HogCO held its first community workshop with two food growing groups in North Devon on Wednesday.  The morning was designed to create an action plan for both groups and included a Skills Audit to identify skills and experience that individuals already have, the YES/NO shuffle that was used to gauge how people felt about certain issues such as access, keeping livestock and the importance of social events, and then the Action Planning for both gardens.

The two garden areas have been provided by North Devon Homes who have already raised a significant amount of money to do the hard landscaping and install raised beds ready for use. 

Now the project has been passed over to the two food growing groups to get the gardens ready for planting in the spring.

Priorities that came out of the workshop were to:

• create a core group of volunteers for both projects
• develop a mailing list, contact details and regular newsletter
• start ground preparations
• gain expertise in growing vegetables
• develop seed planting plan
• develop crop rotation plan, planting rota, planting calendar
• find funding for shed, tools etc
• create rotas for watering, weeding, harvesting, composting
• have an official opening
• have a scarecrow competition
• open days, social events, jam & pickle making
• market days Autumn 2010

The groups also decided to have a garden naming competition which they hope to organise through the local primary schools.

A "Manure Day"  has been organised for Saturday 28th November for both sites where volunteers will be visiting the gardens and helping to spread 3 tonnes of horse manure, and a second meeting has already been organised with HogCO in December.

 Jo Winterburn from HogCO said “the workshop was very well attended and we feel that we achieved an enormous amount in a short time.  We look forward to working closely with the groups in the future, and helping them to realise their dreams of creating two beautiful, productive community food gardens that everyone can enjoy".