Training – Courses – Down to Earth Stroud

We are passionate about Local Food Culture and committed to supporting Stroud people in creating a richer, more resourceful ‘growing’ Community

Workshops

We will be offering a range of Workshops in 2015 covering many aspects of home growing.
Bespoke training workshops are also available tailored to individual needs and requests.
We can deliver workshops in venues and allotment sites.
Our regular workshops are:

LOST THE PLOT?

To dig or not to dig, this is the question! This workshop looks at
plot planning, preparation and management, what to grow and when,
how to get the right soil environment for different crops.
We also look at crop rotation, fertility building and organic practices
that help planning a successful vegetable plot.

MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST

An introduction to the many values of practical composting including what goes in,
what stays out, getting the right mix, how and when to use for different crops, how it works.

ON YOUR MARKS!

Getting off to a good start – making your own seed and potting compost,
successful seed sowing, potting on and transplanting, propagation techniques,
thinning out, protection from the elements (environment and animals!).

PURE AND SIMPLE

How do organic fertilisers work and how do you know when to use them? During this workshop we will look at how to use fertilisers to improve your crops, how to make your own fertilisers and compost tea, foliar feeds, mulches, green manures. We will also look at the role of a healthy soil environment in controlling some common diseases.

FRIENDS AND FAMILIES

An introduction to companion planting, edible flowers, and how to attract pollinators and predators
to help you in your garden. We will also look at some common wild foods that are high in taste and nutrition.

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

The role of earthworms in soil, including a global history of worms from Darwin to Daleks!
During this session you will be doing a soil and earthworm survey and identifying different earthworm species.
Working with wormeries: Learn about different designs, ingredients, recipes for success and how to manage them to compost kitchen waste.

MAKE YOUR OWN TREE BOG!

The concept of compost toilets and tree bogs in particular. The basic requirements including different designs, choice of sites and materials. How they work, health and safety and planting around them to take advantage of the nutrients.

COMMUNITY COMPOSTING COURSE

The Community composting network (CCN) have been funded by the Big Lottery Food Programme to set up several training hubs across the country that will offer local growing communities accredited courses in the art of composting. Down to Earth put in an application to become one of these hubs and was chosen! We ran two successful courses in 2013 and 2014 in partnership with Bisley Community Composting Site and Cheltenham Community Composting.
The funding for this from the National Lottery has now run out and we’re waiting to hear from CCN what will happen next.