Building soil, growing food and creating networks for mutual support
Permaculture design is so much more than gardening, we repeat this ad infinitum but it is also very easily applied to gardening and growing food and right now that is feeling like a piority. This will be a 12- week course April- June taking you through the main growing season and building your growing skills and wider understanding of the whole process.
This is new course for us, and the timing feels right for this as we all watch in horror as food and energy prices escalate. I have a tiny 1/4 sized allotment, so have always been restricted, and my home only has postage stamp sized front yard, but I have made the most of this by adding fruit trees vines and herbs, you can grow a lot in small space if you set your mind to it.
You can also grow on other people’s land, public land, farm edges, we can get creative and find these opportunities if we look with determination.
Mutually beneficial relationships
The biggest lesson from permaculture is that nature runs on relationships, mutual exchange. Not always immediately apparent but they are always there. We can also plan around this to build similar relationships and connections.
We are not into self-sufficiency, that is not practical and is also isolating, but to be more self-sufficient makes a lot of sense and generating surplus for trade or storage is also a big factor we are working towards.
S39 have built a deep friendship with Treflach farm over 12 years, holding permaculture courses and training events there and more recently holding our weekly Permaculture Club there. We have constructed a mandala garden as part of a soil testing experiment and the farm themseves have expanded their horticulture areas significantly. They are essentially a stock farm, with poor soils that do best growing grasses and herbs. The best soils is where we are building our gardens and we are close to asource of manure and compost from the pig breeding areas. we can also capture rain water from the roofs which are higher than the garden.
In recent weeks we have been planting wind breaks and shelter to protet the rather exposed spot and this will pay off dividends over time.
Course structure and payments
This is new and we are planning ‘on the hoof’. I am currently in Rwand and on my way to Uganda teacher training for the Academy but will be home again by end of March and I will be keen to get ready and started as soon as I am back
I am imaging theory and practical sessions at the farm, on Thursdays 10-2.00pm each week, with the theory presented live over Zoom with content captured and uploaded to a course resource page each week. I would like to charge £20 a week – (£10 reductions if you can claim hardship) but consider maybe contributing through volunteering or trade. On line only students can make donations and our African partners and friends may attend with out charge, but we will be looking for your feedback and photos from your efforts at home in return.
Lets make this a two-way exchange. Lets work together. I look forward to seeing you there or through a screen.
http://treflachfarm.co.uk The vunue is a few miles outside of Oswestry and easily found on Google maps.
- Lively practical and interactive sessions
- Mix of theory and practicals
- Course blog and web resources
- Advice and support from a team of experienced teachers
- Become active in food growing networks
- local and global links
- Affordable and flexible pricing
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