Last Thursday Derek, Rachael and Nic from the Personal Development Through Gardening project were the guests on Phonic FM’s CVS Show, and talked about the course, volunteering at Organic Arts, and their recent trip to the Eden Project. They also answered listeners’ questions on all matters horticultural. If you missed the show, you can catch it again online at www.exetercvs.org/radio

We all had a great day out at the Eden project. They all made us very welcome and we got to see some stuff that the public do not usually see.

Today we discussed the way stress affect us, and how we could deal with it more usefully.
We practised several relaxation techniques – deep breathing, self-massage followed by tension relief.
This led us to consider inappropriate behaviour and the ins and outs of body language.

 This week on the course we planted some sweet peas and created a simple cloche to protect them with. We also looked at weed control and pest control.

On the first day we learnt about different plant types and their uses. The next day we visited the farm and found examples of tubers and bulbs, the underground storage systems of some plants.

PDTG stands for “Personal Development Through Gardening”. It is a short course run in parternship with Exeter CVS and Ecominds. The course acknowledges self awareness and personal interaction. It also aims to offer a working understanding of basic horticulture, demystifying some of the complex jargon and giving learners the practical understanding and confidence to be able to tend their own plot, or to take the next step on the “learning” ladder. Delivered at level 2, the course is accredited with the NOCN and upon completion certificates will be awarded. If you would like more information please contact Andrew at the community garden on a Wednesday or Friday.

Did you know that the word “field” comes from felled? When the old forests were felled and cleared fields were made!

Personal Development through gardening has begun
Many great and exciting things to come.

Lots of work has gone into the pond and now it is full of water. Be interesting to see what comes to live here.

These onions come from the garden and are hanging outside the office to dry. Looking forward to using them in the soup.