From permaculture design and rare fruit, to mushroom cultivation and backyard bees, there’s a big range of all-new workshops on offer to the community as part of this year’s Edible Gardens Festival.
The festival returns May 22–24 to the Margaret River region, and this year’s in-depth, hands-on workshops are interactive sessions packed with practical skills and tips that attendees can take straight home to their own gardens.
For the first time, the annual not-for-profit food growing and sustainability festival kicks off on Friday afternoon with a full slate of in-depth workshops, with more sessions running throughout the weekend.
Alongside the workshops, festival-goers can explore six inspiring open gardens, enjoy live demonstrations, and hear talks from experienced local gardeners. See www.ediblegardensfestival.au for tickets, info and the full program.
“Our workshops are always popular, and this year we’ve added even more,” says organiser and permaculture teacher Trevor Paddenburg. “They’re hands-on, inspiring, and full of practical tips for gardeners of all levels. Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, there’s something for everyone.”
David Hatwell will be teaching a workshop series at the Edible Gardens Festival
Range of workshops covering big diversity of topics
The 2026 workshop program includes Rare Fruit Workshop & Farm Tour at Wayne and Leisa Prangnell’s 20-year-old food forest, home to 500-plus fruit tree varieties. Explore their hot house, learn about homegrown herbal teas, and see how geese and chooks assist in the orchard. With practical tips on self-sufficiency, from growing ginger & using wicking beds to tackling tree roots in your veg patch.
Or, step into the garden of Witchcliffe Permaculture and Design founder and permaculture teacher Gillian Pearce for an inspiring tour that brings permaculture principles to life. Gillian will share how she plans with permaculture zones and designs integrated, multi-use systems that cycle nutrients, create natural windbreaks and invite wildlife in. A chance to see practical, creative solutions for building a resilient and abundant garden that works in harmony with nature.
Pruning can seem like a mystery, but Mark Tupman from Productive Ecology will show you how to confidently prune for tree health and abundant fruit. This hands-on demonstration in the Burnside Organic Farm orchard covers a variety of fruit trees, sharing expert tips from one of the region’s leading edible garden gurus and green thumbs. Plus enjoy free wine tasting at the cellar door after class.
Laura Bailey from Margaret River Organic Farmer will run a native been workshop
Fungi, tiny gardens, hot sauce and more
Other workshops topics at the festival include:
- From Harvest to Hot Sauce: preserving and sauce-making with El Kapo (Margaret River Farmers Market)
- Big Yields on a Small Budget with David Hatwell (Capes Horticulture)
- 5-Star Hotels for Busy Bees with Laura Bailey (Margaret River Organic Farmer
- Veg Gardening for Beginners with Jamie McCall (Burnside Organic Farm)
- Fungi Fundamentals: Growing Your Own Mushrooms with David Harwood (Margaret River Mushrooms)
- Big Ideas for Small Spaces (Dec Davie from Wayfinder Wines & Glenarty Road)
- Plus a special workshop talk from Steve Wood (All The Dirt podcast) called Homegrown Goodness on the benefits and reasons to grow some of your own food
Tickets remain at 2025 prices: $20 for a single-day open garden ticket (free for children 16 and under), and workshops $25 each. Early booking is strongly recommended at www.ediblegardensfestival.au, where the full program is also available.
Festival-goers can take the $10 festival bus to all gardens each day, and enjoy 20 per cent off fruit trees, potted plants and vegetable seedlings at Margaret River Mitre 10.
Mark Tupman is on the Edible Gardens Festival program
Fantastic opportunity to learn from local experts
“Visiting the open gardens gives everyone the chance to pick up loads of ideas, knowledge and inspiration for your patch, and then the afternoon workshops build on that and dive deeper into a topic,” says Trev. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the incredible local experts who are running each session.
“Our workshops are a highlight of the festival, giving people hands-on skills and inspiration to grow their own food and live more sustainably. With so many sessions on offer, it’s a weekend not to miss for gardeners of all levels.”
The festival is proudly supported by the Shire of Augusta Margaret River, Margaret River Regional Environment Centre, Margaret River Mitre 10, Lazarus Horticulture, South West Tree Services, Cape to Cape Explorer Tours, Mumballup Organics and Yates Hort and Ag.
Also participating are Burnside Organic Farm, Soil Dynamics, Yates, Shogun Tools, Shelter Brewing Co, Capes Horticulture, Plumo Market Garden, Wayfinder Wines, Witchcliffe Permaculture & Design, Vegepod, Wild Lot Distillery, Nature Conservation Margaret River Region, Margaret River Community Pantry, Natural Farming Alliance, Fair Harvest, and Productive Ecology.
