The Backyard Farmer - Urban Food Gardens - Horticulture Centre of the Pacific

SOLD OUT FOR 2023!

Sign up for the interest list to receive registration updates for 2024 and to register early. This program is popular and the best chance of getting a spot is to add your name to the interest list.

Program Overview

Following in the footsteps of Linda Gilkeson’s Year Round Harvest program, this course will teach participants everything they need to know to produce food crops in their backyard, front yard, balcony or boulevard. The course is a strong foundation for beginner gardeners and also home gardeners with some experience.

Our local climate allows for a long growing season and we are fortunate in that we can grow edible crops for most of the year. There will be a strong emphasis on selecting varieties for our local growing conditions and how to make the best of small urban spaces. Participants will learn how to plan a food garden, grow from seed and how to grow various food plants including fruits and vegetables. Harvesting, storage and seed collection will also be covered.

The approach will be a focus on plant health, building healthy soil and integrated pest and disease management. There will also be discussions on coping with changing climatic conditions and gardening in harmony with nature, including birds, pollinators and soil ecology. Participants will also learn ways to contribute to community food production and contribute to local food security.

Classes will be held one Sunday a month from January to October at 1pm – 4pm.
Classes will be in the classroom at the Gardens at HCP and online depending on provincial health orders.

Instructor Biographies

Lead Instructor Bio: Theresa Heinekey

Theresa started farming on Vancouver Island in 2013, after graduating from Dalhousie University with a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management. She fell in love with the local food movement while living in Halifax and going to the bustling farmers markets every Saturday. When she moved back to the West Coast she was eager to get her hands into the soil. Until recently she has been managing Seeds of the Revolution, the Saanich Organics seed company. Theresa stepped away from farming at the end of the 2021 season, and is now…a backyard farmer! Transitioning to a desk job has had its challenges for this outdoors lady, but she is very excited to be growing food for herself and her family, and excited to learn alongside her students how to be the best backyard farmer possible. With a certificate in Organic Seed Saving from the Canadian Organic Growers, a Master Gardener Certificate from Gaia College, and many years of experience farming in our area, Theresa brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom. She is excited to share her skills with her students, and hopefully learn a few new gardening tips from them as well!

Instructor Bio: Gordon Mackay
Gordon grew up in the city of Glasgow, often called the ‘dear green place’. Inspired by his father at an early age to pursue horticulture, he was fortunate enough to be able to follow in his footsteps and completed the 2 year Diploma program at Threave School of Gardening in southwest Scotland. It was at Threave that his love and deep appreciation for all things plant related was fully realized. Working under the head gardener and plantsman Magnus Ramsay, it was soon to become apparent that pruning trees and shrubs was going to play a large part of this obsession. Further training was sought on the 3 year Diploma program at Pershore College of Horticulture in England. Since emigrating to Canada in 1994, Gordon had developed and established his own arboriculture business specializing in fruit tree pruning and tree care. He works part-time at a local retail garden centre; this somewhat helps to satisfy his plant obsession! He is also an instructor here at the Pacific Horticulture College. Gordon is also an avid beekeeper.

Instructor Bio: Linda Gilkeson
Linda’s comprehensive gardening book, Backyard Bounty: The Complete Guide to year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, became a BC best seller and has just been republished in a new, considerably expanded edition. It is also the text book for this program. She continues to self-publish books for local gardeners, most recently Resilient Gardens: Pollinator Gardens, Garlic Diseases, Pest Update. In the past she has co-authored pest management training manuals for the provincial government and organic gardening books for Rodale Press. Linda created and instructed the popular Year Round Harvest program at the HCP for 12 years at the HCP and the Backyard Farmer Program was created using her original program as a guide.

Instructor Bio: Christina Nikolic
Christina’s background is in landscape design and gardening. She is a senior instructor at Gaia College for the Organic Master Gardener, Ecological Landscape Design, and Native Plant Knowledge courses. Christina is a SOUL Certified Organic Land Care Professional and has served on the board of directors of SOUL (Society for Organic Urban Land Care) for nearly a decade. Currently she runs The Organic Gardener’s Pantry [www.gardenerspantry.ca], retailing fine organic fertilizers, soil amendments, and beneficial microbes across Canada.

Program Delivery and COVID

This will be an in-person and in-classroom program (except for the class scheduled with Linda Gilkeson which will be via zoom.) There will be up to 24 participants and each participant will be sharing a 6 ft table with another participant. Masks are recommended. An air purifier will be running in the classroom and windows/doors can be opened depending on the weather.
We hope to avoid disruption to classes due to Covid, but participant and instructor safety is our number one priority and we will be following provincial guidelines and our own safety protocols to ensure this. Some of the covid-related adjustments to may include, but are not limited to:

– moving classes online via zoom
– rescheduling a class
– requiring masks if the case numbers are high or if provincial orders require them

If you are not comfortable with the potential adjustments above, then we recommend that you reconsider registering for the program at this time.

Pricing:

Registration Fee: $50 (due on registration)
Course fees: HCP Members: $565.00/Non-HCP Members: $720.00 (includes registration fee)
Note that a membership is not required at the time of registration.
Fees Include textbook & hand-outs
Fees due by November 14, 2022

How to Register:

The program is sold out for 2023. Please join the interest list to receive updates on registration for 2024 and to register early.

Program Withdrawals:

Note that program fees are refundable for program withdrawals prior to January 10. To withdraw from the program, please email [email protected]
Registration fees are non-refundable.