Course Outline - Food For Free – Paul Taylor Workshop
2 day BibraLake course (9-5pm)
Course Outline - Bio-logical soil management, Bio-Fertilizers and plant health
Some of you have asked for more information on the course and what will be covered. This is what we want to cram in, yes its intense :)
DAY 1
Session 1 (9:30-11): 90 minutes
- Introductions and housekeeping.
- Who we are and why we are here.
- Introduce the Food for Free concept.
- Paul Taylor’s brief history of organic farming, soil regeneration, and how biological systems work in Nature.
- Introducing the Bio-Vital system and concepts as a holistic approach to sustainable soil management, soil regeneration and profitable production.
- Soil Pro-Botixs™ (compost tea), specialist compost, compost types and bio-fertilizers explained.
- We can now use agriculture as a system of soil regeneration rather than it being a system of soil degradation. Explain that that we design for soil conservation but we should be designing for soil regeneration. (use quote from Bill Mollison)
- Soils and Permaculture.
- Erosion as a primary management imperative.
Notes (introducing concepts): Building humus, waste to wealth, commercial composting systems, making Bio-Vital compost defining bio-vital compost, how fungi moves nutrients, pH and microbes.
Session 2 (11:30 -12:30) Compost tea brewing:
A bit early in workshop but need it in 24 hrs for application. Hands on experience of the technical aspects of making compost tea and growing soil microbes. Q & A on-going through this process.
- Assembling the Bio-Vital ™ brewing machine.
- The 1000 lt brewer and the 200 lt brewer. Assembled and explained as a hands on workshop. This will be part of the microscope demonstration tomorrow am.
- The process of filling the tank and evaluating the water.
- Adding microbe foods, the process, care and amounts of foods required.
- The basics of “compost tea”.
- Specialised inoculum (compost tea), how to make specialized inoculum for different cropping systems and varying climatic conditions.
- Adding soil microbes and the microbial “extraction process”.
Note: This session will end on the last day with application and testing of the tea.
Session 3 (1:30-2:30pm): 60 minutes (white board presentation) Soil Pro-biotixs™ (Compost tea) and specialist compost as a primary key to a holistic food production management system.
- Defining ‘Biological farming’, ‘conventional farming’ and ‘organic farming’ and the biological benefits of productive soil management. We can now grow food organically for less than we can chemically if we use soil microbiology as an integral part of our management system.
- Planning for our changing future explaining sustainable principles and soil biology. Using biological principals we can increase our soil fertility rather than constantly depleting it.
- How soil biology reduces the need for irrigation and works as an integral part of a drought-proofing strategy. Include Permaculture methodologies in the presentation.
- Explaining “conventional” farming, organic farming and biological farming as management systems, the benefits of combining these management systems (cell grazing, zero till, cover crops, fertilizers applications, energy saving techniques, pro-botixs, building OM etc).
- Biological farming and the role of soil microbes as an integral part of a sustainable farm management system. Explaining the roles of soil microbes.
- Prioritising applications of compost tea, crop management & stock management planning.
Session 4 (3-5:00): (Classroom white board and projector) Understanding the science of soil microbes.
- Where do soil microbes come from?
- How many microbes in a HA of vital soils?
- Chemicals and land degradation. The how and why of chemical ‘nutrition’.
- Microbes and pH
- What is Bio-Vital compost? Compost types and methodologies, mulch, degraded organic matter, compost as fertiliser, compost for rebuilding degraded soils, compost for building soil carbon, humus and the importance of OM.
- Compost as an ancient practice: traditional practices become ‘new sciences’, introducing the Indore Method Sir Albert Howard 1920.
- Rodale institute and building OM. It no longer takes 20 years of work when we understand the essential trilogy for building carbon/humus.
- Defining how, when and where to apply soil microbes.
- Diversity, diversity diversity. Explained, how we can reduce lab testing and practice.’ Education’, ‘Observation’, Contemplation, Ability to take appropriate action.
- The groups of soil microbes. Fungi, ecto and endo, bacteria, nematodes, introduction to the soil food web
- How soil microbes build topsoil. Explaining humus and soil carbon.
- How soil microbes lead to “sustainable production’
- Why soil microbes are lacking, the biological history of agriculture. Discuss and explain the use of chemicals and the demise of naturally productive systems.
- How we grow beneficial soil microbes and select against pathogens and disease.
- Understanding “inoculum” compost
- How do we use beneficial soil microbes? Introduce bio-fertilizer concept and foliar applications of microbes.
- How we use soil microbes to successfully control “weeds”. Nutrient availability, Nitrogen cycles, ‘selecting for weeds’
- Soil microbes provide nutrient to productive plants.
- Microscope photos of soil microbes and their roles.
- 60 minute slide show on biological principals. Explained in story format with limited Q&A allowed during presentation.
- Q&A 15 min focused on the understanding of biologically healthy soils, ability to increase carbon, humus, water retention and plant available nutrients. At the end of this session the participants should begin to understand how to use soil microbes (compost tea) to increase production and profitability today while preparing for the increasing effects of our changing future.
DAY 2
Session 5 (9:30-11:00): The science and practice of making specialist compost.
- Compost as a medium for growing beneficial soil microbes. Regenerative compost is more than 50% living micro-organisms in great diversity, diversity is the key to sustainable soil management.
- Compost ingredients. Anything that was once alive, can live again as ‘compost’
- 60 minute slide show on hand made composting (Wheatherby Station). Compost workshop, backyard compost, compost as the innoculant for soil pro-biotixs etc.
- Discuss ‘waste as resource’ introduce commercial compost systems. 15 minute presentation (if time allows) on fertiliser reduction from NG. Fertilizers and toxicity.
- Discussions of bio-degradation of toxicity, vital food and bioaccumulation. Silent Spring, DDT, alternate generation toxicity.
Sessions 6 (11:30-1:00): Hands on composting
- Outside making specialist compost. Include machinery chipping with Daniel.
- How to define and measure materials. High N, ‘Green waste” ‘Brown waste’ etc.
- Monitoring by water, temperature, ‘smell and feel’. Compost is alive and needs the same attention as a young animal for best success.
- The ‘ring method’ for building a compost pile. Demonstrated and explained, aerobic vs anaerobic, ‘mortality composting’ issues.
- Bio mass, reduction, production, increases of nutrient especially N. The why and how of composting and the basic and more advanced techniques for compost management.
- Adding minerals, specific use compost, compost as an ingredient for Bio-Fertilizers and why.
- Compost covers, temperature probes and moisture meters.
- Laboratory testing of compost.
- Knowing how to field test compost.
- Turning, watering and daily management.
- Lazy composting, static piles, anaerobic and fermentative processes.
- Back to class and 15 minute film on fungal process using ‘enhanced digital microscopy’
Sessions 7 (2:00-4pm): The science and practice of making soil pro-biotix™ (AACT actively aerated compost tea) Soil Pro-biotixs™ (Compost Tea): white board and projector Scientific principles of compost tea.
- What is a “Tea”, a short history of ‘Tea”
- The work of Dr. Elaine Ingham and Dr. Christine Jones. www.soilfoodweb.com/www.amazingcarbon.com.au
- Compost Tea as a beneficial soil inoculant. Why it works, why it is ‘not repeatable’ how it reduces reliance on fertilizers.
- The importance of water and the relationship of water retention to soil humus levels “it is estimated that a one percent increase in humus can allow soil to hold an extra 50,000 litres of water per hectare”.
- How biological processes increase your soils ability to accept and hold water. Soil structure, role of fungi, OM, minerals and microbes.
- Growing soil microbes in your backyard or as a realistic commercial system. Introduce the concept of commercial systems, slide show on basic composting.
- The “extraction process” how do we get the soil microbes in the water.
- Compost tea “brewers” a comparison (20 min DVD of Paul Taylor working with Dr. Elaine Ingham explaining and demonstrating compost tea brewers).
- How do we select for beneficial microbes during the “compost tea brewing” process.
- Methods of monitoring, how do we know if we have good “tea”.
- Compost tea application methods, from simple to sophisticated.
- Cost of compost tea and benefits over time, immediate benefits and the path to sustainability. Define ‘sustainability’ from Permaculture Manual
- Q&A 30 min focused on soil microbes. At the end of this session the participants will have an understanding of the science of growing soil microbes so that they are prepared for session 9
Session 2 Continued (4:00pm -5:00pm) Compost tea brewing:
Q & A on-going through this process.
- Using the “extraction” and the brewing process to turn “hundreds of thousands” of beneficial soil microbes into “thousands of millions” over the 24 hour brewing process.
- Application rates, methods of application, shelf life of compost tea.
- ‘TESTING THE TEA’ using the microscope, demonstrations and explanations of active microbes.
At the end of this session the participants will have a “hands on” experience of actually making compost tea and seeing microbiological activity in diversity in the tea samples
END OF TWO DAY WORKSHOP
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