AN upcoming workshop taking place next month is set to plant the seeds for gardening beginners looking to grow vegetables.<\/p>\n
Author of the Urban Food Garden blog John Ditchburn will host his annual seedling workshop next weekend and he\u2019s seeking to pass on his decades of experience with propagation methods.<\/p>\n
He said the event will give budding gardeners the tools to grow their own seedlings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has two sessions of theory about growing seedlings, the first of which will be a basic one and the second will look at heating propagation units,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will be planting their own seedlings in a Styrofoam seeding box, and if they want to they can have a sheet of glass over it which will turn it into a mini-greenhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll take that home with them to start growing their own seedlings. With Styrofoam it takes a lot longer to dry out the soil so it makes it easier for the beginner to grow seedlings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Ditchburn has been running his annual seedling workshop for about 15 years, following a guide he\u2019d co-developed on the subject as part of his Urban Food blog.<\/p>\n
Materials like soil, seeding mix, and manure will be provided while attendees must bring their own Styrofoam boxes.<\/p>\n
Funds from the workshop will go towards Mr Ditchburn\u2019s blog, which details his experiences gardening against Ballarat conditions.<\/p>\n
He said the workshop is in the spirit of the ethos behind Urban Food Garden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made so many mistakes as a food gardener specifically to Ballarat\u2019s climate which is pretty grim,\u201d he said. \u201cThe methods you\u2019d use here are quite different to what you\u2019d do in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I lived there, I\u2019d plant my tomatoes in September. Here, it\u2019s traditionally the first weekend of November. Any earlier than that and you risk getting hammered by a late frost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve built up quite a lot of knowledge on how to grow to Ballarat weather and this is to impart some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The workshop is set to run from 1.30pm on Saturday 2 September at 104 Crompton Street, Soldiers Hill and is capped at 18 people.<\/p>\n
Tickets to are $45 for the whole session or $30 for just the theoretical talk.<\/p>\n
To book, call Mr Ditchburn on 0428 157 618 or email urbanfoodgarden2@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AN upcoming workshop taking place next month is set to plant the seeds for gardening beginners looking to grow vegetables. Author of the Urban Food Garden blog John Ditchburn will host his annual seedling workshop next weekend and he\u2019s seeking to pass on his decades of experience with propagation methods. He said the event will […]<\/p>\n