Course description

Would you like to grow your own salad, pick a strawberry from a pot by the back door or fill a border with flowers that bees love, but you don't know where to start? This course takes you from complete beginner to confident gardener, step by step, whether you have a back garden, a yard, a balcony or just a sunny windowsill.

It's a full course, not a list of quick tips. There are 10 sections and 52 step-by-step written lessons, and every lesson ends with a practical task. Every section has a practice pack of planners, checklists, cheat sheets and task cards. Throughout the course you follow a dental nurse in Sheffield through her first year of gardening in a small rented garden, including what went wrong.

What you'll learn

• Your space: sun, shade, aspect, wind and the tools you really need.
• Soil and compost: simple soil tests, no-dig beds, composting and feeding.
• Seeds and young plants: sowing indoors and out, hardening off and buying healthy plants.
• Containers: pots, window boxes, balconies and hanging baskets.
• Food to grow: easy vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit for small spaces.
• Flowers: borders, bulbs, shrubs, climbers and lawns.
• Problems and wildlife: watering, weeds, slugs and diseases without harmful chemicals, and a garden that welcomes wildlife.

Two final projects

You'll plan and plant a container garden for your own space, then make a one-year plan for a small productive bed.

Who this course is for

• Complete beginners with a new garden, yard or balcony.
• Renters who want to grow in pots without upsetting the landlord.
• Anyone who wants to grow some of their own food.
• Families who want a garden that's good for children and wildlife.

How the course works

Read each lesson, then go outside (or to your windowsill) and do the Try it task. Gardening depends on your weather and where you live, so lessons explain what to look for rather than fixed dates. You keep lifetime access, so you can come back at each season of the year.

What will i learn?

• Understand your space: sun, shade, aspect, wind and soil
• Improve soil, make compost and start a no-dig bed
• Sow seeds indoors and out, raise young plants and buy plants wisely
• Grow in pots, window boxes and on balconies
• Grow easy vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit in a small space
• Plan a flower border and plant bulbs, shrubs and climbers
• Water well and handle weeds, slugs, pests and diseases without harmful chemicals
• Garden for wildlife and follow a month-by-month gardening calendar

Frequently asked question