The event will be held at the Star Education building next to the Eco Station and across from what will be the new Hub Community Garden created by Star Education and the Los Angeles Community. The compost we make in this course will help feed the soil of this new community garden!
Special thanks to Lee Wolkowitz and Star Education for Sponsoring this event! They do extraordinary work.
Detailed Course Outline: Course starts at 9 each day and runs until 4:30 or 5. Lecture will be interspersed with hands-on activities and there will be breaks throughout the day. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
--Making Fungal Dominated Compost Tea
--Reading DO2 Levels
Special thanks to Lee Wolkowitz and Star Education for Sponsoring this event! They do extraordinary work.
Detailed Course Outline: Course starts at 9 each day and runs until 4:30 or 5. Lecture will be interspersed with hands-on activities and there will be breaks throughout the day. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Day 1
- Introductions and Agenda
- Soil Microbiological case studies
- Soil: Sand, silt, clay and Soil Organic Matter
- Soil: Microbiological soil food web
- Plant Diseases and Pathogens: It’s a numbers game
- Ecosystem Succession: Why does soil microbiology matter to our plants?
- Review So Far: Soil Doctor soil care take-home principles
- Compost Type Introduction: thermophilic, static and vermicomposting
- Carbon: Nitrogen ratio of compost inputs; bacterial or fungal dominated compost
Day 2
- How to Make Thermophilic Compost
- How to make Static Compost
- Worm Power: Vermicomposting
- Review So Far: Soil Doctor soil care take-home principles
- Practical “Get Your Hands Dirty” Stuff:
Day 3
- Reversing Ecosystem Succession: Disturbances to the soil and its consequences
- Soil Compaction: The problem of no oxygen
- Microbiological Driven Nutrient Retention in the Soil
- The Carbon Cycle and Soil: Green house gas emission, mitigation and sequestering
- Biogeochemical Nutrient Cycling
- Microbiological Driven Nutrient Availability for Our Plants
- Review So Far: Soil Doctor soil care take-home principles
- Actively Aerated Compost Teas and Extracts
- Tea Brewer Design Examples
Day 4
- Practical “Get Your Hands Dirty” Stuff:
--Making Fungal Dominated Compost Tea
--Reading DO2 Levels
- Review So Far: Soil Doctor soil care take-home principles
- Soil Microbiology Lab Test: What it tells us
- Soil Chemical Test: What it doesn't tell us
- What a typical microbiological growing season looks like - Project planning
- How would this work in my garden, ranch, or farm
- Qualitative Microscope Set-up, Usage, Sampling
- Microscope Identification of Soil Food Web Microbes
- Wrap-up