Our Third Annual Foraging & Gardening Workshop Friday Pass, including optional rustic camping at the farm with dinner Friday.

Located on a 20 acre ranch within the Manistee National Forest System, under Michigan’s wide-open skies, this is three days of education, community, music, food, art, and camping.

May is Forage Season and a busy time of year preparing for the Summer Growth. Join us May 29 to 31, 2026 for some great hands-on educational activities including successful planning and strategies 💚♻️ Country Roots along with several other guest specialists will be leading in education this weekend to come.

We will break down the gardening program and lifestyle we love, right here on the farm. Everything from foraging to making garden inputs, natural remedies, composting, worm farming, soil maintenance, garden preparations, and property management strategies for the summer. This is an educational event for all to get their hands on the plants and into the soil. For this experience you may partake in helping first-hand as much as you desire. We will be getting into it a lot through the weekend. We will also be enjoying some local grown, farm fresh foods to bring in the experience together. You will go home with gained knowledge and parts of our weekend crafts to further your natural farming journey.

Day and Weekend Passes are available to include tent camping at the farm, if pleased. Portable Restrooms and Washing Stations will be available, along with drinking water.

State Forest Camping (no charge) is an option within 1-mile of our farm, as well as several other camping options throughout the region. There are plenty of hotels in Big Rapids and surrounding areas. We are happy to help find the right arrangement for you. Please email us at countryrootsltd@gmail.com or through social media with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your interest and stay tuned for more fun to be had through the year!

Schedule of activities:

Friday Schedule

3 PM – 4 PM: Why Natural Farming? How to?

4 PM – 5 PM: Natural Garden Inputs

5 PM – 5:15 PM: Break (15 min)

5:15 PM – 6 PM: Minerals & Soil Microbes - Native Soil Building Practices

6 PM – 7 PM: Dinner – Farm‑fresh taco bar, veganic & meat options

7 PM – 8 PM: Rooted in Nutrition - how wild foods work for you (Maria)

8 PM – Midnight: Live Music & Bonfire

Saturday Schedule

 9 AM - 10AM: Foraging Farm Tour – Let’s walk and talk

10 AM – 10:30 AM: Breakfast

10:30 AM – 11 :30AM: Medicinal Tinctures & Oils - (Leyna & Maria)

11:30 AM – 11:45 AM: Break (15 min)

11:45 AM – 1 PM: Gold Panning & Rock Hounding – (Fern Doc & Chris)

1 PM – 1:15 PM: Break (15 min)

1:15 PM – 3 PM: Mushrooms & Foraging - State Certified w/

Leslie, Great Lakes Tissue, Francis Fungus

3 PM – 5 PM: Gardening / Planting Strategies for 2026

Group Discussion w/ The Boro Florist

5 PM – 6 PM: Dinner – Farm‑fresh chicken from Country Roots w/ Live Music

6 PM – 8 PM: Woodcrafts & Homestead Chats –

Painting with Reignweaver Art, Sara

8 PM – 10PM: Live Music & Bonfire

10PM: Microbes, Microscopes, Meristems & Movies

Aki Ganawedaan, Great Lakes Tissue Culture

Sunday Schedule

9 AM – 11 AM: Foraging Walk – Optional Forest walk in the Manistee National Forest

11 AM – 12 PM: Breakfast – Country Roots Fresh

12 PM – 1 PM: Final Discussion & Farewells –

Forage handling, wrap‑up, clean-up