Planting in raised beds

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Building of raised beds. Share garden knowledge, planting and harvesting together. Learning about plant cultivation in a new climate.

“When working in the garden, it is good if there is a division, in terms of pre-cultivation, sowing, and workshops so the participants can learn the different parts of the subject gradually.”

Description of the activity

Together in the garden everyone can share their knowledge and everyone has some knowledge to contribute. The activity of planting and then harvesting what has grown is very important for many people. The participants have many ideas about what to plant and what the crops should be used for. This activity is good for everyone who participates and they feel a sense of achievement in what they have grown.

Competences

At the accommodation base they have no trained gardeners, but the staff have good experience and knowledge when it comes to cultivation and gardening. Together with migrants and Swedish participants they determine what should be in the garden and when it can be harvested.
The participants, especially the migrants, often have knowledge about cultivation, which means that they can help, together with the supervisors who have received basic training in horticulture to show the others who don’t have this experience.

Steps for the implementation of the activity

In the garden, planning is needed to use the garden in the best way. Together they go around the plot and investigate what needs to be done. It should be dug and raised beds should be created. The staff and the clients sit together and created a map for the different planting areas.

They make a common list of what they need to do and in what order it should be done. They measure and write down the measurements for the raised beds. They go through this together to decide how much soil and fertilizer is needed, which tools to use such as spades, grips and rakes that they need to start up their garden.

After this they look at the different locations for the different crops. For example, do the plants need sun or can they be placed in shade? In this way, they go through the entire garden and this becomes a practical lesson for the clients to come up with ideas and thoughts on how to grow.

After the plants have grown, they must be harvested. They take care of the crops and use them in cooking, and they have ways of preserving the harvest to save for the winter. Some of the plants provide seeds that they can save for next year and plant them for new crops.

Materials and methods

Infrastructure:
The activities in the villa garden have so far not been extensive. This is because the project is new. The participants have started up with the production of raised beds that they are to grow in. The lawn that previously existed has been reduced and this is to provide room for growing and in the future a greenhouse for the participants themselves which they are planning to build from old windows to create raised beds.

Materials and human resources:
The garden tools they have received from the municipality’s park management and seeds and seedlings come from the park administration where it has seeds from the previous year. The seeds are bought through the municipality suppliers.

Time/Workload:
As the staff are employed full time, the workload is distributed among them so that they can teach what they have as specialist knowledge.

Costs:
The budget for running the garden is small, the money they can access has come from the total budget of the business, which means that they must seek more project money to continue this activity. Its costs about 4500 Euro/year.

Learning outcomes for the participants

The migrants enjoy working in the garden and they learn new things about cultivation, because there is a colder climate in Sweden than where they come from, so they need more knowledge about how the plants need to be looked after during winter time.

In the garden, the clients know that they have a valuable job. It gives them a meaning to life to see how the crops grow and that they can harvest vegetables and fruit.

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