dunmore Country School

Discover the joy of growing your own food with our hands-on, sustainable gardening courses. At Dunmore Country School, you'll learn No-Dig techniques that improve soil health, save time, and reduce strain. Our approach includes mulching to minimize weeding and using organic matter from your garden to create fertile vegetable beds—all without the need for chemicals or sprays.
This workshop gives a detailed and practical introduction to formative, maintenance, restorative and disease pruning.
We grow a wide selection of fruit trees and bushes. From apple to pear, quince, medlar, plums, aronia, currants, raspberries, morello, grape and more … I will also talk about roses and tomatoes, depending the season!!
Pruning trees at planting time is very important because it will determinate the overall health and yield of the plant for many years to come. I usually aim for an open stool or goblet. It allows light and ventilation. But I also have trained pear trees in minarette (vertical cordon), single cordon,double U cordon, “a la diable” and into a fruiting hedge. Apple are trained into single, double cordon, and goblet. I will explain some basic grafting techniques, the tools needed and I will share some of my tree paste recipes. I will show you how to properly plant and feed the different plants. You will learn many tips to grow your own fruits. Training trees is a very good way to optimise the space in a small garden,
It will take place in our working kitchen garden in Durrow county Laois.
At Dunmore Country School, we aim to foster a deeper connection to the land, emphasizing healthy soil as the foundation of sustainable living. Through hands-on education in organic gardening, soil health, and regenerative practices, we empower individuals to steward the earth and embrace sustainability.
"That class was brilliant on Tuesday, thank you so much. Thank you for sharing all those important concepts and years of experience, it really is fantastic to be part of this course. Especially at the moment, it’s great to be learning."
"I want to thank you both for the most enjoyable and INFORMATION PACKED day yesterday. Your hospitality and welcome matched your wealth of knowledge, love and experience of the soil and what it lovingly can produce given care and respect."
"Just a quick mail to thank you for a fantastic morning last Saturday. I have been in the horticultural industry all my life and your enthusiasm and knowledge has given me a completely new outlook on how I garden. I am so excited about transforming our glasshouse in the coming months. "
"He pulls apart a raised bed of greens to unearth a potato that formedlast summer but now is ready for a winter stew. Elsewhere, he unearths a celeriac, and inanother spot he pulls back the ground to reveal a blanched endive. He covers it again for safekeeping. It’s as if he is foraging in a wilderness of his own planting."
Tanguy and Isabelle de Toulgoët
At Dunmore Country School, we also understand the importance of cooking and preserving what you grow. During our courses, Isabelle will prepare you some delicious, healthy, and seasonal lunches using homegrown organic produce, and we’ll share tips with you on how to make the most of your harvest with preserving techniques.
dunmore Country School