Saturday 7th June 2008 @ 10:30Visit to Charles Dowding’s holding at Lower farm,
Shepton Montague,
nr Bruton,
Somerset.
Charles will lead a tour of his garden, topics no dig, nutritional quality, producing salads throughout the year. Inspirational small scale market growing.
£25 OGA members, £35 for non-members.
Thursday 17th July 2008 @ 10:30Visit to Tozers seeds and organic plant breeding seminar.
Pyports, Downside Bridge Road,
Cobham,
Surrey KT11 3EH
Visit to Tozers seeds including a seminar on breeding varieties specifically for organic production, plus a talk on the biofumigant properties of Caliente mustard. The day will include a tour of trial plots and the processing facilities. A great opportunity to find out more about and discuss, the issues surrounding organic seed production.
£25 OGA members, £35 for non-members.
Saturday 2nd August 2008 (OGA Scotland)Visit to Vital Veg
North Tillydaff, Midmar
Inverurie, AB51 7LS
Aberdeenshire
Wendy Seel and Anne Taylor bought 130 acres of land at North Tillydaff near Aberdeen in November 2003. They have converted part of the land to organic with the Soil Association and set up a vegetable box scheme (Vital Veg) to sell produce from the farm. They grow a wide range of veg and produce all the transplants themselves. The land is Macaulay 3(2), with a sandy loam soil, 600 feet asl. It is quite exposed and a programme of hedge and wind-break planting is underway.
The visit will include a tour of the vegetable crops and in the fields and tunnel, leys and the transplant raising area. Also, a tour of the wildlife conservation on the farm. Native trees, ponds, species-rich meadow etc can be included if there is interest.
Tuesday 5th August 2008 @ 10:30Farm walk and tour at Riverford Organic Vegetables.
The Field Kitchen, Riverford Organic Vegetables Limited,
Wash Barn, Buckfastleigh,
Devon TQ11 0LD
The day will include a tour of Riverford farm, the packhouse, tunnels and a visit to a South Devon Organic Producers (SDOP) Coop Farm nearby. Subjects covered include field scale production, machinery etc...
£25 OGA members, £35 for non-members.
Monday 11th August 2008 @ 10:30Machinery for the Intensive Organic Producer at
Tolhurst Organic Produce
Hardwick Organic Gardens, Whitchurch on Thames.
Pangbourne, Reading RG8 7RA
A chance to visit leading grower Iain Tolhurst's stockfree holding in the Thames valley. The day will include...
• 10:30 Reception - Woffee and registration.
• 11:00 Seminar - What basic machinery do you need to grow multiple crops?
• 11:30 Workshop - Deciding what specialist equipment you could use on your holding. A group session to explore the possibilities of reducing workload and/or improving output and quality of produce on your holding. To cover small intensive production in tunnels and more extensive production for field crops.
• 12:30 Repair and Maintenance - What you need to do and the skills needed to be able to repair and maintain your own equipment, with a visit to Tolhurst’s on-farm workshop facility.
• 13:00 Lunch - Local organic (mostly ours) and seriously tasty. Three courses with time to chat.
• 14:00 Tour - Visit to Walled Garden shed to look at, and discuss, equipment for gardens, tunnels, and the smaller producer.
• 14:30 Tour - Visit to look at and discuss field scale equipment including irrigation. Concluded with Tea at Walled Garden around 15:30.
Friday 17th October 2008 @ 12:30OGA Farm walk at Hankham Organics.
Hosted by Miles Denyer,
Hankham Nurseries, Hankham,
East Sussex BN24 5BE.
Very wide range of traditional and glasshouse crops for box scheme and wholesale.
£15 OGA members and £25 for non-members.
It is essential to book in advance for all events:
Contact: James Clapp, OGA events
Email: jamesclapp@hotmail.com
Mobile: 07973426152
Evenings: 01874 636399
For other events of relevance to organic horticulture click here to visit the Garden Organics events list.