Give the gift of good soil this Christmas!

Underneath many overgrown Wellington garden plots is a veritable ‘Urban Eden’ waiting to spring forth, according to Dirt Doctors Hana Miller and Jacob Perkins.

“By creating good soil from what you already have, you can grow a lot of food in little space” says Jacob. Dirt Doctor teaches unique methods of soil-focused gardening to give participants a new perspective on the benefits of weeds, an appreciation of the good microorganisms living within the soil and the practical ability to bring their own soil to life.

Dirt Doctor founder Jim O’Gorman designed his small farm holding in Kakanui, North Otago, with a focus on making the most from limited resources. Without electricity, and with little more than what was already growing on-site, Jim remediated the toxic clay soil on his property and converted it into a productive one-man-farm that is now well known for its remarkable produce. On their property in Lyall Bay, Dirt Doctor presenters Hana Miller and Jacob Perkins have established an urban Dirt Doctor garden based on Jim’s micro-farm model.

Without any other resources other than what was already found on the property, they too have put their microorganisms to work to convert their sandy soils into productive food-gardens. On December 11th and December 12th they will be holding their final Dirt Doctor workshops for the year. Saturday’s workshop in Lyall Bay will teach you how to prepare a highly productive chemical free garden from scratch, with a focus on making the most of what you already have on site. On Sunday, Jacob and Hana will teach a crash course in Advanced Soil Biology – the basics of micro-organism technology as it applies to your garden, and the balance that you need to create to have the best soil health for your plants. These workshops would make an excellent Christmas present for friends and family. Give the gift of good soil this Christmas and help a budding gardener to produce a thriving patch for 2011.

ends

© Scoop Media