04.12.17 // The Holistic Orchard: Growing Soil to Grow Food & Community with Scotty Karas // 6:30-8pm

04.12.17 // The Holistic Orchard: Growing Soil to Grow Food & Community with Scotty Karas // 6:30-8pm

$ 10.00
This is a class for organic home and community scale orchardists and those wishing to create or maintain edible forest gardens. If you want to learn about growing a fruit and nut orchard in your backyard or in your community this class is for you. We will cover everything from site planning, species selection, spacing, planting, holistic soil management, mulching, amending, fertilizing, pruning, disease management and more. The methods described in this class are based on permaculture principles. We will discuss how to create “Edible Forest Gardens” including trees, bushes, herbs and a ground cover layer. I draw upon knowledge of the soil food web, beneficial microorganisms, and soil biology to give practical home scale steps to building better soil suited for fruit and nut production. We will cover various ways to encourage and introduce beneficial microorganisms into your site. Methods such as Actively Aerated Compost Teas, Holistic Biological Spray Regiments with Effective Microorganisms, Neem Oil, Liquid Fish, and Seaweed Extracts, and Fermented Herbal Teas of plants such as Comfrey will be discussed. We will talk about the pros and cons of growing different species of fruit trees in this climate and how to determine what species are the right choice for different sites and different microclimates within the landscape.

$20 per person

Scotty is a Permaculture landscaper and youth nature connection mentor by trade. Scotty began studying permaculture, herbalism, wild foods, and primitive skills in 2008 and never looked back. He formally studied Permaculture with the Living Routes Program in Massachusetts in 2009 and Herbal Medicine locally at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine in 2011 and continues to learn everyday. Each year he seeks to broaden his horizons and biodiversify his diet by growing and wildcrafting new foods and herbs and learning to identify and use different local plants. By connecting to the source of his food and medicine and getting to know the local flora and fauna, Scotty finds a great and satisfying connection to the Earth.

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