This year we propose that for the whole of April at Chisholme there will be a practical focus on the garden and woodland. A living and working celebration of Spring and an earthy experience of the expanding and enlivening quality of this season.
This focus will be embedded in the education and working enquiry of the School at Chisholme. The six month Intensive Course will have finished towards the end of March. And April will be a time to enjoy the experience of working together in the beauty of Chisholme Estate and to this people are widely invited to join.
You are welcome for a longer time or a shorter time, whatever is possible.
Please email secretary@chisholme.org if you would like to join us
The Kitchen Garden
The beautiful walled kitchen garden is a central part of the life of Chisholme. Throughout the year a succession of vegetables and fruit is produced for the Chisholme Kitchen. The Journey from earth to plant to kitchen to food on the table, is an essential part of the education at Chisholme, and given respect at each stage. The (nearly) organic garden is a place of beauty and birdsong and hard work and enjoyment, and students and volunteers are invited participate in this.
The task in hand this April
During this month we hope to prepare and plant much of the garden with this year’s crops. We’ll start by digging over and cleaning the ground and incorporating compost and manure, then planting main crops of potatoes and onions, crops which will be lifted in the late summer/autumn and provide the kitchen with a good supply throughout the autumn and winter. We’ll sow broad beans and peas for summer crops and root veg like parsnips and beetroot.
In the poly-tunnels we’ll already be harvesting some early leaf veg and we’ll be sowing a seed bed for all the year’s brassicas – cabbage and cauliflowers, kale and sprouts. And we’ll be preparing the ground for summer crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, and peppers. So there’s lots to do! Some heavier work, some lighter – but by the end of the month the garden should be well away for the year ahead.
Do come and join us – the weather will be lovely and the birds will be singing.
During these volunteer weeks you will be invited to join in the full life of the school. There is an ongoing programme including meditation and study sessions to which everybody is invited.
Forestry
Two weekends in April will be dedicated to forestry work:
April 18–21 (Easter)
April 25–27
A range of broadleaf trees will be planted in several woodland areas to add to the ecology and beauty of the estate.
Read more about the woodlands at Chisholme here:
https://www.chisholme.org/about/the-place/forestry.html
Financial contributions
We may ask for a contribution towards the basic cost of your stay.
Please contact us to discuss details.
Write to secretary@chisholme.org
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