Organics Workshop

ONE ORGANICS WORKSHOP 19th AUGUST 2015.

Twenty four members of the gardening club attended Kieran Weston’s workshop at his farm in Coorabell and this is a list of some of the things that I gleaned from the huge amount of information that he shared with us.

Kieran has been trying to find the time to put it all onto his website but this could be a while coming so let’s amalgamate what we heard and it can be put into a concise form and added to our website for everyone to share.

For those who were at the talk he gave at a recent meeting, you may recall that his farm is organic and that he is always aiming to grow healthy plants , improve his soils and produce fabulous vegetables that are sold at markets in the area AND are available as ‘pick your own’ at the farm with an honesty box.( 151 Friday Hut Road, Coorabel)

EFFECTIVE MICRO ORGANISMS

(They do sell this at the markets and at the farm for $20 litre and it’s used as a spray at the rate of 1ml/litre)
Method:
Easy to make for almost nothing- from 1 cup of rice , preferably organic.
Place the rice in a container and cover with approx.
2 litres of water- preferably filtered tank water.
Leave for a few hours and then strain the water through several thicknesses of any clean, fine cotton material into another container and cover, secure with a rubber band and leave in a cool place for 7 days.
Add an equal measure of fullcream milk and leave in a cool place for a further 7-13 days until a firm whey forms on the top.
Remove whey - (very nutritious, can be fed with food to animals and chooks in small quantities- excellent for worming purposes)
Keep liquid in the fridge until you add an equal amount of molasses and this will keep for a couple of years and provide a great health giving spray
To Use:
Dilute 1:1000 (1ml to 1 litres ) or approx. ¼ cup to a watering can.
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HEALTH and HINTS

  • Upland cress - recommended for companion planting, especially when lawn moths are abundant! (sells this at markets- edible, delicious as well )

  • Brewers’ yeast- highly recommended for our health and that of our animals, to be added to food in small quantities (1 teaspn daily) on a regular basis. For us and them - deals with the inevitable worms and parasites that are present in our gut and for dogs and cats - control of fleas and ticks.

  • Diatomatious earth is an excellent worming substance for animals.

  • Regular detox: weekly or monthly
    1 litre water with 1 tbspn sea salt. Drink quickly in the morning and repeat during the day which should be spent at home!

  • Oil pulling! Coconut or flaxseed oil swished between the teeth (and therefore absorbed in the mouth) for 15 mins. Spit it out, scrape the tongue and rinse to clean the lymphatic system and replace lipids.

  • Vitamin C – make your own with citrus peel that is dehydrated (oven or dehydrator) and blended to small pieces or powder and mixed with warm water.

  • Seedling raising:
    Water in the evening and feed twice a week at sunset. Remove all yellowing leaves and only buy organic plants as most others have been pre treated with fungicides which mean that the whole plant has absorbed it .

MAKING GOOD COMPOST

Kieran buys compost from Lismore tip and sets it aside for a couple of months before adding his “Good Stuff” which he applies though a piece of poly pipe that he shoves into the pile- very effective to distribute evenly!
Good Stuff recipe.
1 teaspn TriKelp
30 mls EM (above)
15mls Neem Oil (mixed with warm water to soften)
1 teaspn folic acid (from Nutritech)
a handful of “Super Starter” (in pellet form made by Katek and available from Bunnings)
Kieran covers the piles with shade cloth and also layers mulch (Rhodes grass or Lucerne - not sugar cane) with leafy waste.
Sprays EM between layers for a quicker result or when other compost is scarce.
If using bark chips, the EM can be pored through a poly pipe,’injecting’ it’s goodness into the soil below and lessening the nitrogen drawdown.

All the composts are great when a small handful is placed in a planting hole or used scattered around a plant in situ.

Compost can also be made from discarded seedlings and kitchen waste in open shallow tanks, sprinkle with lime an dolomite – 6 handfuls to a square metre container
Turn to aerate regularly as well as spraying with EM.

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Re Health and Hints

Some of his recommendations for more ideas:

DVDs: “Return to Eden” and Randolph Hirst’s “Reefer Madness” ( legal marijuana for use in cancer patients)
Book: Percy Weston’s Story (no relation)of his own treatments of medical issues for himself and family that kept him farming into his late 90s.Inspirational and mostly common sense and old fashioned methods that have nearly disappeared to be replaced by chemicals and pharmaceuticals.