Grow vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers – the Biodynamic horticulture training provides you with the skills to make the most of a small area! Did you know that you can grow all the fruit and vegetables for 25 families on just 1 acre? And that you can start your own organic or Biodynamic market garden on a shoestring budget?
This course is for people who...
...would like to make a change, and want to make it now! Don’t wait – in this course, you can learn all the skills and knowledge you need to grow organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and cut flowers – for all of which there is a huge demand. After the course, rent or buy your own land and get started in this exciting field of work. Other graduates of the course find the job of their lifetime in various community gardening projects in cities and towns – an area that is expected to increase even more in years to come.
Tell me more...
Why Biodynamic? Organic horticulture is great! And Biodynamic horticulture adds something special to it – we use special herbal preparations on our fields and crops in order to balance the forces of growth and reproduction. We use knowledge of the cycles of the moon to grow crops that are even stronger and healthier – often tasting better and keeping longer in winter storage. And we want to be able to work creatively, or even artistically – in order to create gardens and holdings that not only feed our stomachs but also nourish our souls. The keywords are beauty and balance.
What do I get out of it?
The course is an accredited Edexcel National Certificate in Horticulture: this means that you can apply for a Career Development Loan or an Adult Learning Grant – and at the end of the course you get an officially certified qualification. In the course we cover all aspects of organic and biodynamic horticulture: soil science, plant propagation, developing a crop rotation, sowing, weed control, pest and disease management, harvesting and storage techniques, soft and top fruit production, tree pruning, grafting trees, production of perennials (herbs and cut flowers), production under glass or polytunnels, beekeeping, etc, etc. This is the ideal course for anyone who would like to make a living from a small area of land by growing veg, fruit, herbs or cut flowers for the local and regional market.
Who's the teacher?
The course is led by Arjen Huese, an experienced biodynamic grower, originally from the Netherlands. Arjen has worked on biodynamic market gardens in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and the UK. He had a successful market garden in the Netherlands where he grew a wide range of vegetables for his farm-based delivery service as well as speciality ‘baby salad leaves’ for various awarded restaurants in Amsterdam and the Hague. Since moving to the UK, Arjen has started the first biodynamic cut flower enterprise, growing a wide variety of annual and perennial cut flowers such as roses, peonies and sweet peas for the florists in the area. Arjen loves being in a ‘niche’ market and providing something special and unique for local customers. Read more about Arjen’s flower garden on www.wealdenflowers.co.uk
The course consists of six months college-based learning, followed by a six month’s work placement, after which students come back for the final six months at the college. Three months' work experience on a market garden prior to starting the course is the only prerequisite for joining.