In this course we will explore 3 ways of growing food.

 

Starting from the smallest of spaces on balconies or patios and even indoor. I will  present to you my friend Natalie who has perfected container growing utilising green grass clippings and kitchen waste to turn them rapidly into highly delicious and nutritious soil utilising tiger red worms.

 

All the leachate (earthworm tea)  with excess water is collected underneath the container and re applied back over the growing container. This method is excellent for very dry conditions or water scarce environments as no water is ever wasted because the container is water tight. Old bins or plastic boxes are utilised for this method. Natalie has been growing food this way for over 17 years with great success.

 

Utilising this knowledge we will dive deeply into creation of your own low cost quick worm tower that can be utilised in the food growing machine to breed worms and eat up all most of the kitchen waste without any smell.

 

As far as growing  herbs outdoors we will construct a herb spiral utilising stones and old boards to raise the soild and maximise the surface area for growing by creating a continuous stepping up spiral.

 

Then we will go into practical application of growing vegetables and strawberries “ Grow Bio Intensive Method” by John Jeavons . I attended his live workshop back in 2001. Here we will cover two ways of making compost including the super fast and hot method of composting that will  turn all of your garden waste combined with food scraps including meat, citrus,  onions and  fats into readymade delicious, smell free compost within 17 days! We will also construct a mech cylinder for compost keeping should you be tight on space.

 

I will explain to you  a simple and easy to understand how to garden with the moon so you will get will get it straight away, without the need to buy any lunar planting calendars.

 

We will delve into great detail when creating a proper bio intensive method of soil preparation and shaping of you planting bed. Proper soil preparation will ensure that your plants are thriving whilst being disease and pest free.  Pests and disease attract only weak and sick plants. So by creating conditions for thriving plants in the soil we will get healthy and nutritionally dense organic food feeding the soil we feed the plants.

 

 

And lastly I will present to you a full food forest course we will start with basics covering principles of natural forests, growth layers, reasons for forest gardening, succession in time and space,

 

Then we will delve into design principles of food forest gardening where will will cover how to design the clearings,  edges, types of plants, hedges, paths as well as ground covers.

 

On the third module of food forest we will go into practicalities with topics such as preparation and converting grass to ground cover, planting, mulching, seasonal maintenance, ow to growing your own plants

Species for clearings, edges and hedges, tree crops, Shrub crops, climbers, perennials, perennial leaf crops, species for ground covers – paths – clearings – polycultures, Annuals & biennials, Root & bulb crops, Fungi as well as plants for difficult sites.

 

As a practical hands on we will create contour line swale and plant it out with everything we have learned in the food forest modules.

 

 

With all 3 courses you will be able to considerably reduce your living costs  improving health and joy levels whilst growing your own food, building your dome home all powered by sun, water, garden and kitchen waste

 

Please note that  our food, shelter and water courses are not a permaculture design course. They have all been greatly inspired by permaculture and it has been crafted for urban and semi urban environment.

 

If you are serious about leaving the city into the country we would strongly recommend doing a PDC (72 hour full Permaculture Design Certification).