Forest Gardening Courses

6 day Forest Gardening course all on Saturdays, 7th Nov/ 5th Dec 2009/ 23rd Jan/ 27th Feb/ 13th Mar/ 25th April 2010.

Venue: Agrarian Renaissance (Ardeley) Ltd, Church Farm, Ardeley, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 7AH. E: info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk

Teacher: Claire White, Naturewise, Permaculture & Forest Gardening Teacher http://www.clairewhitegardens.co.uk/

To book Please call Church Farm direct on 01438 861 447 or 07522 466 355 to reserve your place.

Fees: Day session costs £60.00.

To book the whole course costs £50 per day.

Food, Teas & Times: From 9.00am through to 4.00pm and

includes coffee and tea as well as a delicious lunch from

ingredients grown on the farm.

 Course content

 1. Saturday 7th November 2009

• Defining forest gardening.

• History and Design Process.

• Windbreaks/Hedges.

Practical: Survey and observation exercise, Planting windbreak and

sowing seeds for ground cover in the forest garden. Mulching areas

to be planted.

2. Saturday 5th December 2009

• Designing, Guilds and Forest succession. 

• Edges.

• Developing a planting plan.

Practical: Surveying the site, Potting on, Mulching, assessing and

identifying needs of farm in the design

3. Saturday 23rd January 2010

• Polyculture, Design principles rolling out across site.

• Growing with perennials. Ground cover, trees. Microclimates.

• Detailed plant list.

Practical: Drawing out design, mulching, planting out.

4. Saturday 27th February 2010

• Clearings and edges in design, water.

• Surplus, realising resources.

• Swales.

Practical: Planting out Trees, ground cover any other practical work.

5. Saturday 13th March 2010

• The Underground and Mycorrhizal fungi.

• Soil and soil surface.

• Canopy density and design.

Practical: Planting trees, shrubs and ground cover.

6. Saturday 25th April 2010

• Rolling Permaculture and forest gardening.

• The social element and our part in the poly-culture.

• Native/naturalised plants on the farm and foraging.

Practical: Planting, mulching observing developing garden.

Course Outcomes

The course has been created to enable you to see the whole

process of design of a forest garden, ideas as well as learning

practical and principle skills. At the end of the course you

should be able to create your own forest garden on a small or large scale.

No prior knowledge required.

What to bring

Sturdy boots and clothes you don’t mind getting

a little dirty, and a notebook and pen.

Reunion and Follow Up Day – Summer 2010

Final planting, succession any other tasks outstanding.

Review design process.

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