Practical support for school and community gardens

Are you involved with a community or school food growing project that could use a bit of expert advice or troubleshooting to help you get growing in the right direction? If so, you can apply for 6 - 20 hours of practical support from an experienced grower who will share their skills and experience to help you make the most of your gardening project. They can help you with planning your site, seasonal gardening tasks, managing compost, and much more.

To find out more and to apply, download and complete our application form (Word format). You can make an application at any time.

Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project had help with their allotment and here's what they to say about their experience:

The Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project allotment on Walpole Road has been going for a few years now, but has suffered a few setbacks, and from a general lack of horticultural expertise among our workers. Last year we were threatened with partial eviction and had to rally round for some hands on help. The publicity this generated brought the attention of the Food Partnership who, following a visit to the site, offered us some time with a local professional grower who also has experience with a volunteer based growing project similar to ours.

His help was invaluable, giving us a basic understanding of soil fertility and the growing potential of our sloped, wind-exposed site straight away. With his help we got a good crop of mixed organic salad going late in the season. Having someone we could consult for advice and information on all aspects of organic growing has been essential, and we are lucky enough to have found funding to retain his services for a few months longer. This has been really beneficial for our project and I would recommend it to anyone who is unsure about whether they have the experience to get the most out of their plot.