Workshop: Planning your Kitchen Garden
Homegrown produce is not only tastier but, when your plot is well and truly thriving, it can even reduce your grocery bills. The ability to harvest new potatoes while they are still expensive in the shops, harvest difficult-to-buy delicacies like sprout tops, or have a constant supply of salads and herbs through the summer, is a satisfaction that comes from growing your own. Join our organic kitchen garden expert Sarah to learn how to start a beautiful and productive plot in four easy steps: designing your space, preparing your soil, maximising yield, and planning ongoing maintenance of your garden. We will give you guidance to create your own individualised design for your new kitchen garden and provide lots of ideas and practical tips on how to make this happen - please bring along photographs and/or diagrams of your plot to help create your new design!
This session is ideal for anyone who is keen to start growing their own vegetables and fruit and want to explore how to design their available space for both beauty and functionality. Together we will explore:
Design principles and how they relate to fruit and vegetable growing
Identifying your soil type and how to improve it where needed and look after it well
Choosing crops to grow that are right for you and your space
Looking after your kitchen garden to keep it beautiful and productive
You will leave this session with a personalised plan of your new kitchen garden layout and lots of ideas for what to grow and how to maintain it.
Working with a small space or balcony? This session is aimed at those planning a small plot of land so why not try our Intro to Food Growing or Herbs and Edible Flowers instead?
Meet Sarah
Sarah began her gardening journey in 2005, working with disabled people helping them to overcome ongoing mental ill-health by accessing gardening. She went on to run gardening projects and sessional tutoring for Age UK Merton and EcoLocal teaching, before completing the RHS Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture, and working as a Senior Tutor, delivering horticultural training to disabled adults, and teaching City and Guilds Practical Horticulture Courses to Level 2.
Sarah has recently completed her RHS Master of Horticulture degree course with distinction and was the recipient of the RHS Chittenden award this year for coming top of her year group, she continues to pass on knowledge by teaching at EcoLocal, Sutton Parks Department, and Walworth Garden.
In her spare time, Sarah looks after her own garden and allotment and enjoys cooking, sewing and yoga.
Price: £85/ Free for Southwark residents
Free places are available for Southwark residents aged 19+. Each resident can claim 1 place per academic year (Oct 23- Jul 24). To check whether you are eligible, please click here.
To claim your free place, click ‘Book Here’ below, and enter code ‘SOUTHWARK23’ under ‘Redeem Coupon’.
You will then be charged a £10 deposit in order to claim your place, this deposit will be refunded to you after you attend the workshop.
Please note that you will be required to fill in a Southwark Council form, including some personal information, in order to confirm your place on a workshop. Your place will not be confirmed until this has been completed in full.
Already done this workshop and want to learn something else? Why not try the below?