Sustainable Growing Systems

Haere mai, welcome to Sustainable Growing Systems

The aim of this course is to enable learners to understand the principles and practices of sustainable growing systems.

• Library of Resources

• Learning Activities

Sustainable Growing Systems New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture (Level 3)

• The aim of this course is to enable learners to describe the features of natural systems and apply sustainable techniques to the growing of plants.
• This course blends face to face sessions, online learning, and authentic work experiences.
• Attendance during all practical classes is compulsory, as assessment is taking place.In order to make the best use of learning opportunities, you are expected to attend all face to face learning opportunities and participate in all learning activities – lecturer or student managed. Failure to participate in all learning opportunities may compromise your learning.
• Feel free to contact the course coordinator if you need help with any of the learning material and/or activities.

Content includes

• The features and value of natural systems.
• Descriptions of natural cycles which will include the following: carbon, water, energy, and their influence on growing systems.
• How natural systems become unbalanced.
• Principles of conventional and sustainable growing systems.
• The application of sustainable techniques in the growing of plants.

Introduction to Sustainable Growing and DBG Propagation Unit Tour 20/5

1. Field trip to the Dunedin Botanic Garden propagation unit.Alice Lloyd Fitt will give us a tour of this inventive six million dollar facility that introduces warmth and humanity to what could have simply been utilitarian.The theme will focus on what sustainable aspects are incorporated into the various growing areas.The unit was built in 2015 and has seven roomy, high-tech growing spaces, with computer-controlled environments, including self-adjusting shade screens and misting.The temperature and humidity for each room can be controlled for growing different species, for example, arid, tropical or alpine types of plants.Outside, a woodchip-fired boiler powers the unit, and underground tanks recycle water collected from the roof.

Growing Edible Mushrooms 12/8

1. The hands on class for the morning session will focus on growing edible mushrooms. Freshly cut Betula pendula logs have been given a new life to host various mushroom varieties sourced from Mycologic, a small business based in Dunedin, New Zealand, specialising in mushroom cultivation supplies and consultation advice for hobbyists and small scale commercial growers around the country. In addition to a wide selection of live mushroom cultures, spawn and grow kits, they supply a range of other products needed for growing delicious mushrooms.

• Growing mushrooms on logs is suited to wood-loving species such as oyster, shiitake and enoki, and tawaka. Patience or slow and small solutions are the go because a mushroom log will take at least 6 months, and more commonly one to two years to produce its first flush of mushrooms.
• Check out this video by Bart Acres if you would like to see the process we will use to emulate nature in our class today.
• If you found our workshop inspiring you may want to venture further into the world of fungi with Paul Stamets who is considered an intellectual and industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production.

Flax and Fibre workshop 12/8

1. Welcome to our guest Kari Morseth who will be leading our workshop today.Kari is a textile artist who has been privileged to learn from three generations of Te Whanau Arohanui receiving her level 4 in Raranga from Te Wananga o Aotearoa over 12 years ago. Kari collects plant materials and uses traditional weaving and basketry techniques to make contemporary sculpture. Sustainable practice is central to her work.

• Our afternoon workshop will cover tikanga around harvesting of harakeke and making twine and rope from the fibre. Kari suggests a look at a Landcare web site that has information regarding the Rene Orchiston Collection which has information regarding the fifty harakeke that were selected long ago from natural stands and cultivated by Māori weavers for their special leaf and fibre properties. There are varieties specially suited to making kete, whāriki, piupiu and cloaks.
• If you found the workshop inspiring then you can join in a community event happening now called The Rope WalkMorseth’s Rope/Walk project aims to explore an important aspect of Dunedin’s industrial history — the commercial manufacture of rope at the Rope Walk building, dating back to the late 1800s. It also offers an environmental and sustainability message."This project is a chance to experience making rope with a natural, cultural significant fibre, as well as a time for the community to come together to create something together."

Vermiculture and Use of Vermicast Products 10/10

1. What is vermiculture? Vermiculture means "worm farming and its related products." The word is derived from Vermi meaning worm and culture. *We will look at the worm farms used to consume organic matter at the Polygrow nursery and The Wormporium -our Composting HUB on the main campus at Otago Polytechnic.
2. We will set up some small worm farms for you to monitor for the next few weeks.
3. We will use vermicast products vs commercial seed raising mixes to sow seeds so we can assess the different mixes in a growing comparison.
4. We will be working with Eisenia fetida (older spelling: foetida), known under various common names such as redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, red californian earth worm.It is species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. These worms thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure which makes them well suited for our worm farms.Earthworms have been classified by a variety of schemes, the most useful being those based on their behaviour and habitat. The classification of M. Bouche describes a worm species as occupying a level in the soil and indicates its feeding behaviour.

• EPIGEIC (ep-i-jee-ik) types that live at the surface in freshly decaying plant or animal residues.
• ENDOGEIC (en-do-jee-ik)types live within the soil and ingest soil to extract nutrition from degraded organic matter.
• ANECIC(an-ee-sik) types burrow deep in the soil but come to the surface at night to forage for freshly decaying residues.

The conditions for optimal worm activity include

• Light: Worms don't have eyes and are sensitive to light and move away from bright light if they can. If exposed to bright light for an hour your worms may become paralyzed dry out and die.Make a square of cardboard and dampen it with rain water and sit this on top of the bedding layer.
• Temperature: The optimal temperature range is 55–77 degrees Fahrenheit (13–25 degrees Celsius). You can stretch those limits to 50–84 degrees Fahrenheit (10–29 degrees Celsius), but they may not process as much organic matter or reproduce as vigorously.They are better at tolerating cold than excessive heat.
• Moisture: Worms must remain in a moist, humid environment at all times, or they will die. Worm bedding should be 60 to 85 percent moisture.Food scraps will provide some moiosture.Add nature's wine if you think the bedding layer does not equate to the moisture level of a moist sponge.
• Breathing:Tiger worms need oxygen to maintain their bedding layer as an aerobic (with air), sweet-smelling system. Be careful not to allow bedding to become too wet or to add too much food at once, which may deplete oxygen levels.Aerate the bedding by gently fluffing it up and adding torn up paper or cardboard. Wear gloves or use a suitable tool to gently lift and turn.
• pH levels: In nature, worms survive in a range of pH levels but in your system try to keep pH in the range of 6.8 to 7.2.
• Feeding habits:Your worms can be fed once a day, every two or three days,once a week or you can even go on vacation for a month!Healthy worms can eat half their weight in food every day.Food that is preferred apples, pears, banana peels, strawberries, peaches and all melons, beans, cabbage, celery, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, all greens, corn, corncobs and squash oatmeal, pasta, rice, non–sugared breakfast cereals, corn meal, pancakes ,eggshells, tea bags,coffee filter paper, dead flowers,hair,vacuum cleaner dust,lint from clothes drier,leaves,cow manure... Use caution when adding:Breads — can attract red mites.Potato skins, onions, garlic, ginger — get consumed slowly and can cause odors.Coffee grounds — too many will make the bin acidic. Avoid feeding: meat, poultry, fish, dairy, oils and excess feeding of citrus which has a chemical substance (limonene) that is toxic to worms.Definite No–No's: Non–biodegradable materials that do not belong in your bin include plastic, rubber bands, sponges, aluminum foil, glass, and dog or cat feces.

Vermiculture and Use of Vermicast Products 10/10

1. Check your worm farm and record observations. Include: temperature, pH, moisture level and the smell test. A worm farm should have a pleasant earthy smell if it does not you will need to refer to the optimum conditions for a worm farm outlined in previous session to trouble shoot and remedy.
2. Sow a variety pumpkin seeds into four different seed raising mixes and observe their germination.
3. What is a carbon footprint?-here is one explanation:A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a 2℃ rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050.Lowering individual carbon footprints from 16 tons to 2 tons can start by eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights and line drying our clothes.Check out this calculator to see what your footprint might look like.

Introduction to Permaculture Project Garden at Owheo 18/10

1. Pot on Sweet 100 tomatoes into various potting mixes. We are going to do a growing comparison using: Tui Tomato Mix is a high quality planting mix containing the right blend of nutrients for optimum plant growth and to enhance fruit and flower production, contains Saturaid for even water distribution and retention,100% weed free and costs around 15.00 per bag +carbon foot print The second mix will be sieved Living Campus compost.The costs here are mostly labour as all materials are recycled on campus.The third mix will be a 1:1 mix of the commercial mix and sieved compost. What is a carbon footprint?-here is one explanation:A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a 2℃ rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050.Lowering individual carbon footprints from 16 tons to 2 tons can start by eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights and line drying our clothes.Check out this calculator to see what your footprint might look like.
2. Students will get into two teams :

• Team 1 will construct compost bins for our permaculture garden using wooden pallets that have been heat treated. We have a plan in mind but check out this link to get some ideas.
• Team 2 will create a habitat suitable for Brown Tree Frogs The southern brown tree frog Litoria ewingii, also known as the brown tree frog, whistling tree frog, or Ewing's tree frog. It has been introduced to New Zealand, where it is now considered to be naturalised.We are introducing frogs to our project garden as they are sensitive barometers to the health of a garden.New Zealand native frogs do not have a vocal sac but this is the sound and some photos of the brown tree frog

Permaculture Exploration with George Street Orchard 24/10

1. We will continue our foray into sustainable gardening practice with a fieldtrip to an urban permaculture garden. The George Street Orchard
2. Our fieldtrip to an urban permaculture garden landed us at the George Street Orchard which has only taken just over a decade to become a resilient, diverse and delicious garden. The aim is to grow many of the foods we like to eat in a way which captures atmospheric carbon, builds soil, increases biodiversity and blurs the distinction between ornamental and utilitarian. The emphasis is on perennial and self-seeding annual plants which mimic and encourage natural patterns.
3. Check out this radio interview where Rory talks about his inspiration and aspirations.
4. To achieve maximum light reflection, the surrounding boundary garden walls were painted white
5. Our afternoon session will focus on flexing our observation muscles as we spend time in our project garden progressing our projects.

Permaculture Exploration with Habitate 31/10

1. A field-trip to Jason Ross' home garden and orchard in Waitati NZ will guide us into an exploration of permaculture elements and principles.
2. Jason Ross is the owner of Habitate Edible Habitats. Jason has been working in horticulture, permaculture design, heritage fruit tree propagation and small scale organic market gardening for over a decade and we are going to see examples of his work which will help inform your understanding of permaculture.Read more about Jason and his team here.
3. Examples of edible landscape designs created by Jason.
4. Habitate Nursery sells a delicious and diverse range of outstanding fruit trees, berry fruit bushes and companion plants. Most are heritage / heirloom varieties (pre – 1930), these are more diverse and tasty than most newer varieties which have been bred for industrial systems.This link will guide you to selecting appropriate plants for your project.
5. Also noteworthy is that the nursery is certified by Organic Farm New Zealand to supply high quality organically grown plants.

Permaculture Ethics and Principles 1/11

1. Watch this powerpoint to guide us thru an introduction to the ethics and principles.
2. Introduction to Permaculture.The word permaculture is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture.Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies.Let us do the following activities together to get a grip on how permaculture may be one answer to reducing our impact on the environment:
3. There are three ethics that form the backbone of why we would be committed to permaculture and they are:Earth Care -- Kaitiakitanga which includes the care of the soil, care of all living systems and the importance for all life systems to continue and flourish.People Care -- Whanaungatanga and the right to live as meaningful life as possible taking into account the differences and complexities of human beings. it is about the importance of taking care of yourself, family and community.Fair Share -- Manaakitanga and redistributing any surplus you have created.(or placing limits on consumption) - ensuring that Earth's limited resources are used in ways that are equitable and wise.
4. Check out this video on ethics and principles explaining the 12 permaculture principles in the context of a kitchen garden, how they can overlap, and why they should not be seen as rules, rather as a guide.
5. Andrew Martin once worked in the finance industry, but after leaving that life, he and his wife Beth moved to New Zealand and developed an amazing permaculture property in just 3 years!This film was made as part of the Living the Change series.This series captures the travels of the film makers adventures around New Zealand making short documentary films about permaculture farms, tiny houses, and sustainability.
6. There is a poverty of ambition if you do not think you can make a difference in the world.This video has similar objectives to what we have done with our own Living Campus at Otago Polytechnic.
7. Kat Lavers describes her approach to gardening, including vertical and biointensive growing, and how important it is for city dwellers to be food resilient in the face of natural, financial and social crisis.
8. Check out this video on permaculture principles at work.
9. The assessment you will be submitting on November 20 for me to assess is a permaculture plan for the O block garden.For the purpose of the assessment you will wan to embrace the mind set of referencing the permaculture ethics and principles when we are making decisions about what elements to select for the plan and where to put them.Hand out for elements.

Orchard planning and Owheo Production Beds 7/11

1. Our orchard planning session will result in a design for a planting plan for our Owheo Permaculture Garden outside of O block. The goal is to grow a resilient ,integrated system by selecting the correct varieties for a long and continuous harvest.We will be using Jason Ross' Orchard Planner to guide us and we will plant some trees with a focus on soil fertility and early pruning and training methods to ensure maximum enjoyment.
2. Check out this article that explains how careful planning gives you healthy and productive trees, harvest through most of the year and avoid a glut of fruit all at one time
3. Charles Dowding has a great range of videos that attest to the value of a no dig gardenThis method will be used for our practical session for planting our production beds at Owheo Permaculture Garden.
4. Charles Dowding's method of growing food is perhaps one of the most inspiring methods out there. He has developed his own style of no dig vegetable growing through his use of compost and the results really do speak for themselves.
5. Check out this video of the construction of a no dig garden What is rock dust?Rock dust, also known as rock powders, rock minerals, rock flour, soil remineralization, and mineral fines, consists of finely crushed rock, processed by natural or mechanical means, containing minerals and trace elements widely used in organic farming practices.The igneous rocks basalt and granite often contain the highest mineral content.Rock dust is not a fertilizer, for it lacks the qualifying levels of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

Drawing Skills and Tools For Your Plan 7/11

1. Helpful hand outs and drawing tools for creating your permaculture plan
2. Elements in a Permaculture Garden
3. Construct some insect hotels

Composting 8/11

1. In addition to vermiculture we are going to look at hot composting and bokashi.There is a composting system for everyone-the trick is to identify the best method for your situation. (hand out)
2. Through the inspiring story of Ben and his passionate composting community, we get to know bEartha. An automatic composting machine that’s about to revolutionise small scale commercial composting.
3. Returning organic matter to your soil is the best way to improve soil health and we usually accomplish this by using some sort of composting system. The systems we use at Otago Polytechnic include:Bokashi ,vermicomposting, container composting and hot composting.And remember it is the effective micro organisms that are essential to the process. EM is a blend of beneficial microorganisms developed by Teruo Higa, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu in Japan. These microorganisms improve the health of the soil, the plants, water and humans by breaking down organic matter in the soil, fixing nitrogen from the air, and feeding and protecting plants and animals. The organisms included are primarily yeast and pro-biotic photosynthetic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria.
4. Check out this Charles Dowding video on how to make compost from garden and other wastes, the principles and some results.
5. Remember to try to embrace and reflect on the ethics and permaculture principles when you are creating your design or starting a project in your garden-check out these tunes that can help get a handle on the principles.Formidable Vegetable Sound System - Yield (Official Permaculture Music Video - HD)
6. Composting systems - learners will look at composting systems utilised by Otago Polytechnic and create a hot compost.
7. Decomposition of organic materials in your compost pile is greatly increased when you create the proper balance between the carbonaceous materials (called BROWN because they are dry) and the nitrogen-rich materials (called GREEN because they are more fresh and moist).This is the link to more information.
8. On our trip to the George Street orchard Rory mentioned a composting system calledHügelkultur where raised beds are constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials. The process helps to improve soil fertility, water retention, and soil warming, thus benefiting plants grown on or near such mounds. Hügelkultur is a German word meaning mound culture or hill culture.

Meadow Planting and Tutorial 14/11

1. The afternoon class will be devoted to planting a meadow on the main campus. Originally we had been asked to sow a lawn in an area that has been behind construction fences for the last few years as the new trades building was constructed. The name of the building, He Toki Kai Te Rika, translates as 'a tool for the hand'. In the interest of reducing the carbon footprint associated with lawn mowing it was decided that a meadow would be planted instead.The plan then evolved into planting a podocarp forest with a small amount of meadow remaining.
2. Learners have installed ready lawn, and sowed a lawn by using premium lawn seed so we will swing to a trend that is gathering momentum which is to grow a meadow. Check out how the Wellington Botanic Garden is knee high in a meadow-“Because we no longer mow the whole area, we are using less fuel which means lower carbon emissions. And because it is no longer kept as a fine lawn, we also don’t need to use chemicals to control weeds. Instead we allow non-invasive plants and flowers to seed and hand weed out any nasties. All of this results in a smaller environmental impact ,meadows are also great for promoting biodiversity. Insects and butterflies love them, not to mention bees."

Fieldtrip Suggestions to Observe Growing Systems in Action

Visit the NEV Community Garden

• Fieldtrip to North East Valley Community Garden where we have a look at an edible garden, open to all members of the local community. All sorts of vegetables, herbs, and some fruits are grown on a large field, just above North East Valley Normal School.The Garden got underway in June 2010 when The North East Valley Community Project was successful in gaining Healthy Eating Healthy Action (HEHA) funding to establish a community garden in North East Valley. It was established by involving various organisations. With the help of a community social worker from Presbyterian Support, interested locals met on a regular basis to get the Community Garden established.
• Formerly unused land at a Dunedin school has been turned into a productive community garden. Gillian Vine reports.In 2010, the board of trustees of North East Valley Normal School raised the possibility of turning an underutilised part of the school grounds into a community garden.

Visit Sinclair Wetlands

• Why conserve water and what are water conservation orders?
• Water conservation orders can apply to rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, wetlands, geothermal water or aquifers. They work by identifying the outstanding characteristics or values of a water body and then put in place restrictions or prohibitions to protect those characteristics. They affect how the regional council can manage the resource. In particular they can restrict management measures that affect:Quantity, quality, rate of flow or level of the water body.Maximum, minimum or range of levels or flows, or the rate of change of levels of flows.Maximum allocation for extraction or maximum contaminant loading.Ranges of temperatures and pressure in the water body

John McCafferty of Pleasant River Produce in Goodwood

• John, grows intensively on 1/3 acre of his 30 acre small holding. An excellent opportunity to see small-scale commercial organic food production in action.John uses smart and efficient approaches to propagation, bed preparation and transplant methods as well assay to day management.Check out John' Facebook page
• John is certified by Otago Organics was established in 2000.A key feature is the networking and information swapping amongst our growers, helping everyone improve and learn. Otago Organics also fosters the growth of organics within Otago and Southland, deliver the OrganicFarmNZ certification scheme to all interested organic growers; and inform and educate the wider public on the benefits of growing and eating organic food.They apply the most rigorous process of verification to ensure that our certified produce attains the highest possible standard within NZ, beginning with a complete soil residue testing regime through to detailed and transparent peer review and independent audit oversight.
• Organics & growing systems

Extra Resources and Topics

Fruit Tree Pruning and Training

• The hands on class today will focus on the collection of fruit trees located in our Quad Orchard outside The Hub on our Dunedin campus at Otago Polytechnic,Te Pūkenga where we provide flexible, career-focused learning that fits around your life – on-the-job, on campus and online. The mahi done on the fruit trees will inform student' skills and learning as wells providing delicious fruit to students ,staff and our wider community who access the edible gardens across our Living Campus.
• Kath Irvine is a permaculture designer who has been designing & managing food gardens since the late 1990's. Passionate about growing food & good design Kath runs workshops from her edible back yard. Check out her videos.
• Stefan Sobkowiak is another inspiration for growing an orchard and he has various videos to help you get started and evolve your permaculture orchard or garden, while having fun and providing great habitats for wildlife.

Ōtepoti Urban Organics

• OUO is a local group aiming to foster and support backyard food growing in Dunedin and the wider Coastal Otago bioregion. We primarily do this by providing affordable, locally adapted seeds, as well as tips, advice and workshops to help you in your gardening endeavours.The seed exchange may be of particular interest for sourcing local seed and learning about seed collection.

Vogel Street Garden and Auto Pots

• Visit to Vogel st Garden Centre to look at products used for sustainable growing systems Seacliff Organics offers soil solutions and soil amendments for home gardeners, horticulturalists and farmers.
• Future focus growing techniques and practical session setting up Auto Pots
• Sustainable growing methods for water use and limited garden space.Today we will discuss why hydroponic systems can be a sustainable growing system.
• Set up auto pots in our Polygrow tunnel and plant them up with some tomatoes using various chemical fertiliser solutions.
• Watch this step by step guide or come to class and Kim will guide you thru the process.
• How does the aqua valve work?

Soil Health in a Permaculture garden

• Conduct soil tests including pH and soil texture.
• Healthy plants grow in healthy soils so knowing what type of soil you’re working with you can get the best results. A healthy soil is made up of 45% -Mineral particles. 5% - Organic matter.25%- Water. 25%-Air.
• Healthy soil has a healthy complex soil food web comprised of living organisms that break down organic matter to build soil and make the nutrients available to plants.There are 50 billion soil organisms in one tablespoon of healthy soil. healthy soil is paramount to us being able to feed our population so far
• The texture of a soil is important because it determines soil characteristics that affect plant growth. Three of these characteristics are water-holding capacity, permeability, and soil workability. Water-holding capacity is the ability of a soil to retain water.Today we will do a simple test that you can do in any garden without fancy equipment to ascertain what additions might be needed to improve soil health.
• We will also look at soil pH pH which is also important to plant growth because it determines the availability of almost all essential plant nutrients. At a soil pH of 6.5, the highest number of nutrients are available for plant use.
• We will head over to our project site now but before we go let's look at another good technique to create a yield is to use straw bales to create a raised ,no dig, no till, lasagna garden.
• Straw Bale Gardening may suit if you are flatting or do not have a large garden.

What Is that Bug

• Encouraging healthy soil results in healthy plants but if you are unlucky enough to end up with an infestation of a pest that is feasting on your plants then check out this interactive tool to help you identify bugs found around Aotearoa New Zealand.

Guilds and Companion Planting

• In a cultivated system we can extend these relationships to plants by combining certain plants to create a guild. A guild extends the concept of companion planting to a whole ‘community’ of plants which benefit, support and protect each other. For example, apple trees, comfrey and scented geranium and calendula all work together. Comfrey’s deep roots break up the soil; the scent of geraniums confuses codling moths and prevents them attacking the apples; and the calendulas attract good insects. All three smaller plants provide green mulch for the apple tree, and the apple tree in return drops apples and leaves that fertilise the smaller plants underneath.

Elements and Zones in a Permaculture Garden

• The elements and zones within your garden are very important-The yields and needs of your elements need to be carefully considered.Think about a natural environment and how you may observe naturally occurring relationships between the elements in the bush-how can you transfer these examples to your site? (Use edges and value the marginal)For example,a pond needs: shelter from wind, some sun, a water source/catchment, plants, fish, and aeration. It provides extra humidity & light to the area surrounding it, moisture to the edges, thermal mass (holds heat & radiates it out in the evening), food & beauty. It’s needs will be met, if placed in good relationship to other elements & in return their needs will be met by it.(Hand out)
• Even on a small site all zones from 0~5 can be included. See “Earth Users Guide to Permaculture Design” and read pages 104-107 for more detail. Zones are about creating & placing areas of activity in good relationship to their needs & yields.
• ZONE 0 — The house, or home centre. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live, work and relax
• ZONE 1 — The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm farm and compost bin for kitchen waste.
• ZONE 2 — This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control (preferably through natural methods such as spot-mulching) or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards. This would also be a good place for beehives and larger scale composting bins.
• ZONE 3 — The area where maincrops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control once a week or so.
• ZONE 4 — A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as timber production. An example might be coppice-managed woodland.
• ZONE 5 — A wild area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural eco-systems and cycles. Here is where the most important lessons of the first permaculture principle of working with, rather than against, nature are learned.

Future Focus

• Sustainable Growing methods with a focus on water conservation.
• Watch David Attenboroughas he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime and the devastating changes he has seen.The film addresses some of the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, providing a snapshot of global nature loss in a single lifetime. With it comes a powerful message of hope for future generations as Attenborough reveals the solutions to help save our planet from disaster.
• This pioneering Dutch farm has found clever ways to generate higher yields using less space and fewer inputs. They’re growing food that’s more sustainable and economical too. Despite being a small, densely populated country, the Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest vegetable exporters. As our demand for food increases, could this efficient approach help define the farms of the future?

Compost Teas

• Try making a compost tea using five hundred grams of vermicast as our base compost. The tea recipe was developed by Ray Annan from Biology at Work.Ray spent twenty years developing the recipe that we use on the edible and ornamental gardens in Otago Polytechnic's Living Campus. We also mix up brews that have a compost base that have a large wood chip component as one of the ingredients so this encourages a lot of fungi to be present in the compost as well as when it is used in a tea. This makes it ideal for applications to all of our trees on campus.
• Read this article Tea Time For Soil and list five points that you found interesting about the article.
• Biology@Work is a small company run by Ray Annan based in Central Otago. The primary focus and mission statement of the company is to deliver biological options for horticulture and agriculture ventures.

Bio char

• Bio char is another product that claims to improve soil health. Has anyone heard of bio char and what are your thoughts on the research done so far?While there are many high tech ways of producing biochar, much work goes into investigating mid and low tech methods to make biochar viable for everyone. NZ Biochar has both independent and collaborative research currently underway in New Zealand and in Thailand. A particular focus is on making and using biochar within the same location to maximise both the agricultural benefits and carbon sequestration, e.g. small scale farming systems on degraded soils in subtropical and tropical regions.Working with farmers and practitioners to develop and promote best practice use of biochar is an important focus.*NZ Bio Char

Large scale worm farming

• listen to the RNZ programme called Country Life and specifically an interview with Robbie Dick from Central Wormworx.
• Global Worming
• Central Wormworx is an example of a commercial worm farm which is a booming business for Robbie and Rosanna Dick.There’s never a shortage of food for the worms. As the seasons changes so does the menu for the worms. Wintering waste comes from dairy farms in Southland, while local growers supply hundreds of tonnes of apples, cherries, stone fruits, carrots and other surplus to requirement perishable goods that used to go into landfills.Twenty tonnes of tiger worms are housed in sixty metre rows that are covered in weed mat anchored down by old tyres and a drip irrigation system. They eat through 28 tonnes of food every ten days and every 30 days they double in number.
• Worms may be an environmentally-friendly solution to disposing of solid waste from dairy farms.Read this article- Worms may be answer to effluent that explains how this could be one of the ways we can help keep our waterways cleaner but still enjoy milk and the economic benefits that come with exporting dairy products.

Permaculture Principles Activity

• Get into small teams of 2 or 3 and you will be assigned a principle or two from the twelve permaculture design principles articulated by David Holmgren in his Permaculture book: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. Your challenge is to try to find an example of the principle on campus ,explain what the principle means and then describe how you already honour that principle or perhaps an example of how you could honor the principle in the future.
• Guest speaker Kieren Ford of Kingford Gardens and Natural Resources' graduate will talk about the pros and cons of starting a gardening business in Dunedin.The ethos of Kingford Gardens aligns nicely with the gardening approach we use on our Living Campus in that Kieren strives to provide garden services in the most sustainable way possible, from using low-carbon technologies to never touching chemical pesticides. Climate change mitigation and resilience are central to the political and social landscape of our time. Gardens can play a vital role in ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come. Kaitiakitanga/Gardening sustainably ensures we are guardians of the land around us. Through promoting the use of native plants, and methods of gardening that mimic natural processes, we support and feed the ecosystems around us. This value is summed up best in the Māori word: Kaitiakitanga, and is at the heart of the philosophy of Permaculture, which guides our garden consultation and design process.