[Scpg] Sept 21 Ojai Biodynamics for Landscapes & Gardens Workshop

Fri Aug 30 06:38:32 PDT 2013

Biodynamics for Landscapes & Gardens:

Healthy Soil, Biodiversity & Natural Pest Control

(DPR approved Continuing Education credits available)

Presented by Transition to Organics

Date: Sept 21, 2013       Time: 8:00am-3:15pm

Location: Oak Grove School, Student Center 220 W. Lomita Ave, Ojai

Workshop Description:  California Biodynamic Farmer and Educator Gena Nonini, along with Landscape Contractor Severo Lara, and Landscape Designer Basie Kenton will speak about how to implement biodynamic practices in gardens, small urban farms, and all facets of landscaping.  Biodynamic Pest Control Methods and research on biodiversity will be discussed.

Doors open at 7:30am.

7:30am- 8:00am   Participant arrive, sign in, and enjoy tea/coffee and morning refreshments.

8:00am – 10:00am

Instructor: Gena Nonini of Marian Farms (www.marianfarmsbiodynamic.com)

1.  Introductions

2.  What is Biodynamics?

3.  Discussion of the biological “substances”

           Fertility and compost

10:00am-10:15am  Break

10:15am-12:15pm

4.  Discussion of the Dynamics of “forces and processes”

           Kingdoms of nature and role of forces

5.  Synergistic relationship between substance and forces

           bd preps and their application

           role of cosmic rhythms

           creating whole landscape systems

12:15pm – 1:15pm Lunch Break 

1:15pm – 2:00pm

Severo Lara, Landscape Contractor, Ojai City Council Member

6.    Applying Biodynamics to Landscapes

7.  Integrated Pest Management Plans for the City of Ojai

8.  Compost Tea ~ an alternative to fungicides

Discussion/questions

2:00pm-2:45pm

Basia Kenton, Landscape Designer (www.basiakenton.com)

9.  Applying Biodynamic Design & Technology to Garden Design

10.  Compost: The oldest, most effective method to enrich the soil.

Basia will share and discuss how to transition your garden to biodynamics.

Discussion/questions

2:45pm-3:15pm

Demonstration of Tea Stir and spray

Discussion with Gena, Severo and Basia.

Closing

Film to follow at the Ojai Playhouse, 4pm:  Symphony of the Soil

The Hidden World of Soil Under Our Feet - NYTimes.com

...Scientists are also discovering that a healthy soil ecosystem may sustain plants naturally, without chemical inputs. “The greater the soil diversity, the fewer diseases that emerge in plants,” said Eric B. Nelson, who studies soil and disease ecology at Cornell. Insects are also deterred by plants grown in healthy soils, he said.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/opinion/sunday/the-hidden-world-of-soil-under-our-feet.html?pagewanted=all

Researchers Show That Organic Farming Enhances Biodiversity and Natural Pest Control       

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2010 – A team of researchers from Washington State University and the University of Georgia have found that organic farming increases biodiversity among beneficial, pest-killing predators and pathogens. In potato crops, this led to fewer insect pests and larger potato plants.

“It’s always been a mystery how organic farmers get high yields without using synthetic insecticides,” says co-author Bill Snyder, associate professor of entomology at Washington State University. “Our study suggests that biodiversity conservation may be a key to their success.”

Ecosystems with more total species, and more beneficial species that are relatively evenly distributed, are thought to be healthiest.  The use of insecticides harms biodiversity by reducing the number of species and by making some species (often pests) much more common than others. The study, which was funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and published in the July 1 edition of the journal Nature, shows that organic farming practices lead to many equally-common beneficial species, and that this reduces pest problems. 

In potato fields that used conventional control practices (e.g., applications of broad-acting insecticides), usually just one species of beneficial predatory insect or pest-killing pathogen was common. In contrast, in organic fields several beneficial species were about equally common. Experiments showed that groups of evenly-abundant beneficial species, typical of organic farms, were far more effective at killing potato beetle pests. Because natural enemies are usually more even in organic crops of many different kinds, not just potato, these benefits could be widespread.

NIFA funded this project through the National Research Initiative Arthropod and Nematode Biology and Management competitive grants program.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people's daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.          

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2010news/07011_organic_study.html

For more information about Transition to Organics:

                                            www.transition-to-organics.org            Ph: 805-646-4294

Transition to Organics is a non-profit organization, under the fiscal umbrella of the Blackbird Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and educating the community, offering workshops, conferences, and hands-on advice about how to build self-nourishing systems which create healthy farms, gardens and communities
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