eat something from your garden every day of the year

It’s a great feeling when you serve a meal if you’ve grown some or all of the ingredients yourself. We all love feeding our families healthy, tasty and enjoyable meals from our own garden. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by an edible garden or to feel unable to keep up with a garden all year after a big effort in Spring. Sometimes we fill our beds with things we never eat and wonder why we’re still buying just as many vegetables from the supermarket. In Wellington we can all eat something from our garden every day, if we know the right tips and techniques for our particular climate and soil.

The fresh food garden course gives you confidence to feel in control of your garden. You’ll know how to make gardening easier and more time-efficient. You’ll understand what you should be doing, when and why. You’ll have a beautiful edible garden where you’ll enjoy spending time. Whether you’ve never tried edible gardening or feel as if you’ve tried and failed, this course will help you grow easily more of what you eat without spending all your time in the garden. You might just need to change one or two things that you’re doing to make a big difference to your level of satisfaction. We’ve all got gardening books on our shelves but seeing real examples of things that will work in your garden, and getting to practice some of them, will encourage you to take action when you get home. You’ll be surprised how much we cover in a relatively short time and there’s still plenty of opportunity to ask questions.
fresh food garden course
Saturday 6 October 2012, 12.30-5.30pm
Sunday 14 October 2012, 12.30-5.30pm

Other workshops in October include:
Spring seed sowing sessions to get your seeds sown for spring.
Wednesday 3 October 2012, 5.45-7.15pm
Thursday 4 October 2012, 5.45-7.15pm
Edible garden planning workshop – have a plan to make the best use of your time, space and energy in the garden.
Tuesday 9 October 2012, 6-7.30pm
Fine art of composting workshop to get your composting working well for you.
Wednesday 17 October, 6-7.30pm

If you have friends and family who might be interested in these courses, please forward this email to them. They can also sign up to get these newsletters regularly too. Who knows, they might buy you a place on the course as a gift? If they do, I’ll provide a gift card for them to send.

Here’s what people said about their experiences:

‘there was a nice balance between instructive and practical.’

‘relaxed, open and convivial atmosphere.’

‘friendly session with accessible information. Inspiring!’

‘great for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.’

‘very helpful for someone wanting to set up a vegetable garden.’

‘I certainly got more than I expected.’

Here are some frequently asked questions – please email me if you want more information about the fresh food garden course.

Is the course suitable for me if I’ve never gardened before?

You don’t need any gardening experience to come on the course. The atmosphere is relaxed with lots of opportunities to ask questions. We cover a great deal in a short time so that you can get started right away.

What if I’ve got some gardening experience, is it still worth coming?

Some very experienced gardeners have been on the course and they’ve still very much enjoyed and learnt a great deal from it. They’ve also become re-energised by spending time with other vegetable gardening enthusiasts. Some wanted to try some new vegetables, grow through a longer season or adopt organic methods. Others just enjoy a relaxing afternoon in a beautiful country setting and interesting company.

What would I learn that I can’t just learn from a book?

You’ll see a productive and practical edible garden and learn tips and techniques specific to Wellington gardening. You’ll do some practical and see demonstrations including (depending on the season) testing your soil, how to sow seeds, making compost and double digging. You’ll be able to see espaliered fruit trees, a tunnel house, hot compost heap, liquid fertiliser production, a wormery, vertical growing, mulching and raised beds.

What topics do we cover on the course?

We have a variety of practical, demonstrations and talking. We cover preparing the soil, composting, choosing what to grow, planning your garden, starting plants, weeds, pests and diseases and tools. You’ll develop your own eight week plan to take away. Here’s a typical agenda.

What if I have gardening problems after the course and I don’t know what to do?

You’ll get a folder of comprehensive notes including pictures, charts and diagrams which is yours to keep. I’m available to answer questions by email and offer consultancy to anyone who has been on the course.

What if it’s cold, windy or rainy?

We’ll spend more time inside but we’ll still go outside so come prepared with suitable clothing and footwear. Some of our best courses have been on days when the weather has been at its worst.

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