Growing Your Own Food

One of RBG’s Courses & Workshops

It’s liberating to know that no one is born with a green thumb, and gorgeous gardens don’t happen over night. It is the learning and trying new things that really make you an amazing gardener.

Learn the basics of growing your own food by getting your hands in the soil in this monthly gardening series where we will focus on utilizing small spaces from balconies to backyards, and windowsills.  Join RBG gardeners, horticulturalists, and local professionals to the industry who will help you to develop the skills you need to grow your own food at home.

This program is structured so that you can directly apply your learning to your very own spot, and we’ll teach you how to get started so you know what has the best chance of thriving so you can have a garden or landscape you can be proud of whether its pots on the balcony or succulents in your office window.  At the end of this series, you’ll know how to unlock your creativity and grow something special from growing heirloom vegetables, a collector’s garden filled with flowers, a stately landscape for entertaining, or perhaps a native oasis that will support native plants and animals. You’ll discover what best suits your personality, your time, and your intention.

During the winter months, workshops take place in our classrooms with hands-on learning, and come summer in the Teaching Garden, Hendrie Park. Participants will have the option of renting a small community allotment, or working in communal plots.

Any excess food is donated to the Burlington Food Bank, and local hot meal programs in Hamilton.

2023 Upcoming Sessions

• January 18: Getting Started: Vegetable Gardening for Beginners
  • Let’s dig into gardening with a brief exploration of urban agriculture and how it is transforming cities all over the world. From there, we dive in to everything from companion planting and crop rotations, to square-foot gardening. We will focus on planning and managing a new, or existing, small backyard, apartment, indoor and balcony gardens. Join us and learn to grow your own food!

• February 15: Sharpening Your Skills and Tools
  • The growing season is about to begin and it’s time to clean and sharpen our tools so that they’re ready to use in the garden!  Dull and dirty tools will crush rather than cut branches and those messy pruning cuts can become an entry point for pests and diseases. This informal tool sharpening workshop will teach you how to properly maintain your tools if you want to keep your trees and plants healthy. Bring your own tools (max 2 per person).
  • Learn about:
    • What to look for when purchasing old and new garden tools
    • Types of tools and what you might need to start gardening
    • Types of sharpening stone and abrasives
    • How to sharpen secateurs, pruners, blades, etc
      • Freehand sharpening
      • Bevel angles and cutter shapes
    • The types of steel used in tools and how this might affect how you sharpen them
    • Storing and looking after your tools

• March 15: Season Extenders: Jump-Start Your Vegetables in Spring
  • Spring seems a long way off, but mid-winter is the perfect time to plant seeds meant for a cool weather harvest.  This workshop shows participants how to extend their growing season by planting cold hardy crops and how to protect them from first frost using hoop tunnels and cold frames. This session takes place outdoors in the Teaching Garden, wear your woolies!

Fee: $30 per session + Service Fee (RBG Members 10% off)

Please pre-register 10 days in advance of each session**