Studer Community Institute

Not your grandma's garden: Course teaches organic gardening

March 20, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ community-dashboard

A gardening class scheduled for April in East Hill is intended to teach students how to plant a plot that is a step or two above their grandmother's backyard patch. "While our grandmothers possessed great gardening know-how based on many years of hands-on experience, there are a number of approaches that are on the cutting edge of organic gardening that they could have made good use of had they been aware of them," said Renée Perry, who, along with her husband, Tom Garner, owns East Hill Edible Gardening. East Hill Edible Gardening is hosting its second annual garden course, "Easy Weed-Free No-Till Organic Gardening," starting April 1 at the Bayview Senior Center. The four-week course costs $50 per person. "Much of the gardening advice that’s readily available is from the northern parts of the country," Perry said. "This gardening advice doesn't work here on the Gulf Coast because our climate, soils and seasons are very different. Our goal with this course is to teach students what they need to know to garden successfully here." Chris Jones, a Cantonment resident who took the course last year, said the course not only helped her garden better, but also feel better about doing it. "Learning to grow at least some of my own food has been good for my soul." Jones said. "It is soothing to me to work in the garden. Also, by growing different vegetables that are more suitable for this area we are putting variety into our diet by default. And we use no chemicals — herbicides or pesticides. I feel really good about that." The course looks at where to put a garden, what tools and supplies are needed, how to prepare the soil, how to choose the right plants for the right season, how and when to water the garden, how to prevent weeds, how to prevent pests and diseases, and how to use the Internet for ongoing learning. The course would be valuable for both the novice gardener and those who already have a green thumb, according to Perry and Garner. "It is very well-suited for beginning gardeners since we teach everything they need to know to get started, but seasoned gardeners have benefited from our classes as well," Perry said. "We have helped numerous gardeners who have gardened successfully in other areas of the country but who were unsuccessful here. We've also saved numerous experienced gardeners, both local and non-local, the onerous tasks of tilling the soil and pulling weeds." [sidebar] For registration and other information, go towww.facebook.com/EastHillEdibleGardening or call 850-292-8155. [/sidebar] Three sections of the course will be taught in April: Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 8, 15 and 22, as well as Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. on April 1, 8, 15 and 22, and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. on April 2, 9, 16 and 23. Perry and Garner plan to repeat the course over the spring and summer. Laura Ericson, a Pensacola resident who took the course last year, said before the course she couldn't even keep the obligatory tomato plants alive. "After taking the course, I was inspired and motivated to branch out beyond the normal things I had tried to grow. We had great success with, of all things, eggplant," Ericson said. "The course was fun. Tom and Renée make a good teaching team. He is more of a jokester and she is more serious. The balance works quite well. The information is shared in a manner that is easy to comprehend and interesting to listen to." Janora Parker also took the class last year. She said she had "dabbled" in gardening for years, but that the class helped cement her interest. She and her husband have prepared two 4-foot-by-10-foot areas to plant this year, with plans to expand in the future. "Tom and Renée are very knowledgeable through much research and hands-on experience," Parker said. "Their passion for weed-free, no-till organic gardening is infectious, and after taking this course I realized just how easy this concept is and how easy it is to grow a variety of edibles. One is only limited, to a certain extent, by the climate here on the Gulf Coast and their imagination. It is all about experimenting." East Hill Edible Gardening opened in March 2014, with the first gardening courses offered in April 2014. More than 160 students took part. East Hill Edible Gardening has also offered stand-alone classes on a variety of subjects like fall/winter vegetables, spring/summer vegetables, introduction to backyard beekeeping and introduction to permaculture. [caption id="attachment_20244" align="alignright" width="300"]

East Hill Edible Gardening owners Tom Garner and Renée Perry are teaching courses on gardening.[/caption] Perry and Garner plan to offer each of those classes again this year, as well as introduction to backyard chicken-keeping and introduction to edible forest gardening. Stand-alone classes generally last two hours. Perry has gardened organically for more than 25 years and has personally grown more than 150 species of edible plants. Garner, a certified permaculture designer, has more than 15 years organic gardening experience and is the current president of the Pensacola Organic Gardener’s Club. Together, the couple manages more than 1,800 square feet of personal food production space, including summer and winter vegetables, fruit trees, chickens and honeybees. In addition to classes, East Hill Edible Gardening offers consultation, design and installation of edible gardens. "While this is our business, it is also our passion. We love to garden and it brings us great joy to help others garden successfully," Perry said. "We also would like to eventually be able to partner with local agencies and organizations to bring gardening to those in the community who currently lack access to fresh healthy local produce."

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Not your grandma's garden: Course teaches organic gardening

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