Registration is open for the 2024 Season. Click here to register
HOW TO GROW A GARDEN
This seven month (March through September) organic gardening course for beginners and need-help gardeners will meet the third or fourth Sunday of each month from 9:30 to 12:30. It is an intimate hands-on course that will start from the ground up, taking students through everything they need to know to successfully plan, prepare, plant, tend and harvest their very own gardens.
In addition to receiving a solid foundation in basic gardening techniques, students will develop a respect for and ability to interpret the complex interactions between soil, plants, insects and animals.
The Basic outline of the course includes
March: Planning: Soil testing; garden location and sizing; seed ordering
April: Garden Prep: Soil work-up; amendments; compost; layout; bed prep
May: Planting: planting and transplanting; watering; tool use
June: Tending: Weeding; hoeing, thinning, staking; mulching
July: Interaction: Insects; diseases; fall planting
August: Harvesting: putting by; summer garden completion; cleanup
September: Continuing: season extension; sheet composting; cover crops
Along the way, we will also be covering record keeping practices, seedling starting in the greenhouse, companion planting, succession planting, resources, tools (sharpening and storing), permaculture and Biodynamic practices, seed saving.
The emphasis will be on gardening over three seasons, growing food for yourself and your family and friends. Besides the familiar summer gardening, students will be guided and encouraged to consider a fall garden, usually planted in the middle of the summer, as well as a winter garden. Imagine having kale, salad greens and lettuce to pick in the fall or even the winter.
Often gardening courses are taught as a three session segment indoors, the students leaving with lots of notes, but basically on their own for the growing season. Then, when they encounter issues, questions or befuddlements, they find themselves standing alone in their gardens with no help. By mid-summer they leave it all alone, except for the tomatoes and go to the beach! In this course, meeting each month will allow students to ask questions and make corrections as their gardens are growing and thriving. There will still be time for the beach.
Classes take place at my home, 67 Cedar Hill Road, Northborough, MA, using my gardens and greenhouse.
Each month, we will gather to share our gardening concerns and learn about the focus for that month. I will present new information, answer questions and offer tips on gardening. Then we will head out to the garden and greenhouse for hands-on learning and to observe and interact with what is happening there. Depending on the month, we might be planting, tending, harvesting, noticing the insect interactions and general health of the plants or building compost.
DATES for the 2024 Season:
March 17
April 21
May 19
June 23
July 21
August 18
September 15
The Intent and Purpose of the Garden Course:
- To provide practical direction and guidance in growing vegetables, herbs, flowers and berries throughout three seasons.
- To appreciate the role of the soil, plants, insects, animals and their interactions.
- To acquaint students with the timing (seasons, months, weather) and the rhythms (waxing and waning of moon) of a garden.
- To practice awareness and observation in the garden
- To harvest and savor and eat our productions.
- To inspire us to do it all again!
This was a wonderful, exceptional experience–I learned so much, and have wonderful memories. I now have a full roadmap for the garden next year, which I never would have been able to see without your course. -EL
I liked the hands-on aspect in the greenhouse and the garden. -D
By the end of the course, I felt much more prepared for next year’s garden — without the experience of seeing your garden over the course of 3 seasons that would not have happened. -MM
I loved that it spanned [six] months, from the time snow was on the ground and the garden was just an aspiration, through the entire summer and fall. It really showed me how the garden is actually a year round
process ….
I loved the idea of working WITH the land, and observing the messages it is giving us. I learned a different way of being in nature from you. -LC
Enrollment: Maximum Class size: 10. Cost: $280 for the 7 month course. Reduced rates or work trades are available. Just ask.
The balance is due at the first session in March.
To register and save
Kathy Huckins
67 Cedar Hill Rd.
Northborough,
Questions? Call Kathy at 508-393-8695 or
email her at huckinshome@gmail.com
Garden course beginner gardening home garden permaculture no till soil management Northborough