For Councils and Community Groups

Gardening sustainably using organic principles are always the basis of each gardening presentation.

All classes and workshops are developed according to the needs of the groups.

They can run from one to up to 3 hours on weekends. Quotes are provided for the materials used. Notes are sent to the organisation to photocopy for the class or workshop. 

Topics presented regularly include:

GROW YOUR OWN, EAT YOUR OWN Series

- Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own -  Vegie Gardening for Beginners Topics: Soil basics and its improvement; Setting up vegie patch and different types, incl. No-Dig and Wicking Beds; Growing Herbs and Vegetables in Pots; Easiest herbs and vegies to grow; Simple pest control techniques; Fertiliser types.

- Grow Your Own, Eat Your Own - Vegetable Gardening Beyond the Basics Topics: Soil rejuvenation; pH measuring; Crop rotation principles; FAQ's about specific vegies; Seed sowing techniques.

- Planning for the Summer Bounty Topics: Getting ready for summer in the vegie patch; Choosing the right seasonal vegies and getting the most out of them; Starting summer vegies from seed. This class is best run at the end of winter and early spring.

- Planning for Autumn Planting Topics: Crop rotation after summer vegies; Soil rejuvenation; A close look at the myriad of vegies that can be grown over the cooler months. It's best to start in Autumn so we cover what you need to know and how to do it.

- Thrifty Gardening This shows you how you can get away with not spending a fortune on your garden, by utilising things you may already have and learning some clever techniques to save money. Topics: Potting mixes; pest control, fertilisers, seed sowing, seasonal plant propagation; 'nanna-technology' or re-purposing household objects for use in the garden.

- Grow Your Own - Sow Your Own (Growing from Seed) We cover many different seed growing techniques
for growing vegies in a bit of depth and a lot of hands-on.

- Seed Saving combines  the how, when and which seeds to save and store

- Composting Success - and other methods of household waste recycling to get your carbon footprint down, including Bokashi buckets and worm farms.

PRESERVING workshops are a natural extension to growing food. These are also fun for the participants as they are mainly hands-on AND people get to take home the fruits of their labours.

- Safe Preserving Basics  This can be done as a presentation with some demonstration showing how to safely preserve seasonal fruits and vegetables; or depending on numbers and facilities available, as a more hands-on workshop. Participants get to take home any jars of preserves made.

- Preserving the Summer Bounty  Jams, pickles, sauces and bottled fruits using seasonal produce with the emphasis on using commonly grown fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens. Many of the ingredients are in fact grown in Maria's garden, which she shares with participants.

- Christmas Preserves Different preserving techniques are incorporated into festive preserves, to take home and enjoy or as appreciated 'foodie' gifts. The final jars of preserves are then decorated as if to be gifted.

- Olive Magic  Olives from trees are bitter and inedible. This workshop demonstrates several different ways to transform the olive into delectable delights.

- Tomatoes - Preserving Every which way! We cover and make passata, peeled tomatoes, savoury sauces, sweet chutneys and pasta sauces.

- Tomato Passata A whole day workshop, held at the home of My Green Garden in Donvale, where bottles of tomato passata are made and processed completely in a traditional way.

SPECIALIST COOKING workshops and demonstrations give people the confidence to try traditional culinary arts themselves.
- Artisan Pasta The classic egg-pasta and vegetable-based versions are made and taken home to turn into delicious meals.
- Filled Pasta Learn how to make a basic dough and then raise it to new culinary heights by transforming into ravioli with different fillings.
- Pizza Pizazz! Get the confidence to work with yeast based doughs to prepare the base of great pizzas. We cook and eat together.

FESTIVAL DEMONSTRATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
My Green Garden can attend festivals with hands-on activities for children as well as short demonstrations and talks for adults.