2025 Farm and Land Steward Apprenticeships dates: April 11–October 10
Before applying, please read the program information below about the Farm Apprenticeship and the Land Steward Apprenticeship. Information on the application process for both programs can be found on the Farm and Land Steward Apprenticeships Application Process page.
Please send in your completed application as soon as possible, and direct any questions to the Farm & Land Steward Apprenticeships Coordinator at farmapprentice@sfzc.org.
History of Green Gulch Farm
Green Dragon Temple, Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, was established in 1972 by the San Francisco Zen Center, a nonprofit religious organization dedicated to the practice and study of Zen Buddhism in the Soto Zen lineage as conveyed by its founding teacher, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. It is a residential Zen training temple dedicated to the practices of farming, hosting guests, and offering the Dharma to the wider world.
Situated on the coast of Marin, on an inholding of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Green Gulch Farm includes seven acres of certified organic mixed vegetable fields, fruit trees, and flower gardens, all of which are open to visitors year-round. Tended by Zen students for 40 years, the deep, fertile clay loam soil, combined with mild summers and coastal fog, create the ideal conditions for many cool weather crops and ornamentals.
Each spring since the Farm and Land Steward Apprenticeships Programs were founded in 1994, new farm and land steward apprentices join our community and experience a unique opportunity to study themselves and the natural world through meditation practice and working directly with the land in the Green Gulch watershed. Other members of Green Gulch’s residential community (approximately 70 people on average) enjoy the practice opportunities presented by working in the kitchen, the guest program, or maintaining the physical plant, among other practice locations.
Formal Zen meditation and training is the foundation of community life at Green Gulch and is an integral part of the apprenticeship program. Farm and Land Steward Apprentices are actively engaged in Zen Buddhism by following the daily temple schedule, which includes sitting meditation, walking meditation, services, and temple cleaning (soji). All residents, including apprentices, follow the daily schedule, meet regularly with teachers, and attend temple events, including classes on Buddhism, Dharma lectures, special ceremonies, and monthly one-day meditation retreats (by either sitting in the zendo or working to support the sitting).
The Farm
- Certified Organic by CCOF
- 6 acres of mixed cool-weather annual row crops, including but not limited to:
- Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collards, chard, beets, spinach, chicories, arugula, mizuna, garlic, leeks, fennel, radishes, zucchini, winter squash, potatoes, turnips, green beans, rhubarb, bunching onions, pea shoots, nettles, purslane, and herbs
- Maintained by a seasonal crew of 3–5 staff and 6–8 apprentices
- Tractor- and hand-cultivation techniques used
- On-site greenhouse production of vegetable transplants
- Combination of overhead and drip irrigation used
- Soil fertility management includes winter and summer cover crops and on-site compost production
- Marketing outlets include SFZC’s kitchens (both at Green Gulch and City Center), farmers’ markets, restaurants (including Greens Restaurant), a grocery store, and a small, local CSA
Farm apprentices receive training in a wide range of practices: sowing, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, and marketing a wide variety of cool weather vegetable crops. Through practicums and hands-on experience, they also learn about: organic soil, pest and disease management (as it related to composting and the use of cover crops), water/irrigation management, and promotion of biological diversity.
Land Stewardship
The Land Stewardship program includes caring for the 1½-acre formal garden as well as the 90 acres of land surrounding the farm and garden gates. Apprentices will work mainly in the garden during the main summer growing season and join the land division for special projects each week.
In the Garden
- Certified organic by CCOF
- 1½ acres annual and perennial flowers, herbs, and fruit trees, including:
- Two smaller enclosed formal gardens
- Production beds of annual and perennial flowers and herbs
- A demonstration permaculture area
- An heirloom orchard comprised of apples, pears, and berries
- Exclusively hand-worked
- On-site glass house used for propagation of annual and perennial plants
- Soil fertility management includes winter and summer cover crops and on-site compost production
- Flower arrangements produced weekly for Green Gulch’s many temple altars
- Bouquets produced seasonally for farmers’ market sales
On the Land
Our work varies from weeding and pruning in landscaped areas at the center of Green Gulch to removing invasive exotics up in the hills and down by the creek. We split firewood for those who have wood stoves and sow seeds of natives in the glass house or divide native plants to increase their numbers. We sweep, rake, and mow to groom pathways and lawn areas. We learn the drainage systems here and keep them open. We welcome volunteers who loyally return to Green Gulch monthly to care for our restored sites along the creek.
With each activity we have the opportunity to discover anew the vitality of the elements of earth, air, fire, and water and to realize we are a part of it all.
Application Process
See Farm and Land Steward Apprenticeships Application Process for an Application. Before applying, please review Green Gulch Farm's current Health and Safety Requirements.
San Francisco Zen Center welcomes international visitors in the US on B visas to participate in our various offerings, workshops, and retreats. We also welcome students to participate in our Apprenticeship Program. Because the Apprenticeship Program is vocational, we are able to offer M-1 visas to students across the world. For more details about visas, click here.