Seed to Seed: syllabus overview

April 18 the Garden Ninja School's
seed to seed ecological gardening program
working with the source

*the structure*
Loosely, the structure will be one hour of talking ideas, details and theory
and 2 hours of working outside. Weather and sunlight dependant, we can be inside first, or after.

*the mission*
To provide the basic skills to empower good people to grow their own, produce a surplus, and live closer to Earth in a good way.
I see it as 'cottage industry' training,
and an exploration of cottage industry possiblities.

*the vision*
Imagine, (put on your rose-tinted glasses)
at the *rare* headquarters, the Lamb's Head Inn, there is a stylish and hip cafe, eatery, and art gallery, with flowers and plants for sale.

It functions as a gathering place, market and triage center for the rest of the activities on site.

The cafe has gourmet food from the fields, garnished with edible flowers, there are flowers on the tables; people can sit in the garden, amidst the birds and flowers, drinking teas grown right there.
Imagine....
I know it is a bit of a long shot, but lets garden to that end.

Growing tea herbs, culinary herbs, edible flowers and ornamental flowers seems a natural choice for the location, and provides us with a broad range of gardening experiences that can help people prepare their own future project.

While learning the basics of gardening, we can explore marketable crops, value-added products, and skills useful for the market and future.

Herbology, growing and arranging flowers, learning tea and culinary herbs, how to save seed and propogate plants, are all skills that can be further explored. This course offers a grounding in those and gardening basics.

*the syllabus*
- this is an overview, still subject to editing-

April 18. garden planning
April 25. phenology. sense of place. Permaculture overview.
May 2. compost. mulch. living mulch.
May 9. -break-
May 16. rotations. intercropping.
May 23. water. biodynamics.
May 30. soil. plant nutrition.
June 6. -break-
June 13. seed saving. seed stewarding.
June 20. solstice celebration.
June 27. herbology
July 4. -break-
July 11. weeds. pests.
July 18. flower arranging.
July 25. herbology.
August 1. -break-
August 8. bees.
August 15. marketing. business. funding.
August 22. flower arranging.
August 29. -break-
Sept 5. pesto.
Sept 12. pickling.
Sept 19. drying.
Sept 26. -break-
Oct 3. storing seed.
Oct 10. root cellaring.
Oct 17. seedy release party.

*cost*
$30/month.

Money, passion, needs, and responsibility do not often balance in our current economy. I am doing this from passion and what I feel is my responsiblity; I do need some cash flow to pay rent too. I do not want anyone to not attend because they cannot afford it; but the question of fairness to all arises, despite my knowledge of the deeper truth. If you are interested, and money is an obstacle, let's talk.

*what you will come out with*
An good idea of some things you can make and grow; the knowledge, ears, and skills to approach a piece of land and determine what the possibilities are; the growth of an intentional season.

You will go home with flowers, herbs, tinctures, salves and teas (and very possibly other treasures) at various times.