This course is for people with little or no gardening experience who would like to get started but don't know where to begin and are maybe a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. Don't worry! The basics are quite simple and fun... and you don't need to know any Latin names. It's quite easy to get going with simple crops, tatties, tomatoes, squash, onions etc. The great thing is to make a start...
You'll also get an insight into the fascinating natural world going on all around us - how we can work with natural processes to make gardening life as easy as possible, more planet and people friendly, and have fun!
Women and men welcome - over 16's please
We pack a lot into this course...
- How to sow seeds and pot up seedlings, other ways to propagate plants
- About annual and perennial plants and a bit more general detail about some of the key food crops: salads, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes etc
- About the different groups of plants - roots, brassicas and so on - and about crop rotation.
- COMPOSTING: how you can reduce your landfill waste and get a valuable yield.
- How to use your own-grown plants as a natural, free fertiliser.
- POLYTUNNELS: about things you can grow outside and things for which you really need a polytunnel or greenhouse.
- About some of the common pests and problems, and we'll mention some helpful techniques and ideas: eg companion planting and sq ft gardening.
- And include some very basic ideas about the importance of woodland, forest gardening, orchard management
- And also (time permitting!) go into some of the less well known but very helpful ideas out there: eg the permaculture principles, biodynamics
- Bring sketches and photos of your own garden and we can chat together in the group about possible layouts and how to get the most out of your garden space
!! ALSO !! BASIC WOODWORK FOR GARDENING - I'm going to include the basics of sawing and drilling so you get an idea of how to make raised beds, compost bays etc. It's such a useful skill to have and you'll at least get an idea of what's involved. We'll look at the various different kinds of beds and sheds we have at the farm so you can see how they're made.
TAKE SOMETHING HOME you'll be able to take home some of the seeds you've sown and plants you've propagated for your continuing gardening adventures.
FARM TOUR we have a wide variety of crops and ways of growing them for you to see in action. We'll look at "no-dig" beds and ways of using ground cover and mulches. Also, we don't use chemical weedkillers so have been experimenting with an easy way of controlling weeds using a layer of cover crops, you can see the promising results of this and much more...
FOOD AND DRINK please bring what you need with you, there's no cooking facilities at the farm. TOILETS There is a basic portacabin toilet block on the site.
MAX EIGHT PLACES on this course, so plenty of individual attention. Please bring plenty layers of clothing including a shower-proof one, gardening gloves if you have them and boots or wellies.
COURSE TUTORS: Ian Watt - Charlotte Arno may come along to help us depending on numbers.
