Warwickshire Master Gardeners gathered at the weekend for an exciting day of extra training. The course followed their foundation training in spring and precedes even more days sharing tips from these enthusiastic volunteers.

We had a morning of soil testing and discussing how to manage different soil types, together with pest and disease diagnosis and seasonal planting.

We spent an energetic afternoon discussing what has been working well so far and what has been more of a challenge.

We also heard from Master Gardener Marie Wellings about her work at the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. Please have a look at their website to find out more about the work they do, http://www.farmgarden.org.uk.

We also heard about the development of a new community garden in Shipston-on-Stour from Master Gardeners, Bec Stewart Harris and Mike Ashton.

More details

Over 25 Master Gardener attended on Sunday. Those that couldn’t make it were posted their handouts to update their Master Gardener manuals. All volunteers have been sent notes from the energetic discussion about the volunteer role – and these will be added to notes from Islignton and south London volunteers to share tips across the programme. Very exciting.

Don’t forget Saturday 13^th November for our next training day.

With ongoing thanks and kind regards,

Kate

Kate Newman
Volunteer Coordinator,
Warwickshire Master Gardener Programme

Warwickshire Master Gardeners John and Rodney test soil type - and discuss how best to manage. Pour soil into a jam jar full of water and watch the constitute parts settle. Great test for volunteers to do with their mentored households...

Always on standby - Master Gardener wellies

Warwickshire Master Gardeners gather for more soil testing tips - and what to sow and grow in late summer