Course Structure
Course Structure The course will be taught in six lessons with ample opportunities for practical work in the raised beds on site. We hope to give a basic understanding of how to grow your own vegetables, herbs and fruit, by teaching participants about the factors which influence plant growth, especially soil, water, nutrients and light and warmth. The course topics covered will include:
Lesson 1
The first day of the course will focus on soil - its structure and the properties of soil that make it ideal to work with as well as for optimal root growth, such as organic matter content, fertility, water holding capacity, acidity. We will also be looking at how warmer soils increase root growth and how soil temperature can be controlled.
The role of compost will be covered in this lesson, with a basic knowledge of the secrets to making good compost. Not as mysterious or hard as you may believe!
Lesson 2
Will be about seeds. You will learn that seeds are living things, with a limited life span. You will learn how to sow seeds of different sizes, large ones like beans and peas and the very small like carrot, lettuce and brassica seeds. And how to plan your garden knowing the sizes of mature plants, sometimes many thousands of times bigger than the tiny seeds from which they come.
Lesson 3
This lesson will concentrate on nurturing & protecting your vegetables as seedlings and as mature veg; particularly how to keep them protected from wind, frost, cold, weeds, pests and diseases and other stresses.
Lesson 4
Will continue teaching how to care for growing produce, about thinning, reducing wastage, making the best use of limited space, growing vegetables in bags and other containers and about spreading out your harvests to minimise gluts.
Lesson 5
Will cover harvesting vegetables; knowing when and how to take produce, how to keep it fresh, storage of root crops and how to cope with ‘too much’. You will learn about keeping production going throughout the year.
Lesson 6
Will be one to learn about fruit growing, from strawberries & raspberries to orchard fruit. You will learn about the wide choice of varieties available, how to care for and get the most from soft fruit and fruit trees, and about the principles of pruning.
What To BringAll tools, materials, seed and plants will be provided by us. Please bring stout footwear such as welly boots, or better still steel capped footwear with thick soles to protect against dirt, heavy or sharp objects. Gardening gloves can be brought, though the course tutors should be able to provide gloves for those without.
Please bring waterproofs and suitably warm clothing, preferably several layers which can be shed as necessary in warm weather.
Course tutors are instructed in First Aid, and will need to make a register of all attending the courses. In case of emergencies, please bring contact details of next of kin, your GP and information on allergies or conditions which would help First Aiders. If you think your tetanus jab may need renewing, please ask your doctor.
Here’s a little science for youIt is an extraordinary process, one in which sunlight energy shimmering on countless trillions of chlorophyll molecules (those which make plants green) is used to make plants, which in turn become the stuff of which we are made. The green pigment chlorophyll uses photons (particles of light) to break the tough little bonds of H2O, and join the hydrogen onto CO2 molecules, creating simple sugars. As a by-product, the O (Oxygen) of water is released giving us the vital gas we need to breath.
From these simple sugars, plants grow, laying down starch and cellulose, building proteins, oils and vitamins. Our own bodies and those of virtually all animals are made from plants we have consumed (or from other creatures which have consumed plants). We are merely metamorphosed plant tissues - every atom in our bodies having once been part of a green plant - not that long ago!
From the common dirt of the earth, from dampness in the soil and from trace amounts of CO2 in the air around us, vegetables and then we, literally materialise. It’s as magical as anything that happens on Star-Trek, and for real too!
We at ECBA really hope you will enjoy learning from the Grow Your Own course, and also from information on this website. Your feedback and questions will be most welcome, so keep ‘em coming!