Get stuck in this year at The Husbandry School

The Husbandry School has a vision for the revitalisation of rural resources, employing good husbandry practices to provide real benefit for our environment and the local community. They strive to explore the ideas and practice of ecologically sound land management through their educational school programme, public courses and award-winning produce.

2021 kept them busy with their local Veg Bag scheme growing – and they’ve got more spaces planned for this year! If you live in the Ashburton area and would like fresh, seasonal, nutritious veggies delivered to your door in 2022, please get in touch with the school via email.

The Husbandry School’s growers have also been busy supplying chefs, cookery schools and small businesses close to home, and further afield. Their meat – Tamworth pork and Boa goat, reared in line with Wholesome Food Association principles – has been going out to local homes and businesses, and they have been increasing their field-scale veg production alongside new crops for drying. Oats, beans and heritage wheat were all harvested in the Autumn as well as more unusual crops such as Mashua, Oca de Peru and Chilean Guava, alongside their year-round award-winning salad mixes and edible flowers. If you are a restaurant or food business and would like more information on their produce and products, please get in touch with the school via email.

If you’re curious about farming and food production, but you’ve never had the opportunity to learn, then join them on the hill this year! Whether it’s volunteering, a workshop or a family day out, there is something for everyone.

The Husbandry School’s volunteer days run monthly from March to November, where they involve visitors in seasonal day-to-day activities such as… ground preparation, planting, picking and preparing produce, hedging and terracing, building with straw and cob, weaving willow, building irrigation systems and seed saving – and of course sharing skills and ideas! Visit the volunteering page on their website for dates and more information.

If you are interested in growing more of the food you eat each week and wish to do so in a natural, ethical, time-honoured and sustainable way, mindful of the rhythms of nature, then their Husbandry Skills courses are the perfect stepping stone… Their 1-day Introduction workshop on 28th May or their more in-depth 2-day Foundation course 0n 9th and 10th July cover the history of Husbandry, as well as practical knowledge and skills around soil health, hedging, irrigation, raised beds, growing from seeds and much more!

Last but not least, The Husbandry School’s Family Fun Wellie Stomp days are returning this year! Get your little ones out in the sunshine and have a fab day out for the whole family, meeting and caring for the animals, making natural crafts and enjoying fantastic homegrown food! Come along and get involved – book your Wellie Stomp and Husbandry Course places on their website here.