One hour of good design can save ten hours of hard work. Learn about the fundimentals of designing and constructing a productive and sustainable garden.

Length of party:

6 hrs plus breaks

Full Menu Items:

• Garden Design
• Garden Maintenance
• Construction
• Irrigation

Taster Menu Items:

• Keeping Chooks
• Native Vegetation
• Seasons
• Composting
• Support Species
• Habitat

Outcome:

Understanding the importance of designing to create a productive and sustainable garden.

Host Gift:

• Basic sketch design of the garden
• Summary report
• Garden manual - Stage 1
  
• DVD

Guest’s Goodie Bag:

• Notes Pack
• Compass
• Sun chart
• Planting guide

Cost: $95 per person

• Minimum 12 people required
• Early bird specials apply

Full menu items:

One hour of clever design can save ten hours of hard work.

Theory:

• Elements of a design
• Sectors and Zones
• Positioning the garden
• How to design a garden
• Why good planning saves time and improves productivity
• The needs of the client/school
• Materials required

Practical:

• Walk around a garden area for observation
• Note services and other elements
• Draw a quick mud map of property / school

Maintaining a healthy and productive garden.

Theory

• What is this and why we do it
• How to maintain your garden
• Successional Planting
• Pest and Disease Management
• Jobs in the subtropical edible garden
• Tips for saving time, energy and money
• Selection and care of garden tools
• Garden tidy ups
• Understanding weeds
• Weed management - the organic way

Be waterwise.

Theory:

• Different methods of irrigating and how to apply them
• Your plants' water needs
• Designing your garden to save water
• When to water and how
• Storing and using water for irrigation
• Irrigation systems and watering options
• Water saving techniques
• Sources of water

Practical:

• Create an irrigation system in easy steps

Healthy happy backyard chooks.

Theory

• Why keep chooks?
• What type of chooks?
• Getting your garden ready for chooks
• Housing your chooks (including chook tractors)
• Feeding and watering you chooks
• Organic treatments for common chook problems using herbs and home made treatments
• Chooks in the garden system
• Incorporating free range chooks into your garden and food forests
• Council regulations

Practical

• Holding a chook
• Preparing and adding organic preps to their water

Biodiversity in the garden.

• Why we need natives in the sustainable garden
• How to identify and selecting the right natives for your garden
• Attracting natives birds, lizards, frogs and other species to your garden
• Bush tucker plants in the edible garden
• Forestry, National Parks and Landcare
• Our local species - what's growing in your area

An introduction to seasonal planning for a subtropical edible garden.

Theory

• Mapping sun and shade patterns throughout the year
• Understanding orientation
• Growing in the subtropics (specific issues)
• Planning your garden for a year of food (this steps into garden design)
• Seasonal jobs - busy times, quiet times
• When to plant, when to harvest
• Annuals & perennials - growing food throughout the year
• Understanding the subtropical climate and how it affects backyard food production

Practical

• Using a compass, finding orientation
• Using sun map for our region

Composting made easy.

• Why compost?
• What is compost?
• The role of compost in an organic garden
• The life in compost
• What goes in, what stays out - ingredients
• Building, maintaining, harvesting, using and storing your perfect compost
• Troubleshooting common problems (vermin, odours etc) & easy remedies

Practical

• Selecting and preparing the site
• Selecting & preparing the materials including compost starters
• Build a small compost heap to manage kitchen scraps and provide soil for your garden
• Bokashi system

... and the award for the best support species goes to...

• Identifying common support species in a sustainable garden
• The role of support species in an edible garden, orchard and food forest
• Using them in garden design
• Exploring the many uses of plants and their benefits
• Growing your own mulch, fertilisers and compost activators
• Growing your own shade and structural plants

Practical

• Identifying various species and how to grow them

Creating habitat to attract diversity into your garden.

Theory:

• Identifying the different types of habitats
• What do we attract to the garden and why they are important
• How do we bring them to the garden and keep them there
• Recognising the importance of existing habitats and nurturing them

Herbs for human and garden health.

Theory:

• Looking at different varieties
• Their many uses
• Growing needs
• Designing herbs into gardens
• Growth habits
• Container growing
• Harvesting and using

Practical:

• Looking at and tasting a variety of herbs
• Creating natural remedies from herbs