Restoration of the Kitchen Garden
The old kitchen garden before restoration
Goldsborough Hall has offered part of its 11-acre grounds to the students of Askham Bryan College to enable them to create a traditional kitchen garden from scratch as part of their studies.
The Horticulture students from the College’s Harrogate centre have used the area as part of their practical assessments learning the traditional skills involved in developing and maintaining a productive vegetable plot, including soil analysis and crop rotation.
Nigel Harrison and the Askham Bryan students
Nigel Harrison, the diploma course tutor at Askham Bryan and BBC Radio York’s gardening presenter, has encouraged the students to plant rare types of vegetables from the National Seed Heritage Library in the new kitchen garden. This has given the students the opportunity to contribute to the conservation of some of Britain’s older and more traditional fruit and vegetable varieties.
Clare Oglesby, owner of Goldsborough Hall, said: “When Nigel mentioned that they were looking for a suitable space for the students to develop a vegetable garden, we instantly offered them the use of some land at Goldsborough. While I have successfully developed the ornamental side of the garden, this is a fabulous opportunity for the traditional kitchen garden to be reinstated.”
Raised beds in the partly restored kitchen garden
Nigel commented: “Unfortunately our Harrogate site has no suitable outdoor facility for a project such as this and so we are thrilled to be able to give the students the opportunity to create something from scratch on the otherwise dormant site at Goldsborough Hall. It is the perfect way to introduce them to the practical side of gardening.”
In the first term, the students worked on individual designs for the garden, judged by Clare and Mark Oglesby. The final design is an amalgamation of all the students’ ideas and suggestions made by the owners.
Raised beds in the partly restored kitchen garden
The area at the far end of the garden still had the framework of an old greenhouse but had been used over the decades as a dumping ground and was full saplings and weeds.
Following a year of restoration by the students, the trees have been removed and a couple of raised beds created. Produce ranges from chard, fennel and lettuce to onions and potatoes.
Goldsborough Hall head chef, Dave Stewart-Pybus is thrilled. “I’ve always wanted to use fresh produce from the Hall for weddings and functions and have been using the vegetables grown by the students throughout the summer. The taste is so much better when you have just picked the veg five minutes before.”
Design for the restored kitchen garden at Goldsborough Hall by the students of Askham Bryan
“After three terms of work, the students have made an incredible difference with produce growing for the Hall’s kitchen,” says Clare Oglesby. “It’s a five-year project and we look forward to the students’ return in September to carry on the restoration.”
Open Gardens
The gardens of Goldsborough Hall will be open for Snowdrop Days for two Sundays in February and for the National Garden Scheme in April and July 2012 when the kitchen garden will be on show.
Practical Garden Courses
Nigel Harrison, course tutor at Askham Bryan and BBC Radio York’s gardening presenter, will be holding a series of practical gardening courses in the Spring 2012.
Tuesday 21th February – “Growing Organically”
Tuesday 20th March – “Pruning Made Easy”
Tuesday 24th April – “Propagation Made Easy”
Tuesday 22nd May – “Spring Flower Photography Workshop”
The courses will run from 10am-3pm including lunch and cost £50 per person. For more information and to book, please contact Clare Oglesby, tel 01423 867321 or email clare@goldsboroughhall.com
