Phone: 0411 579 778

Workshops

Workshops Available (All 2 hours except where indicated)

2. Workshops at external venues
Click on a workshop name to find out more

Full Workshop Descriptions

Backyard Veggies (2 x sessions)
Escape harmful chemicals and produce a garden that can feed the family.  Taste the difference!  This is an introductory course to encourage everyone to have a go at growing their own fruit and veggies.  The class gives tips on locating your veggie patch, what to grow and when to plant it.  Additional booklets with individual plant growing requirements are available at extra cost.
  • Planning and placement of the veggie patch
  • Crop rotation
  • Fertilizers
  • Extending the harvest
The Veggie Lady’s Own Garden
(Full day – morning tea and lunch included)
Ever wondered what The Veggie Lady’s garden looks like?  Take a trip to Camden and see Toni’s own garden.  Take the principals from Toni’s garden and learn how to transform your own backyard into a food forest, whether it’s a tiny balcony or a 5 acre property!  See how to divide your garden into zones for entertaining, flowers and vegetable growing, fruit and perennial orchard, and even backyard poultry.
Topics covered include placement and layout, plant grouping, garden structures and chicken-keeping.  Start the day with home-baked morning tea and enjoy lunch from Toni’s own garden as well as other tasty local gourmet produce.  Organic seeds and other garden needs also for sale.

Veggie Gardening in Pots.
Have you ever wanted to grow your own vegetables but don’t think you have enough space?  Learn how to grow vegetables in pots with this workshop.  Whether you are living in an apartment or your only have a small courtyard or you simply want to know how to grow plants successfully in pots, then this is for you.  Includes notes and afternoon tea.  Workshop is outdoor but under cover.  
Topics covered:
  • Types of pots
  • Type of plants to suit pots
  • Recommended growing media
  • Watering and fertilising
  • Seasonal planting
Bulbs (best held in February/March)
Get planting now for a wonderful spring display.  From formal plantings to rambling cottage gardens, bulbs can highlight any garden with colour.  Learn how to select, plant, grow and divide a range of bulbs for your climate.  Additional cost for take-home packs for planting a pot of bulbs.
  • Designing with bulbs
  • Climate
  • Soil requirements
  • Planting and growing
  • Planting in pots
  • Problems
  • Propagating bulbs
Composting Know-how
This is where life starts – the ground!  Your plants will only ever be as good as the soil they are grown in, so get a good start for your own health’s sake.  Learn what makes up good soil and look at some problems you may encounter.  Covers soil sampling, pH testing, composting and organic fertilisers.  Bring a container of your soil from 5cm below the surface for sampling during the workshop.
  • Importance of soil fertility
  • pH testing
  • composting
  • organic fertilizers
Garden Escapees – feral weeds in your patch
A responsible gardener thinks carefully about what plants can end up as environmental catastrophes.  This workshop looks at which common garden plants can escape from your patch and damage native reserves and wildlife.  This workshop is particularly useful for anyone living near open parkland and reserves.
what makes a plant a dangerous weed
  • identifying weeds
  • taking control
  • what to plant instead
Gardening with Native Plants
Learn the secret of growing a native garden successfully.  Turn your garden into an environmental legacy that protects our endangered plants and animals.  Look at why native gardens appear scrappy and why plants you buy in the nursery seem to die the moment they’re planted.  This workshop covers basic design with native plants and shows pictures of great native gardens.
  • garden design using Australian native plants
  • why choose a native garden
  • local plant species for your garden
  • planting, care and maintenance
Herbs
Discover the wonderful world of herbs and their many uses including companion planting.  Learn how to grow herbs in the garden and look at individual plants and their different needs.  Ideas also on using herbs in the kitchen and herbal crafts.  Additional cost for take-home packs for planting a herb container.
  • Herbs for the moist garden or dry garden
  • Herbs for companion planting
  • Herbs for craft
  • Herbs for eating
Building a herb spiral and growing herbs at home
Nothing is better than cooking with fresh herbs but too often we waste what we buy from the supermarket.  So why not learn how to grow your own herbs at home and avoid the waste, save money and always have fresh herbs at the back door.  Learn how to cultivate a variety of herbs in one small space by building a herb spiral or growing them in pots.  This workshop allows you to explore some of the many uses of herbs from the garden, gives you a chance to sample them during morning tea and shows you how make and taste some herbal teas.  Morning tea and notes provided.
Topics include:
  • Types of herbs and their growing requirements
  • Uses for herbs
  • Growing in containers
  • Dynamics and construction of a herb spiral
Natural Rose Care & Maintenance
This workshop looks at the different types of roses available to the home gardener today.  Learn how to prune and fertilize your roses to get the best flowers in the neighbourhood.  We also cover how you can maintain your rose bushes organically, controlling pests and diseases without harming yourself or the environment.  (Class is best held with access to rose garden for demonstrating pruning techniques.)
  • Types of roses
  • Soil and fertilizers
  • Growing roses
  • Pruning
  • Pest and disease control
No-Dig Gardens
Take the stress and back-ache out of gardening and construct a no-dig garden instead.  See how you can care for the environment by using this technique of layering organic materials to make a lush fertile garden.  Look at what sort of materials you can use and where to source them.  Practical component allows for on garden bed to be constructed by participants.
  • Why No-dig?
  • Different materials to use
  • Steps in constructing a no-dig garden
  • Practical demonstration
Organic Garden Problem Solver
Get the best out of your garden and discover tricks to avoid problems.  Find solutions for black spot on roses, whitefly on tomatoes, weeds in the driveway, soggy spots in the lawn and more!  All organic solutions including home made pesticides and companion planting.  Bring along some of your diseased leaves or pest problems to solve during the workshop.
  • Environmental controls
  • Insect, weed and fungal solutions
  • Companion planting
  • Home-made pesticides
Waterwise Gardening
This workshop will look at how to effectively garden in drought conditions with particular concern for current water restrictions.  Learn effective irrigation methods, what is an ecological garden and ways of preserving water.
Irrigating with water restrictions
  • Use of grey water
  • Mulching & increasing water holding capacity of soil
  • Water tanks
  • Plant selection with local native species
Wormshop
Start your own worm farm.  Learn the difference between compost worms and earthworms, what to feed your worms and how to use worm products in your garden.  Additional cost for worms, containers and bedding materials.
How to use worms and worm products in the garden
  • Different types of worms
  • Feeding worms
  • General care and maintenance
Also available:
  • Green cleaning workshop
  • Plant propagation
  • Others to suit your needs