ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP.

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ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP

1 Overview of a Diversified Micro-scale Food Production System
1.1 Vegetables

1.2 Fruit

1.3 Mushrooms

1.4 Poultry

1.5 Waste Stream Management

2 Organic Soil Preparation and Management

2.1 Understanding How Soils Function

2.1.1 Soil Components

2.1.2 Soil Structure

2.1.3 Soil Texture

2.1.4 Nutrient Management

2.1.4.1 The Role of Organic Matter

2.1.4.2 The Role Microorganisms

2.1.4.3 The Role of Minerals

2.2 The Living Soil

2.2.1 Compost

2.2.1.1 What is it?

2.2.1.2 How Much Do I Need?

2.2.1.3 Where do I Get It?

2.2.1.3.1 Outside Sources

2.2.1.3.2 Make Your own

2.2.1.3.3 Vermiculture

2.3 Mineral Nutrients

2.4 Tillage and Soil Preparation

2.5 Ongoing Soil Management

3 Design Principles, Siting and Layout

3.1 Site Analysis

3.1.1 Light and Shade

3.1.2 Surface Water Flow

3.1.3 Soils

3.2 Needs Assessment

3.2.1 What do I Want to Grow

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3.2GARDENING WORKSHOP
Needs Assessment

3.2.1 What do I Want to Grow

3.2.2 How Much Do I Want to Grow

3.2.2.1 Personal Consumption

3.2.2.2 Sell for Profit

3.2.3 How Much Time Do I Have

3.2.4 What Equipment Do I Need

3.3 What Goes Where?

Space Requirements

Light Requirements

Water Requirements

4 Crop Planning, Sequencing and Rotation

4.1 What Will Grow in Each Season?

4.2 When Do I Need To Plant What?

4.3 How Long Does It Take for a Crop to Mature

4.4 Developing a Crop Rotation

4.4.1 Nomenclature

4.4.1.1 Why is it important - many of the most common vegetables are in the same family. They
have the same pests and take the same nutrients from the soil. By knowing which plants
are related to one another you can develop a crop rotation avoids growing related
vegetables in the same beds from one year to the next.
4.4.1.1.1 Families

4.4.1.1.1.1 Brassicas - kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, radish, arugula,

turnip, mustard, asian greens, rutabaga, tatsoi, komatsuna, bok choy, kohlrabi
4.4.1.1.1.2 Solanaceous (nightshade) species - eggplant, potato, tomato, pepper, tomatillo,
petunia, datura, angels trumpet,
4.4.1.1.1.3 Leguminous species - peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, vetch

4.4.1.1.1.3.1 Nitrogen fixation - plants in this family have a symbiotic relationship with
the rhizobium family of bacteria which grow in the roots of the plant and
fix nitrogen from the air in the soil which is used by the plants.
4.4.1.1.1.3.1.1 inoculation - It is necessary to inoculate the seed with the specific
species of bacteria for each plant to take advantage of the nitrogen
fixation. You inoculate the seed by coating it with the bacteria which
comes in the form of a black powder.
4.4.1.1.1.4 Cucurbits - cucumber, squash, melons, gourds, pumpkins, zucchini

4.5 Multi-cropping Systems

5 Plant Propagation
5.1 Seed Starting

5.1.1 Plug Production

5.1.1.1 1st true leaves / cotyledons - the first leaves that emerge from a seed are called
cotyledons. The next leaves are the first true leaves. Sometimes you will see instructions
on a seed packet that says to transplant when the first true leaves appear.
5.1.2 Direct Seeding
 5.1.1 Plug Production

5.1.1.1 1st true leaves / cotyledons - the first leaves that emerge from a seed are called
cotyledons. The next leaves are the first true leaves. Sometimes you will see instructions
ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP
on a seed packet that says to transplant when the first true leaves appear.
5.1.2 Direct Seeding

5.2 Seed Saving

5.2.1 Biennial - a biennial grows vegetatively the first year. It goes through a process called
vernalization (short days and cold weather) in the fall and winter which stimulates to
flower and produce seeds the following spring then dies. Examples are carrots and
parsley.
5.2.2 Annual - An annual grows, flowers, produces seeds and dies in one season.

5.2.3 Open pollinated

5.2.3.1 Open pollination is pollination by insects, birds, wind, or other

natural mechanisms. The seeds of open-pollinated plants will
produce new generations of those plants; however, because
breeding is uncontrolled and the pollen (male parent) source is
unknown, open pollination results in plants that vary widely in
genetic traits.
Open pollination increases biodiversity but results in some
plants less suitable for their environment or intended human
use. This is in contrast with hand pollination, which is
controlled so that all seeds of a crop carry the same traits.
Another type, hybrid pollination, increases suitability, especially
through heterosis, but decreases biodiversity. Some hybrid
strains are inbred and selected for desired traits until a strain
that breeds true by open pollination can be developed.
One of the bigger challenges in maintaining a strain by open
pollination is avoiding introduction of pollination by other
strains. Based on how broadly the pollen for the plant tends to
disperse, it can be controlled to varying degrees by
greenhouses, tall wall enclosures, or field isolation.
(source:wikipedia)
5.2.4 F-1 hybrid

5.2.4.1 Crossing specific parent plants produces a hybrid seed (plant)

by means of controlled pollination. To produce consistent F1
hybrids, the original cross must be repeated each season. As
in the original cross, in plants this is usually done through
controlled hand-pollination, and explains why F1 seeds can
often be expensive. (source: wikipedia)
5.3 Cuttings and Other Propagation Methods
 in the original cross, in plants this is usually done through
controlled hand-pollination, and explains why F1 seeds can
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often be expensive. (source: wikipedia)
5.3 Cuttings and Other Propagation Methods

6 Crop Management
6.1 Weed Control

6.2 Insect Control

6.2.1 Bugscaping

6.2.2 Biological Pest Control

6.3 Disease Control

6.3.1 Crop Rotation

6.3.2 Variety Selection

6.3.3 Sanitation

6.3.4 Compost tea

6.3.5 Biological Disease Control