Learn how to grow your own produce in Sonairte’s 250-year-old walled garden with Robert Miller.

Robert studied horticulture at the National Botanic Gardens and now works for Beechpark Eco Farm in Clonsilla. He has also received a Permaculture Design Certificate from Cultivate in Cloughjordan Ecovillage and has worked both in commercial landscaping and as a private gardener. He has previously worked for Sonairte, starting as part of his college work placement, and has designed and implemented a number of demonstration areas in the Sonairte garden. He is particularly interested in gardening for wildlife and in growing your own food and he loves to share his knowledge with whoever will listen. 

This practical hands-on workshop will teach you the value of soil composition and biodiversity in growing a successful garden.

This workshop is reoccurring event on the first Sunday of every month beginning on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023 with the introduction, planning, planting and watering at the same time/place. This workshop will focus on the basics of gardening such as bed preparation, propagation, planting, watering, pest management, weed management, disease management, harvesting, winter cropping, pruning, and growing in a polytunnel…

Introduction

1) Introduction

– Basic needs of plants, – Soil biology, – Garden ecology,

2) Planning

– Rotations, – Intercropping, – Relay cropping

Sunday April 2nd

1) Bed preparation

– Stale seedbed technique, – Digging, – Mulching

2) Propagation

– Sowing seed, – Taking cuttings, – Division

Sunday May 7th

1) Planting

– Direct seeding, – Transplanting, – Planting trees and shrubs

2) Watering

– Watering seedlings, – Watering crops in the ground, – Conserving water in the soil

Sunday June 4th

1) Introduction to integrated pest management

– Physical, biological and chemical controls, – Understanding lifecycles, – Monitoring populations

2) Weed management

– Hoeing annual weeds, – Pulling perennial weeds, – Mulching to control weeds

Sunday July 2nd

1) Pest management

– Crop protection, – Attracting natural enemies, – Creating alternative habitats

2) Disease management

– Promoting beneficial microorganisms, – Managing airflow, – Preventing plant stress

Sunday August 6th

1) Basic harvesting

– Harvesting leaves, – Harvesting fruit, – Harvesting roots and tubers

2) More advanced harvesting

– Cut and come again, – Promoting regrowth, – Storing your harvest

Sunday September 3rd

1) Preparing for the winter

– Mulching, – Sowing cover crops, – Fleece netting

2) Cropping round the year

– Vegetables to harvest in the winter and the hungry gap, – Using a variety of crops and cultivars, – Perennial vegetables

Sunday October 1st

1) Pruning

– Pruning fruit trees and bushes, – Pruning herbaceous perennials, – Pruning by harvesting

2) Growing in a polytunnel

– Benefits and drawbacks of overhead watering, – Installing a drip line, – Balancing heat and airflow

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Sonairte reserves the right to cancel the event if minimum attendance is not met or in the case of changing health regulations relating to COVID-19.

Please include your phone number and email address so that we may contact you if the course schedule changes or is updated.

Tickets can be purchased at the Sonairte Eco Shop or at the Eventbrite link below.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/gardening-workshop-2023-tickets-558356618677

Refunds will be issued in the event of cancellation minus a small Eventbrite fee.

If you BUY all 7 2023 WORKSHOP SESSIONS – you can avail a discount of 15 euros!!

For any further information, please get in touch with us at hello@sonairte.ie