ways to preserve your harvest for winter meals through canning, dehydration, fermentation, and freezing. We begin with tips on assessing your family’s needs and your storage space. It is best to complete planting by the Autumn equinox. This class will discuss what can still be planted and what to consider for garden tasks in September. Our handouts will include resources on canning and food preservation, the monthly “to do” list and other resources.

Delicious Figs

Garlic, Cover Crops and Compost

Wednesday, October 7th: 6 - 8 pm PST

October is a time for returning inward, and for tending to the soil with mulches, composting, leaf mold and more. We will discuss types of cover crops for building soil tilth and fixing nitrogen. Mushrooms can be inoculated in the garden in October. All of these are great strategies for building soil in the long term. This month is the ideal time to plant garlic. How to select the best varieties of garlic for your region. As our weather turns colder in October, we will discuss how to provide shelter for your plants from the cold weather. Handouts include cover crop and composting guides, garlic planting information and the “to do” list for the month.

Nourishing Soups, Wildlife, and Garden Planning

Wednesday, November 4th: 6 - 8 pm PST

As the garden winds down for the season, November’s workshop focuses on building ecological resilience over time. We will discuss how to create habitat for birds, insects, and beneficial wildlife to build their populations in the garden to support soil fertility, and biodiversity in the winter and throughout the year. We will share recipes that highlight locally grown produce from your garden and local farms for nourishing soups. Now is the time to review the past year in the garden and begin to plan for the next. This workshop will offer guidance on how to review your successes and learn from your challenges. Handouts include information on wildlife, seasonal recipes, tips on how to review your gardening year, and the “to do” list for the month.

Garlic and Lavender

Stored Food For Winter

Contact the host of 2026 Grow Your Own Produce Workshop Series