For all those who have been asking, I have put together a programme of courses on forest gardening for 2022. I’ve tried to offer a bit more variety than the introductions that I have done in previous years – although these are still definitely in the mix.
Introduction to forest gardening
This one day course will introduce the principles and the plants of edible forest gardening. Topics will include how a forest garden works, the forest garden year, forest garden plants, and harvesting and cooking forest garden crops. The course be particularly aimed at those who want to grow in an allotment, small garden or community setting. £40 per person.
Sunday 29th May, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – booking link
Saturday 25th June, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – cancelled due to covid 🙁
Saturday 6th August 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – booking link
Beginning a forest garden
This one day course will cover the practical steps involved in starting a new forest garden, including understanding your site, planning your garden, access, starting a nursery bed, ground preparation and plant propagation and acquisition. £40 per person. The October course will be held near Huntly.
Sunday 18th September, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – booking link
Saturday 15th October, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – booking link
Pruning fruit trees and bushes
Pruning is used in orchards and forest gardens to improve yield, health and access. Getting it right involves understanding the growth patterns of the plant you are pruning, to guide it into putting less of its energy into woody growth and more into fruit. This course will introduce the principles that underpin all pruning, and how they apply to apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants, gooseberries and cane fruit. The main course is two hours but there will be an opportunity in the afternoon for those who want to practice what they have learned to do so in a community orchard. £20 per person.
Wed 16th November, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – booking link
Sun 20th November, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – booking link – THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE WEATHER. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY RECEIVED A REFUND
Forest gardening through the year
The format of this course is a bit of an experiment. It is a chance to see (and taste) the development of a forest garden through the year, with forest gardening principles and practice taught in a more informal way over the course of the visits. This course is by donation on the day, with a £5 suggested donation. Barter welcome!
16th May, 6th June, 4th July, 8th August & 5th September, 2-4 p.m. – booking link
Details
All courses will be held in my forest garden in Aberdeen unless otherwise mentioned. They will be cancelled in the event of illness or severe weather and a full refund or transfer to another course will be given. If you want to come on any of the courses but the cost is genuinely a barrier, contact me. If you need to stay in Aberdeen to make attending any of the courses possible, I can put up one person or couple for a night. If you have any symptoms of covid (or anything else contagious and nasty), do not come. I will give you a full refund or you can come on a different course. Further details are in the individual course booking pages.