Advances in soil science & microbiology show us how we can eliminate the need for fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides in crops and gardens. Soils can be drought-proofed, plant pathogens controlled and both yield and nutrient density greatly enhanced; with reduction of your labour an additional benefit.

For over 25 years local permaculturist Dave Clark has been struggling to bring fertility to his 5 acres of extremely poor soil. Compost and diversity were his initial tools, but he is now finding that it is easier, cheaper and way more effective, to enlist the aid of micro-organisms (using biochar as habitat) in his quest to be a more successful subsistence farmer.

A five day Nutrition Farming course with Graeme Sait (Nutri Tech Solutions) and a host of further reading, plus on-site experimentation has led him to a point where he thinks he has important knowledge to share, in addition to advances in compost making.