Gardening for the Microbiome

with Sid Hill

Friday 27 June 2025

Saturday 28 June 2025

10am - 4pm (arrive at 9.30 for coffee/tea)

£140

Group Size - 10 people

Sid Hill is passionate about the fascinating links between the health of the land, soil and human microbiome. It’s an area he researched throughly when he and Chris Hull were designing a garden for the Chelsea Flower show in 2024. Their Bowel Research UK Microbiome Garden won a gold medal for its beautiful, naturalistic meadow featuring many edible plants.

Join us for an enlightening day on the vital links between the health of the land and our own microbiomes. As we learn more about the microbiome we see that human health is reflected in the health of the land, plants and ecosystems that we inhabit. We are always connected to the life around us and the environment via the microbial glue that holds our world together.

In this workshop we will explore the human microbiome, what it is and how it effects our health. We will discover how we as gardeners can cultivate gardens teaming with microbes that nourish the soil, feed healthy plants and act as a probiotic on our health. We will explore which plants are best for supporting microbes in the garden and in our gut microbiome.

In the afternoon, we will ferment garden vegetables to preserve our harvests and create foods that boost our microbiomes and overall health.

Whether you’re a passionate gardener, a health enthusiast, or simply fascinated by the microbiome, this workshop offers an opportunity to learn how we can create gardens that support the health of the soil, biodiversity and the human microbiome.

Sid is an ecological gardener, designer and educator based in Totnes, Devon. He was home educated and grew up helping his parents tend their forest garden in Portugal.  He studied ethnobotany and landscape design at The Eden Project and has been practicing ecological landscape design for 14 years.

Refreshments

Alison will prepare a vegetarian lunch including produce from the garden. Homemade biscuits will be served on arrival and we will round up the day with tea and cake. If you have any specific dietary requests do let us know on the booking form.

What to Bring

Check the weather forecast before you travel and ensure you bring appropriate clothing, whether that’s waterproofs or sun hats, or possibly both!  You may wish to bring a notebook and camera too.

Getting Here

Directions will be emailed to you a couple of weeks before the workshop. Use Damson Farm rather than the postcode on Google Maps.

Cancellation policy

As a small business it’s not sustainable to offer refunds. However if you need to cancel your place up to 28 days before the event you will be offered a credit towards another workshop.   After that time, the offer only applies if we’ve been able to re-sell the place. It’s not possible to promote cancelled places for re-sale less than 4 days before the event.