When I started as a Seeds of Change apprentice I felt really lucky to have been given this opportunity, and thankfully, a year later, I still feel the same. Despite the long hours I’ve been putting in over the last few weeks to get the diploma finished on time! We’ve completed, and passed, all our practical assessments, and we’re now putting the finishing touches to our diploma portfolios. I’m definitely going to pursue a career in horticulture and the diploma, along with the invaluable experience I’ve gained working at Garden Organic, Ryton, should be massively useful in helping me to take the next step.
The gardens are flourishing at the moment, and I think I’m going to find it really difficult to hand mine over to another gardener when I finish at the end of the month. I’m hoping to get all the vegetables planted out in the Biodynamic Garden before I go, which means trying to resist the temptation to put out tender plants, such as squashes and tomatoes, too early. We had a frost overnight a couple of weeks ago that damaged quite a few plants, including the new shoots on the grapevines in the Biodynamic Garden, and there’s still a chance that we haven’t seen the last frost of this spring.
I’ve learnt so much about gardening this year, including how much I enjoy pruning! So much so, that I may have to come back to Ryton Gardens as a volunteer when it’s time to summer prune the soft fruit bushes at the end of June. Of course, I’ll expect a punnet or two of fruit in return! I’m going to find it hard to leave the gardens and all the fantastic people I’ve worked with over the last year, but I’m also looking forward to my future career as an organic gardener.
