From Scratch using Koanga Best Practice and Your Own Local Materials… described well in our Booklets Books and Workshops
|
Time |
Step |
Outcome |
You will need |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Year 1 Spring |
1 |
Make bone ash or char then make a compost heap for next Autumn’s garden following Koanga recipes |
Bones from your kitchen, a butcher or home kill etc approx 3 x the weight of ash in the recipe being used, as well as the compost recipe in the Beginner Gardener Booklet or The Art of Composting Booklet (or online or onsite workshops) |
|
2 |
Do a BRIX test on grass on site where the garden will be, and a plant sap pH test along with a conductivity meter soil test. If you are keen to also do Soil biology tests then a microBiometer is a great test too. |
A refractometer essential, pH meter and conductivity meters really helpful if you have growth issues, Microbiometer also extremely useful in terms of being able to understand what is going on in your garden soil n. Record all findings using the sheets that come with the tools |
|
|
Year 1 Summer |
3 |
Cover the area to become a garden with black plastic to kill the grass etc, this happens fast in heat, slow in cooler periods. From 1 week to 8 weeks approx |
Plastic or alternative to kill the grass |
|
6 weeks later Year 1 Autumn |
4 |
Uncover the area and mark beds and aerate beds either double dig or Roebuck fork, or D handled normal fork.Remember plant roots and the microbes we need,require 50% air in the soil |
Serious garden fork or Roebuck fork |
|
5 |
Inoculate all beds with BioBrew, either in solid or liquid form |
Biobrew from Koanga if you don’t have another source. |
|
|
6 |
Apply the compost you made in Spring |
||
|
7 |
Plant beds with Koanga Soil Builder or other compost/carbon crop |
||
|
8 |
Make bone ash or char |
||
|
Year 1 Autumn |
9 |
Make Ramial Compost Recipe |
|
|
10 |
Start monitoring soil and crop health using refractometer and other tools if you have them as in step 2 above |
As in Step 1 above, record result sn recording sheets |
|
|
11 |
Decide if you wish to use the Koanga Garden Planner and design your garden to be growing your own compost materials or if you would prefer to bring in or make your own ramial woodchip as the basis of your compost heap. Either way planting a patch of comfrey and Jerusalem, Artichokes in Spring will be important. If you are keen to grow your own compost materials then The Art of Composting Booklet shows you how to design your garden so that you have all the compost material you need to provide all the compost you need for the whole garden. |
Koanga Garden Planner or use plan in Beginner Gardener Booklet, and the Art of Composting Booklet (e-Book link) For info on Ramial wood chip ready this knowledge base article by Ben Callander |
|
|
Year 1 Winter |
12 |
Plan garden based on Garden Planner Process |
|
|
Year 2 Early Spring |
13 |
Make Fish Hydrolysate 6 weeks before you need it, early September |
20 lt bucket with lid, molasses and fish and whey as per recipe in Beginner Gardener Booklet |
|
Year 2 Spring |
14 |
Bed prep follow instructions in Online Masterclass or Beginner Gardener Booklet or Koanga Garden Guide |
|
|
15 |
Apply compost made in Autumn yr 1 |
||
|
16 |
Do all the testing as in Step 1 and record |
||
|
17 |
Plant beds according to your plan |
||
|
18 |
Make the next compost heap either with your own carbon crops or using rwc |
||
|
Year 2 Spring Summer |
19 |
Begin weekly refractometer testing to follow your soil and crop health during the growing season and to help you make decisions regarding future steps to take |
|
|
20 |
Begin a weekly application of Fish Hydrolysate following instructions in the Beginner Gardener Booklet |