Hidden Valley Sustainable Living Workshops

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Golden Valley, TAS
Hidden Valley Sustainable Living Workshops

Learn practical skills for sustainable living, including gardening, sourdough baking and building.
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01/09/2026

Just 2 weeks after sowing and I'm planting my gutter peas already! I've never had such strong growing pea seedlings, and I've tried various sizes of modules over the years - I can't sow my peas straight in the garden because the seeds are eaten by rats or mice. Planting went easier than I expected: I simply dug a trench in the bed, cut the taped-off end of the gutter off, and confidently tipped and jiggled the peas into their trench. They are snuggled in nice and deeply, with soil firmed around them a little, and tucked in with fleece to ease the transition to the outdoors lifestyle. I'll let you know how they go when I'm picking peas in a couple of months...

27/08/2026

Late winter and early spring is a great time to get out into the garden on sunny days and do those 're-do' projects on your to-do list. This week I dug out my raspberry beds to half a metre deep in an effort to get all of the roots out - a fraught undertaking for a 'no-dig' gardener! I set aside one of the beds for my new 'gutter peas' experiment (more of that to come), and planted the rest out with a new summer fruiting variety to replace my old Chilliwack canes which have not done well in this garden, although I had great success with them in Hobart. I also planted large-flowered summer clematis vines at the ends of the beds and divided my existing clumps of primroses to extend down each side of the centre path. I topped the beds up with home-made compost and finished them with a dressing of broken-down home-made wattle woodchips. They look fantastic and I'm so excited for the coming fruit and flowers!

25/08/2026

Here we are pruning the grape vines last Sunday at the first ever Practical Pruning workshop! Everyone got stuck in pruning the pear, apples, cherries, quince and grapes, not to mention the massive renovation we gave the berry cage! Safe to say the redcurrants are a shadow of their former selves! Rick and Ingrid were wonderful hosts, serving up a fantastic lunch in the garden.

I'll certainly offer this workshop again next year for those who want more practical pruning experience, and I'll continue to offer the Pruning and Espalier Fruit Trees and Berries workshop for those who want to learn how to prune the whole range of fruit and how to create a variety of shapes from a classic bush for stone fruit to more inventive espalier forms.

18/08/2026

My evergreen clematis Armandii is flowering 3 weeks earlier than usual so I've sowed my first veggie seedlings for the coming season a week earlier than planned. As part of my quest to continually improve on my gardening skills and know-how, I like to try something new each year, and this year I'm sowing my peas in 2 metre lengths of guttering! One end of each gutter has an end cap, and the other has cardboard taped over it. I filled each gutter with a mix of garden soil and compost, and sowed 3 pea seeds per inch down the gutter. You need a lot of seeds for this method, but I have plenty because I saved them from my last crop. I am keeping my gutters inside until the peas are growing strongly to stop rats or mice from eating the seeds. I'll keep you updated on their progress...

I also multi-sowed a 60 cell tray each of red and brown onions, a tray of lettuce, a tray of multi-sowed beetroot, and a punnet of parsley. Spring seems to be coming earlier this year, and I'm excited all over again for new crops and flowers!

17/08/2026

It's a beautiful day to be finishing off my pruning just as the trees are starting to show signs of new growth. I'm planting my new fruit tree - a quince - which I'll fan train against the fence of my garden. I planted it with the two main branches facing each direction to form the beginning of the fan, and pruned the main stem off above this pair of branches to encourage growth sideways. I also shortened them by a third to encourage vigorous growth in the coming season. Over summer, I'll prune off any shoots facing away from the trellis and tie in the rest. Don't forget to book into Sunday's Practical Pruning workshop for a great day pruning mature fruit trees!

08/08/2026

I'm excited to offer this brand new workshop Practical Pruning for those of you with older fruit trees or berries which need bringing back to fruitfulness and bringing down to where you can reach the fruit! I visited Rick & Ingrid's two acre garden in Mole Creek yesterday and it was absolutely packed with heaps of options for us to get stuck into pruning including an old pear espalier, mature fig tree, grape vines, quince, mature apple trees and these sweet cherries. There is also a berry cage with blackcurrant, blueberries, redcurrants and gooseberries which are in desperate need of a prune. Pruning established trees can be a bit overwhelming so book now for the chance to accomplish the whole transformation from 'before' to 'after' as a group!

05/08/2026

I wish I could post a photo of our pruning workshop on Sunday but I forgot to take any AGAIN! We got lucky with the weather and had a great day learning about pruning, although I think lunch was the highlight for some!

Check out this lovely old wooden storage chest which I renovated this week. I put wheels on the base so it can be moved around easily, installed new hinges on the lid, and strings on the sides to stop the lid blowing off (again), before sanding it back and re-oiling it. Now it is full of the hand and power tools we'll need for October's building workshops. This year I have a special promotion for those of you who want to get in some extra practice on the tools - come to Basic Building Skills for Women and receive half price off your ticket to Woodworking Skills the next day. Email me for a discount code. Get in quick because there are only 3 tickets left!

23/07/2026

I've swapped palm trees for snow, and in between flurries I ducked out to the garden to check on what happened while we were away... not much as it turns out! I'm itching to get out my secateurs but I'll be waiting until Sunday 2 August to complete all of my winter pruning during my annual Pruning Fruit Trees and Berries workshop. During the workshop I'll also be explaining how to create a range of espalier forms, and how to prune apple, pear, plum and even redcurrant and gooseberry espaliers. This workshop is always very popular and heaps of fun, so book now to reserve your place!

14/07/2026

We've been on holiday and I'm absolutely loving making sourdough in a tropical climate! No need for a proofing box, or calculating the correct water temperature to give me the correct dough temperature - my starter is active and healthy, my levain is super vigorous, and my dough is fermenting happily simply by using room temperature flour and water. It was easy to pack a small container of starter, my proofing baskets, lame for scoring, and a digital thermometer so that I can make sure my dough is the optimal temperature, and we were lucky enough to be staying at a place equipped with cast iron casserole pots to bake my loaves in. Scoring is trickier reaching into a pot, so I've been sticking with 5 parallel lines across the round loaf, which transforms them into oval loaves, perfect for slicing. Homemade sourdough is healthy, it's cheap, and it's delicious for breakfast with fresh jam or marmalade made with local tropical fruit!

20/05/2026

I've been on a building spree lately, starting off with the extension to the chook house. This nesting box is an easy project if you have basic building skills... or have been to my building workshops! I'm still trying to find ways of using up all the formply from last year's concreting projects, so although it ain't pretty it was free!

A chook house should have 1 box about 300 x 350 for every 4 chooks. Put it in the lowest and darkest spot facing away from the window and door. Broodies like a longer box like this one to settle down in. Once you have cut your pieces and screwed them together, it's just a matter of fitting the top flap with some small easy-fit hinges. Then screw it into the wall!

Address

12361 Highland Lakes Road
Golden Valley, TAS
7304

Telephone

+61456855652

Website

https://www.hiddenvalleyworkshops.com.au/

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