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Get Set Grow
Learn to grow your own veg at home alongside our growing community!
Are you a beginner gardener? Would you like to learn how to grow your own veg at home in a wildlife friendly way, using permaculture methods? Then Get Set Grow is for you. Written by Rose Benoy, an Organic Grower of nearly 20 years, the 20-week course takes you through all the basics you need to know to start your own vegetable garden at home, in a sustainable and climate friendly way. Sign ups are currently closed while we review and improve the course; please sign up to our newsletter to be notified about future opportunities to get involved with Get Set Grow! You can also get started with composting by reading our Cold Composting Guide.
About Rose
Rose grew up on a fruit farm in Kent and throughout her career has worked on small organic farms in the UK and abroad. She is formally trained in sustainable land use, and both permaculture design and applied techniques. She also has a degree in Herbal Medicine. She has taught weekend courses at The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Mid Wales and been involved in the teaching of food growing, preserving of home-grown and wild foraged harvest, permaculture philosophy, plus general plant propagation on residential farm-based courses in the UK, Canada and Costa Rica.
She moved to Scotland in 2008 and embarked on smallholding in Angus with her partner George a couple of years later. She now grows and raises much of her own food; storing and preserving excess both for sale and winter-use, as well as having a small Eco-tourism business, Farmtoun.
Support 100 local people to grow at home in 2022.
About the smallholding
Her smallholding has extensive raised bed and no-dig veg gardens, two polytunnels, a mixed orchard, bush fruit, hens, geese, ducks, rare breed sheep and dairy goats, all managed organically (uncertified) with wildlife and biodiversity at the heart of her approach.
What’s involved with the course?
- Suitable for complete beginners or those with 1-2 years growing experience;
- Runs annually from April – September;
- Takes around 2 hours per week to complete;
- Fully self-study with weekly Q&A sessions on our Facebook group exclusive to participants, and a series of optional in-person workshops in Kirriemuir;
- Weekly reading materials, learning activities and growing activities;
- Based on a 1m x 1m growing space, but can be adapted for larger gardens or can be done at a local community growing space;
- Suitable for anyone age 16+ with lots of opportunities to get the whole family involved;
- Operates on a ‘Pay What You Feel’ basis; donate what you feel the course is worth, or what you can afford, no obligation.
If you would like to find out more about Get Set Grow, or other ways to get involved in community growing, please get in touch with us at sustainablekirriemuir@gmail.com.
At Sustainable Kirrie…
We want to give anyone the opportunity to grow their own veg at home.
I want to find out more about growing
Visit these websites for hints, tips and advice on getting started with your own garden or allotment:
An update from the SK Team…
We are hoping that Get Set Grow will help create a group of confident growers who can share their newly gained knowledge with neighbours and friends.
Get Set Grow
It’s great being able to try my hand at gardening knowing there are others out there just giving it a go too. The course is great, a wee bit challenging and a big bit nurturing!
Get Set Grow
The Get Set Grow course content is brilliant; so comprehensive and everyone is so enthusiastic. I wish I’d got into this 40+ years ago!
Get in Touch
Together we can make good choices and live better, join Sustainable Kirriemuir!
If you would like to know more about what we are doing please get in touch. We are always looking for new members to join our organisation. If you have particular knowledge around climate change issues, or growing, making and mending skills you’d like to share, or just want to know more, we want to hear from you. Everyone is welcome, together we can make a difference.