Garden Tours and Farm Dinners


Several times a year, we offer garden tours and farm dinners to those interested in sustainable agriculture and local foods. This is a great way to experience the synergistic coming together of what it takes to make a grow operation work. Please contact us for scheduling possibilities. We grow dozens of different crops at different times of the season, for instance, we grow 15 varieties of tomatoes alone. We also often experiment with different types of crops, such as a quick-blooming soybean used in edamame. Garden tours can be a great way to decide if you would like to get involved in the CSA, as well.

Garden Tours

Blackbird Gardens welcomes groups interested in garden tours. We have hosted several school groups, such as two fifth grade classes from Petoskey’s St. Francis elementary school. The classes came for a harvest-to-table student-created garden lunch. We divided into groups, and with the help of three staff and a couple CSA participants, we harvested, prepared and feasted on carrot-apple juice, pasta with basil pesto and roasted tomatoes, deluxe salad mix with all manner of garnish veggies, and applesauce. After the hot pepper eating showdown, several of the children commented that no one had ever trusted them to use a sharp knife before, and it seemed they felt empowered to make more of their own food after learning some basic prep skills.

If you are involved with Master Gardener courses, area schools, local foods tours, or other organizations, please contact us for details about planning such an event. The fun part about touring our gardens is that all of the tasting happens!



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Farm Dinners

In an effort to fully include customers in the mission of Blackbird Gardens, we host occasional meals on-site. We can plan a variety of menus to prepare and serve, while you overlook Little Traverse Bay and enjoy lush garden surroundings.

In May of 2006, we collaborated with See-North, a local environmental education non-profit, to host a dinner focused on wild foods and early spring foods from the garden. The participants visited two sites to see where some of the foods had been wild crafted. They then toured Blackbird Gardens and enjoyed a beautiful meal with an informative talk about the ingredients with Mr. Everts.

If you are interested in more information and available dates, please contact us.