No-dig workshop helps expand community garden

A community garden in Frome is being transformed into a vegetable-growing space with help from a leading no-dig gardener and 50 local volunteers.

Somerset author and horticulturalist Charles Dowding visited The Village Frome’s Peace Garden on Sunday 25th October to demonstrate how to turn grass into a vegetable patch.

He guided participants through laying cardboard, adding soil and planting beans, with volunteers helping to prepare and water the beds despite heavy rain.

The garden has been developed over the past year by community volunteers using no-dig principles and permaculture.

The Village Frome director Jessie Lowe said, “The Somerset author and grower has helped take no-dig gardening to an international audience through his books and videos. His following surged during lockdown as more people turned to growing their own food. At The Village, visitors could see his approach take shape in a space being developed by their own community.”

A recent £20,000 National Lottery grant has enabled the garden’s development and will support further workshops and opportunities for people to learn and grow together.

The Village Frome CIC occupies an acre of meadow, woodland and growing space in Frome. It provides community gatherings, gardening and practical learning, and is home to Phoenix Project, its alternative education provision.

To find out more or get involved, visit www.thevillagefrome.co.uk or email villagefrome@gmail.com.

 

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