Learning by doing in CICD-s organic garden farm

Mon and Roula in the potato field

4 months ago in April Monzer and Roula, two of our students, decided to take the responsibility for running our garden farm when their programmes were put on hold.
They stepped up to the plate – and it has gone really well!
They have learned a lot through own studies as well as through their practice. Learning by doing is one of the keys to studies, work and life here at CICD – and not only in the garden!
There are a million details to remember and do the right way, and at the right time...everything from the spacing between plants when you transfer them outside...what to do about slugs...how to get rid of rats...what about the fungus....which kind of compost is best to use where...and so on.

Monzer and Roula have organised how to get everything done together with our short term garden volunteers. The volunteers have contributed not only with more hands in the work, but also with good ideas and useful knowledge.

Roula has been responsible for our gardenfarm together with her brother, after her Climate Activist programme had to be put on hold

Monzer was a student in our Gaia team, until his programme was interrupted by the Covid19pandemic

The mild and often rainy climate here in East Yorkshire is perfect for our garden farm

Roula says: “It gives confidence when you manage to find the solutions to how to do things through your own studies and research. That is really nice! We have also learned how to solve many problems using what we have here, instead of having to buy something new every time.”
Monzer says: “To learn how to grow food was one of my aims with coming to CICD. So this opportunity was perfect for me, even though it has also been very difficult sometimes.”

Cucumbers doing well in our new greenhouse, the conservatory in Chinese Embassy

Marie-Carmen is a talkative chicken, good friends with our volunteer Jamie

Our 25 chicken and 8 ducks produce 10-20 eggs per day, depending on the season

Harvest time is here

Now in August and September it is harvest time. Here are some of the results so far: 5 kg broadbeans, 4 kg cucumber, 30 kg courgettes, 8 kg French beans, 6 kg grapes, radishes, many many boxes of lettuce and lots of jars with dried mynte, chamomille, coriander and parsley. Even our 2 fig trees have started to produce a lot of fruit!

We have 5 big beds of 3 x 14 m with potatoes - around 1500 seed potatoes were planted in the spring and now they are soon ready to take up. The 15 very big tomato plants are doing well in one of the green houses – having grown from seeds in April to a height of more than 2 metres now...and soon we will also have fresh cobs of corn!

HelpX volunteer Marius shared his time and lots of energy with us this summer!

Sara, one of our teachers, preparing lunch from our own produce

Giovanni came from Italy to volunteer with us for some months

Mmm! There is nothing like a meal made from our own veggies!

Click here to read how the garden farming season started off at CICD in April: StartingGardenFarming