Market Gardening Training Hub - open taster session

Want to set up a Market Garden? Come and see ours, what we do and how you can earn money from growing food. Tour & Tasting included This is a FREE taster session in person at our demonstration Market Garden in Berkshire - public transport options are limited. We will be taking a tour of our exciting market garden which shows a range of mixed systems for food growing including: • orchard • forest garden • perennial market garden • polytunnel • mushroom growing • plant nursery • silvo-horticultural rows You will get to taste a number of plants, ask questions about what we do & how we can support your food growing journey, or creation of a food growing project. Plants & Produce will be available to purchase on the day. Please wear sturdy footwear and dress for all weathers! The venue is rural and the nearest shop is a 10 minute drive away (Lambourn). The nearest train station is Hungerford, then Newbury and Didcot Parkway. It is very difficult to reach this venue on public transport. Suitable for: Anyone with an interest in growing food as a job or career About the event (including practical elements): Using our market garden, we will show you a number of productive systems suitable to different sites. We will discuss the possible crops for commercial production here in the UK; what can be grown outdoors, indoors and seasonally. You will be able to see our crops growing, taste some and ask questions about why we have chosen what we grow. There will be an opportunity to buy some of our produce. You will learn: • About the commercial crops we grow • Why we grow what we grow • How to create a low maintenance site for food production • How to create a whole ecosystem • The benefits of trees • Complementary plants • Unusual trees & shrubs for food production You will leave with a good understanding of various productive systems and their benefits to soil health, the environment and to us as growers. Next steps: We offer training and support on site, as well one-to-one consultancy and design for kitchen gardens, market gardens and agroforestry sites. Testimonials: Lovely course, thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend :) Lyndsey, Berks I would recommend edge (formerly incredible edible) to anyone. I have never been a very confident gardener but the courses I have done have provided me with such a wealth of information and expertise that I now feel encouraged to give things a go. Lorna, Wantage "Very interesting and supportive. It has given me the confidence to research and try things I hadn't thought about before. Thank you Rachael" Sarah, Berkshire "Urban Design OBU benefited greatly from a workshop on urban food production using the UFP toolkit by Rachel Hammond of Edge landscaping. The students managed to develop a masterplan for a global city site measuring the productivity of their designs, management issues as well as understanding the social and environmental benefits of UFP. The workshops are compelling and effective for valuing UFP." Regina L. Oxford Brookes University About the Tutors Rachel is a Landscape Architect & Urban Designer specialising in regenerative food production. She designs spaces for food, soil health and wildlife and biodiversity, as well as maximising harvests and reducing the work needed to achieve it. She learnt to grow food from her Grandparents in Jersey who grew much of their own produce on their acre - including Jersey Royal Potatoes! Rachel still loves potatoes. Growing food all her life, and commercially for the last 10 years, Rachel has worked with CSA, farms, market gardens, urban farms, community gardens and corporate businesses to increase food production and efficiency, whilst reducing labour and costs. Georgina is an education expert who runs our school and family sessions as well as building our ponds and bog gardens for us. She is a specialist in song birds and wild mushrooms. Rachel founded edge, a non-profit design agency, with the main aims of designing urban food production systems, growing food within whole ecosystems and educating others on food production systems and ecological farming practices.