We are very happy to announce our Spring Commercial Organic Growing course for 2021. Our 4-day Commercial Organic Horticulture Course offers people an amazing training opportunity to learn how to set up an organic food growing business from the growers themselves.
Run by Kate Collyns and Adam Rayne, two hugely experienced and successfully market gardeners (see below for more about them), the course will impart their knowledge and wisdom on the key areas in any food growing enterprise, including:
- Running a food growing business (including finances, legal issues, record-keeping, Health & Safety, managing volunteers).
- Understanding and maintaining soil fertility.
- Small-scale market gardening – focusing on plant propagation and salad leaf production.
- Field-scale vegetable production, including pests and diseases and machinery maintenance.
Practicalities: As with many things over the 9 months, the course will be a bit different this year. Due to ongoing uncertainties around the Covid 19 restrictions, the course will be held via zoom. However never fear, we ran some of last spring’s sessions in this way and participants found it to be a very successful way to complete the course.
Each session will run from 10am - 1pm and the dates are:
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th February
Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th February
Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st February
Saturday 27th February
Saturday 6th March
While we sadly cannot run the course in person, we will be organising a visit for those who want to and are able. This will be to our growing site in Stockport, for a tour and the opportunity to put some of what you have learned into practice! We will organise this date once we are clearer on what the restrictions will be in the spring.
Course cost:
Cost of the course is £150 (+VAT) however Kindling Trust Supporters get a 10% discount
Applications can be made by visiting: https://kindling.org.uk/CommercialGrowersCourses and completing the online application form.
The deadline is January 22nd at 5pm.
We look forward to your applications. If you have any queries please do get in touch.
Our Trainers:
Kate Collyns.
Kate Collyns started her own very successful market garden business in 2011, and sells to farm shops, cafés, local pubs and restaurants. Kate is also Author of the book 'Growing for Profit' in which she answers all the questions she had when starting out in business herself, and has written for magazines including The Independent magazine, Countryfile and Grow Your Own.
Adam Rayne.
Adam is a hugely experienced grower, Adam has spent the last 12 years managing Glebelands City Growers, a hugely successful growing business with a strong focus on salads and leafy greens.
