Ecogardening Essential Training

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Eco gardening practice shifts the focus to low maintenance gardening, using regenerative patterns of cultivation found in natural systems. When a garden is well designed from an ecological perspective it generates abundance, biodiversity, and self-sustaining gardenscapes.

In this training course, you will learn how to get started with edible polycultures, how to embed self-watering systems in the garden that work for you and your plants, how to identify the type of soil you are working with, and select the ideal composting systems for your specific needs and site, and how to structure your garden with permanent edible and medicinal planting schemes using perennials. In addition, you will also learn how polycultures benefit wildlife and provide natural pests control.

The modules and respective course days are as follows:

12.02.2022 Polycultures for Spring and Summer

From window box to market garden, you will learn how to design effortless planting schemes that nurture soil, wildlife, and people. First, we will explore the secrets of polycultures by learning the underlying principles that create successful communities of plants, and how you can use those patterns to design abundant edible and medicinal polycultures during the growing season.

19.02.2022 Gardening with Perennials

Explore how to apply the ecological patterns found in forests to design permanent edible and medicinal cultivated habitats. These patterns of cultivation can be applied to any scale, from a patio or balcony garden to any acreage; although the focus of this day course will be on urban settings, ranging from private to community garden spaces. Perennials, such as trees are the structural engineers of the eco-garden, providing habitat and supporting biodiversity. Learn how to integrate trees with other perennials for long-term abundance, beauty, and carbon capture.

26.02.2022 Art of Composting

Unlock the mysteries of soil to design efficient polycultures. Soil is the foundation of the garden. Learn how to identify soil types to better understand which planting schemes can be easily integrated on different sites. To sustain long-term fertility in an eco-garden, the addition of organic matter, aka compost, is essential. How would you design efficient composting systems that fit your site's needs, your lifestyle, and available time and resources? If you want answers, you will find them on this course day.

05.03.2022 Self-watering Gardens

In our temperate climate, we are blessed with an abundance of rain. However, we often get too much at times, and occasionally, when most needed, none at all.

Learn the theory and practice of efficient self-watering systems for any size garden. Drought proof your garden and go on holidays knowing your plants shall be well watered. Conversely, learn how these same methods can prevent soil erosion and flooding during rainy seasons.

02.04.2022 Polycultures for Autumn and Winter

The temperate climate and its short growing season challenge the cultivation of plants during the cold season. Nonetheless, with appropriate knowledge and planning, we can still grow plenty at this time of the year.

First, we will explore the secrets of polycultures by learning the underlying principles that create successful communities of plants, and how you can use those patterns to combine annual, and perennial, edible plants to mitigate the 'hungry gap', and develop an abundant and beautiful winter garden.

All course days run on Saturdays from 10 am to 3.30 pm, in Broadbottom near Hyde, the venue is only a few minutes walk away from the train station. The current programme supports the development of a one-acre riverside, thriving permaculture garden. Weather permitting there will be the opportunity to apply theory to practice in the garden from 3.30 to 4.30 pm.

In between course days, there will be further opportunities to attend practical sessions in the garden.