City & Guilds Level 1 Award in Practical Horticulture, September 2020
This is a great introduction to organic horticulture, with a focus on food and herb growing. We look at soils, seeds, compost, and plant care, as well as creating planting plans and exploring different approaches including permaculture, forest gardening and no-dig gardening.
The course is delivered from the veg field one day a week on Thursdays, delivered by Mel, a long-standing grower and teacher from the farm, with a parallel day on Tuesdays run by Zoe at Foxhole Community Garden, (which is on the same site just next door), and is accredited through Bicton College. The course runs from 9:30am to 3pm for 10 weeks, with a week off at half term. The start date is Thursday 17th September 2020.
There is a Level 2 Certificate which follows on from this course which starts in February 2021.
The main syllabus takes you through growing veg and herbs in an organic and holistic way, including:
- Propagation – seeds and cuttings
- Soils, composting and mulching
- Transplanting and planting out
- Aftercare
- Weeds
- Nutrients and feeds
- Plant identification
- Gardening for wildlife and biodiversity
The full cost is £258, with funding available to some applicants. For more information about the course contact melissa.harvey@bicton.ac.uk or for more information on costs, funding and enrollment contact Bicton here (please scroll down for the Thursday enrollment)
Planning and Planting a Herb Garden
We will be running this 6 day course, one day a week on Fridays or Saturdays starting September 11th/ 12th 2020. Explore how to plan and plant an organic herb garden for culinary and tea uses, looking at growing in garden beds and pots.
We will be learning about the range of herbs you can grow, their different uses, creating spaces for wild herbs, growing from seed and cuttings, caring for your plants harvesting and working with herbs for health and cooking. This course is suitable for beginners or anyone who wants to learn new skills or increase their range of herbs.
It is accredited by Bicton College at Level 1 Occupational Studies. It will be based at the herb garden at School Farm CSA, on the Dartington Estate near Totnes, which is a working Organic market garden, growing vegetables and herbs for the local community.
Course cost: £75. Funding is available for some learners, for further details and to enroll please email info@schoolfarmcsa.org.uk (enrollment is usually through Bicton College, but the page on the website is currently being updated).
Tours
School Farm CSA offer tours of the farm led by one of our founders and growers. We can give general tours of the farm, or tailor tours to focus on a particular topic. Prices of tours vary depending on the size of the group and the length. For more information and to make a booking please contact info@schoolfarmcsa.org.uk
City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture
Full details to be added, but this 20 week course will start in February 2021.
To apply please visit the Bicton website here
