On a sunny afternoon we gathered again in the Teaching Gardens. This time to learn all about pruning stone fruit trees (click the link for resources and more information).
Mehdi is one of our wonderful volunteers in the garden, coming every week to help and support building a thriving garden. With him he brings vast knowledge from a long academic career in horticulture, which he shares freely with us all.
He talked us through the principles of pruning, answered questions and then we were off, arming ourselves with pruning saws, secateurs and pruning paste to gain first-hand experience and practice under his close supervision! Some of the group admitted they like to use chain saws as a pruning tool…..! I was glad, we didn’t have any available!
We had a lot of fun, and everyone got a chance to do some guided pruning. The trees are looking great now and hopefully we all feel more confident to go home and prune our own stone fruit trees.
After all this hard work we were again rewarded with wonderful food provided and made by Lavern, who is very passionate about delicious and healthy kai. It is lovely to be able to share good food, great company and laughs. How wonderful to have a space where we can learn, share knowledge and meet people.