July 25, 2026: Edmonton, AB – Farm Tour, Land Access Workshop, and Potluck at Patchwork Farm

Join us for a Farm Tour, Land Access Workshop, and Potluck at Patchwork Farm in Edmonton, Alberta!

Come spend a day exploring an innovative peri-urban farm that is redefining what farming can look like within city limits. Patchwork Farm is a collaborative market garden owned and operated by three farmers: Winston Gamache, Josephine Junas-Grant, and Braden Stolte, who have built a thriving farm business using creativity, community partnerships, and a low-cost startup approach to overcome barriers to land access. Josephine and Braden are former Young Agrarians apprentices who have made their farming dreams a reality.

In addition to touring the farm, we will be hosting a discussion with YA’s  Alberta Land Matcher, Dylan Hall. Whether you’re actively looking for land, have land to share, or simply want to support a more accessible future for agriculture, we invite your questions and ideas as we discuss Young Agrarians’ new Land Matching Program in Alberta.

What you will learn about :

• Collaborative Farm Business Models – Learn how three farmers share the work, risks, and rewards of operating a growing farm business while keeping costs low and maximizing efficiency.
• Intensive No-Till Vegetable Production – Explore permanent deep-mulch beds, succession planting strategies, cover cropping, seed production, and low-tech growing systems designed to produce abundant harvests with minimal equipment.
• Flowers, Pollinators, and Honey Production – Visit the flower u-pick, sunflower patch, bee forage plantings, and beehives that support biodiversity and farm income.
• Animal Integration and Compost Systems – See how pigs, chickens, composting systems, and biological cycles are integrated into the farm to build soil fertility and reduce waste.
• Circular Food Systems and Waste Diversion – Discover how Patchwork collaborates with grocery stores, community organizations, and food security initiatives to redirect food waste, wood chips, and surplus production into productive uses that benefit both the farm and the broader community.
• Farming at the Edge of the City – Hear firsthand about the opportunities and challenges of farming on leased land in a rapidly developing urban area, including navigating permits, bylaws, and long-term land uncertainty.
• Patchwork Farm demonstrates how a small team with limited capital can build a productive and resilient farm using people power, community partnerships, and ecological growing practices. Their model offers valuable lessons for aspiring farmers looking for realistic and accessible ways to get started in agriculture.

A potluck lunch will provide space to connect with fellow farmers, growers, landholders, and food system visionaries. This is a great opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships, and contribute to an important conversation about the future of land access and farming in Alberta.

This event is for you if you’re interested in urban and peri-urban farming, market gardening, regenerative farming, creative land access solutions, food security, waste reduction, or building a farm business with limited resources. Whether you’re an aspiring farmer, current grower, landholder, or community member, you’ll leave with practical ideas, new connections, and inspiration for what’s possible.

WHEN: 25 July, 2026 | 10 AM – 3:15 PM

LOCATION: Treaty 6 territory | 210 161 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB 

REGISTER: Please register on Eventbrite as space for this event is limited.

BRING: 

You are invited to bring a food item to contribute to the potluck. Please bring fully prepared dishes only. If you can, please include a little card with ingredients, for folks with food sensitivities. There will not be a refrigerator available so bring your own cooler if needed.

To enjoy the meal, please bring your own plate, cutlery and cup, and plan on packing your items back home to clean. Bring along a chair or blanket to sit on, a water bottle, and any sunscreen and insect repellant you might need. Make sure to wear weather and farm-suitable clothing and footwear – the event will proceed rain or shine (though we can gather inside the greenhouse for the potluck and workshop in case of rain). For restroom facilities, there will be one portable toilet set up on-site.

SHARE: Planning on joining us? Invite your friends and share the Facebook event (link coming soon)! 

ACCESSIBILITY: If you have any accessibility needs, please get in touch with us at steven@youngagrarians.org.

ABOUT Patchwork Farm

Patchwork Market & Garden is the result of multiple passionate people coming together to build a place where we can work together to reach our shared goals and overcome the many barriers to farming entry in the modern era.

Like a patchwork of quilted fabric made of bits of scrap, we wanted to come together to build something sustainable, resilient, and beautiful.

Growing Together

At Patchwork we believe in connecting people with the food they eat through seasonal offerings and an open-farm policy. We love when our community members want to learn more about what is going on in the field.

In a city where 1 in 5 households are food insecure we know that food security, food sovereignty, and seed sovereignty are all important pieces of the puzzle and look forward to building our business into one that helps meet all these goals.

We are currently hard at work building partnerships with local business, non profits, and charities to work together to reduce wastage across our operation and gather resources for those in need in our greater community.

Website: https://www.patchworkfarm.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587595866067

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patchwork.yeg

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• This event is free and open to everyone! Supervised children are welcome
• Please leave furry friends at home
• Please stay home if you have cold or flu symptoms
• Please do not bring alcohol/recreational substances to this event

STAY IN TOUCH

• Sign up for our e-newsletter to get events and opportunities for your region delivered straight to your inbox
• Join our Young Agrarians Alberta Facebook Group to stay up to date with all events in the region
• We welcome cancellations at any time – you can do so through Eventbrite, through the link in your registration confirmation email, or by contacting steven@youngagrarians.org.
• Questions? Email steven@youngagrarians.org

This public event is part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program (YAAP). The program matches energetic new entrants with paid opportunities on farms. These farms are committed to helping train the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Farmers and apprentices participating in the program are invited to learn more about agriculture through networking and community building events like this one.