The course is composed of seven monthly sessions, March to September, of an hour each supplemented with video, handouts and references.
The content will be adapted to the season, the weather on the day and participants' input.
All content is subject to change.
Participants should have note-taking equipment and, if choosing the online option, access to the internet. In person participants should consider appropriate clothing including boots and weatherproof outerwear. You are welcome to bring your own tools if you wish to practice or explore their use.
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Session 1 Planning, Soil, Sowing |
Our story – why and how we started this adventure. Planning – what, where, how, ... Soil – dig, prepare, test Muck Tilling Sowing, choosing seeds Planting, (onions, beans, potatoes) |
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Session 2 Review past month Q&A Options ... |
Review past month – onions, broad beans, potatoes, leaves, brassicas, beetroot; tomatoes. Goslings. Q&A Tools, irrigation. Rotation Coming up – Pumpkin, carrots Incubation Marketing intro. |
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Session 3 Review past month Q&A Options ... |
Review past month – weeding; sow pumpkin, carrots; goslings; prep greenhouse and transplant tomatoes. Irrigation – field and greenhouse Tools – hoes, rakes. Organisation. Apiary. |
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Session 4 Review past month Q&A Options ... |
Review past month - crop progression, heavy weeding, irrigation, problems, sow french beans. Poultry incubation, development, feeding. Making hay. Irrigation issues - reservoir. Tools - scare tape, hoes/spade, tractor, disc mower, flail. Organisation - work load, self management. |
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Session 5 Electrical and plumbing 101 Building Review past month Q&A |
Infrastructure: Basic electrical and plumbing trouble shooting. Building a shed - foundation and main structure. Review past month - hay making, pests (cabbage butterfly, slugs, aphids), harvest/sale/storage (leaf crops, onions, broad beans, courgette, potatoes), tomato sideshoots. Mixed poultry flock. Tools - scythe, 3/4" (19mm) hose and quick couplings. |
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Session 6 Recap Review past month Tools Weeding conversation |
Chainsaw basics Plots: French beans, 2-wheel tractor with potato lifter, clear broad beans, gourd progress, carrot harvesting, leaves pros and cons, cabbage, tomatoes, peaches. Tools: 3/4" (19mm) hose, netting, harvest scissors. Weeding conversation. |
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Session 7 Review all plots. Q&A
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Q&A Plots wrap-up: broad beans, begin next year sowing, gourds, roots/carrots, potatoes, leaves (radish, endive, chard), brassicas, tomatoes, broad beans. Slabbing, welding, misc. Can you make a living ...? Rotation? "Grow your own", ... |