Webinar: 8th of February 2022
Practical workshop: 24th to 25th of May 2022, at Norges grønne fagskole – Vea, in Norway.
Soil management past and present needs to be taken more seriously throughout Europe. As the basis of everything we do in gardening, it is currently of huge international significance with soil degradation being a major environmental concern. It also holds the key to much of our horticultural heritage, literally underpinning the conservation of our historic gardens.
Webinar
An all day-winter webinar in Soil management will be arranged on the 8th February 2022. The Speakers on the webinar is the Swedish Archaeologist, Karin Lindeblad. The Norwegian and Swedish Gardeners and Teachers in horticulture for historical gardens: Marit Myrstad and Catarina Sjöberg. The Swedish Garden Antiquarian, researcher and author Maria Flinck. The gardener and conservation biologist at the hamlet of Äskhult Johan Gustavsson. The British No-dig expert Charles Dowding and the Hampton Court gardener Hilary Theaker.
Topics in the webinar:
Soil Archaeology: the answer lies in the soil
Cultivation methods: to dig or not to dig
Recipes for growing media: then and now
Workshop
A two days practical workshop was arranged in May 2022 hosted by Norges grønne fagskole – Vea in Norway. The garden plan of Olav L. Moen for Veas ornamental garden, from 1924, was used as a starting point.
A visit to Helgøya was a part of the workshop – visiting a medieval lime stone quarry with two 1800’s lime ovens and Hovelsrud farm. A part of the visit was trying out different soil additives such as lime, biochar, compost, manures, wormeries and liquid feeds.
Photos from one of the medieval lime stone quarries at Helgøya Photo: Anne Stine Solberg
