A series of eight evening workshops for gardening enthusiasts of all ages starts this Thursday at Lake Trail School in Courtenay.
Organized by compost-maker and educator Peggy Carswell, the sessions will provide information about how to create and maintain healthy soil, as well as celebrating some of the innovative work being done by local food initiatives here in the Comox Valley.
The first session of the series is a Growers Tea Party. Learn how to brew up a batch of compost “tea” for your garden, and sample some of the flavourful green, black or oolong teas produced by the growers Carswell works with in Assam, India.
Compost tea is an easy-to-make natural soil tonic prepared from good quality compost or vermicompost. With the help of an inexpensive aquarium pump and a few simple ingredients, it’s an fast way to produce a biologically rich feed that spreads the benefits of a small amount of compost over your whole garden.
At coming sessions, participants will learn how to create good soil in record time by making raised beds and practising “lasagna” gardening.
Carswell will also share innovative techniques drawn from Vrikshayurveda, ancient Vedic teachings learned through her work in northeast India with local non-profit Fertile Ground. The workshops will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
For more information, and to pre-register, call 250-337-8348 or visit www.fertile-ground.org.
— Peggy Carswell