Kitchen Gardening: Summertime

The second part of the two-weekend gardening course on creating and managing a successful and abundant kitchen food garden. The course will take place at the inspiring Sustainability Centre in Hampshire.

The course will include hands-on practical gardening sessions and all the theory you need to make your kitchen garden grow and keep your larder full. From crop planning to soil care, pest control to storing produce, these courses will show you environmentally friendly and sustainable approaches to growing your own food. The courses will give you time saving and energy saving tips and inspire you to create a garden that works in harmony with nature.

 

Summertime Gardening Course:

The June weekend will cover: seasons in the gardener’s year, jobs to do in summer and autumn, what to grow – advice on how to choose annual and perennial vegetables to cultivate, how to plan your mixed vegetable crop (to maximise space, deter pests, minimise weeding and watering), Forest Gardening, pest management, growing fruit trees (understanding rootstocks and fertilisation), making plant feed, guidance on how to store and preserve produce and energy saving tips for harvesting.

The March weekend will cover: seasons in the gardener’s year, crop planning, jobs to do in winter and spring, permaculture methods which will help you create a more productive garden, soil care, testing and profiling, different kinds of composting and mulching, no-dig methods, crop planning to produce food all year round and how to observe and work with the different microclimates in your garden.

These courses are suitable for people who have some experience of gardening, who wish to be successful kitchen gardeners and for people interested in learning more about permaculture methods of growing produce.

• Notebook and pen
• Camera
• Clothing suitable for doing practical activities outdoors – sturdy footwear, warm layers, waterproofs and sun protection

Caroline is the lead teacher, design consultant and director of Patrick Whitefield Associates, a permaculture design consultancy, set up by respected permaculture teacher and author, Patrick Whitefield. Caroline originally trained with Patrick before working along side him for eight years, and has a background in design, organic food growing and horticulture and used to work as an eco-cook.

Caroline’s experience includes managing 2 acres of intensive organic vegetable production, managing 5 acres of ornamental and food gardens at a meditation retreat centre, and catering for groups, courses and retreats. Caroline has taught with other well-respected permaculture teachers both in Britain and Europe and runs permaculture courses around the country.

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