Preserving the Harvest: Suburban Homesteading Adult Workshop Series

You don’t need to own multiple acres outside of town in order to dabble in the heart of homesteading.  You can explore “handmade and homegrown” right here in the suburbs.  We invite you to join Prairie Crossing Learning Farm staff as we share some of our favorite homesteading topics during our suburban homesteading workshop series!  

As summer advances it’s easy to get ripe, luscious fruit and truly fresh vegetables. You may even have grown your own. What to do with the abundance?

Preserve it for the winter by canning, freezing, or drying. In this workshop we will concentrate on how to can fruit, with demonstration and hands-on involvement. We will also show you easy dehydration methods for fruit, vegetables, and herbs, and provide important tips for freezing produce. You will find out what methods work best for which products, and why.

During the workshop, we will work together to can two types of fruit - depending on what is ripe and available at the time of the workshop. Participants do not need to bring anything to the workshop - you will be able to test whether to invest in the equipment for pursuing canning further.  Participants will bring home a resource handout on preserving and a small jar of preserved fruit. The registration fee is $40 per person.

Instructor: Linda Wiens, LPF Senior Associate Special Projects

Assisted by:  Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

If this workshop is filled and you'd like to be added to the wait list, please email sgaughan@prairiecrossing.com. Register early to save your spot!

These Saturday morning workshops are for adult participants. All workshops will begin in the Yellow Farmhouse at the Prairie Crossing Farm, located at 32400 N. Harris Road in Grayslake. Enter Prairie Crossing via Route 45 at Jones Point Road and follow the signs to the Farm. Free parking is available in the small parking lot just past the Yellow Farm House.

Starting in January, we will offer workshops covering additional Suburban Homesteading topics.  We welcome suggestions and requests, and will try to accommodate those in our ongoing series of homesteading workshops.  For inquiries and suggestions contact Sharon Gaughan, Prairie Crossing Learning Farm Education Program Director, at sgaughan@prairiecrossing.com or 847-548-4062 x12.

Workshop Policies 

Payment. Payment must be received in full for each workshop you have registered for within 1 week of your enrollment date, or the date of the workshop – whichever comes first. Registrations without corresponding payment within 1 week are subject to cancellation. Payment is available online via PayPal, or you may mail a check made payable to the Liberty Prairie Foundation to 32400 N. Harris Road, Grayslake IL 60030 (Attention: Sharon Gaughan).

Cancellation.  Cancellation 5 days prior to the workshop is refunded at 90%, less the PayPal transaction fees if payment was made through PayPal. Cancellations less than 4 days prior to the workshop are non-refundable. Refunds are not given for missed workshops. The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm reserves the right to cancel workshops due to low enrollment; these cancellations will be fully refunded.