Mycorrhizal Orchard Tour

Beginning with a walk beneath 100-year-old trees, participants learn to:

• Understand the role of mycorrhizal fungi in supporting the health, resilience, and longevity of fruit trees.
• Identify the fungi that help orchards flourish, as well as those that decompose, parasitize, or recycle woody material.
  
• Hear about morel mushroom cultivation success in orchard environments.

Apple Harvest & Cider Pressing

Next, we move into the orchard for the fun, old-fashioned work of apple harvest. Using poles and baskets, we will gather apples from the trees, collect bushels together, and bring them to the pressing station. You will have the opportunity to:

• Harvest apples by hand as part of a collaborative seasonal gathering.
  
• Take turns operating the cider press and experience the transformation from fruit to fresh cider.
• Taste cider fresh from the press while enjoying stories of the 5th-generation family land where this orchard resides.

Vinegar Fermentation Workshop

We will use some of the apple mash and cider to begin an apple cider vinegar fermentation, exploring the microbial and fungal processes that have helped humans preserve and transform food for thousands of years.

• Build a live ferment from the fresh-pressed mash using a mother starter
• Learn how fungi and bacteria break down fruit sugars — the partnership that has preserved human food for thousands of years
• Leave with a quart of apple cider vinegar starter and the know-how to keep it going at home.

What You’ll Take Home

By the end of the workshop, you will leave with:

• A deeper understanding of orchard ecology and fungal relationships
• Hands-on experience harvesting and pressing apples
• Foundational knowledge of apple cider vinegar fermentation
• 1 quart of fresh cider
• 1 quart of apple cider vinegar starter
• New skills, seasonal inspiration, and a stronger connection to the land

Who Should Join

This workshop is perfect for nature lovers, foodies, gardeners, homesteaders, fermentation enthusiasts, foragers, orchard lovers, and curious beginners alike. Whether you come for the cider, the fungi, the science, the stories, or the simple joy of working with your hands outdoors, this event offers a memorable and nourishing way to celebrate the fall season in the Catskills.

Space is limited, and seasonal workshops like this tend to fill. Advance sign-up is recommended.

Logistics

What to Bring: Sturdy shoes or boots and weather-appropriate clothing. Notebooks and cameras welcome. Bring an extra jar or two if you want to take home extra cider.

Meeting Time: 10 am promptly

Bathrooms: Available on site

Children: Free for those under 10; ages 10+ require tickets. Maximum 2 children per adult.

Pets: Not permitted

Cancellations: Email at least 48 hours before the workshop for refunds.

See you in the Orchard!