Pruning and Grafting Courses

These largely practical workshops and courses for the amateur gardener will concentrate mainly on top fruit varieties such as apples, pears, plums and cherries. You will find out how to make the most of your garden and how you can produce a good crop of juicy fruit in a small area.

These courses focus on seasonal pruning. For the more adventurous amateur gardener there will also be a session on grafting, in March and May. Through these classes, participants will learn how to manage a fruit crop in a small area, how to control tree growth and what to do when things appear to get out of hand.

Most courses are delivered at the Grade 1 listed Bradbourne House, East Malling, with some taking place in the Hatton Fruit Garden, formerly the kitchen garden, where fruit trees have been trained and pruned over many decades to produce a myriad of designs, including cordons, espaliers, goblets, pyramids, fans, arches, crowns, le bateau and arcure forms.

East Malling Research is synonymous with fruit trees and the courses will give invaluable tips and trade secrets on how to increase fruit yields. Keen amateur gardeners can learn to dramatically improve their fruit tree cropping at one of our pruning courses .

Tuition on how to use a chainsaw safely at home is also available and there will be opportunities to learn how to service your own lawn mower.