Brew Your Own Fertiliser. Advanced Course & Nourishing Weekend with Juan Fran Lopez & Matt Dunwell

This weekend course is a chance to deepen your understanding of biofertilisers with the author of the Bio-fertiliser Manual, Juan Fran Lopez, supported by local soil health teacher Matt Dunwell and other regenerative practitioners. 

The course is open to those new to biofertilisers and both gardeners as well as farmers, but assumes a level of knowledge that can be gained from reading Juanfran’s ebook - The Biofertiliser Manual. Juan Frans book is the comprehensive introduction to get the most out of this immersive course with the teacher and can be bought here: https://www.regrarians.org/biofertiliser-manual

We will be encouraging people to bring preparations that they have made, and their experiences of what has worked and not worked for them. Peer to peer discussion and learning will be encouraged and Juanfran will curate the conversation as well as leading the workshop with theory and practical sessions. 

Places are limited to 25 and the event is 30% prebooked, so please book early in order secure a place. 

We will be covering

Recap on different types of microbes in the soil, and how we can support their generation. This will include the use of lactobacillus
Different biofertilisers and how to use them. 

Hydrolysates - humic, amino acids,
Adaptations of recipes to encourage use of local resources
Setting up a bio factory, working at scale
Design a fertilisation plan for your farm or garden
Experiences from course participants, and possibly from other countries

This will all be delivered through two morning sessions with a tea break, and two afternoon sessions through a mix of teaching styles, blending practical and a bit of theory with hands on constructive and scientific best practice. 

What your ticket includes

All hot meals and two breakfasts for the duration of your stay, from the evening of Friday the 24th of July to the Afterrnoon of Sunday the 26th. 

A bed with bedsheet and pillows. Please just bring your own sleeping bag or duvet, toiletries etc. 

Wood-fired indoor hot showers are available. There is a spacious kitchen and common room for gathering and conversaion in the evenng 

Tea's and coffees, Old Tree Kombucha and Apple juice from the farm for hydration and sustained energy throughout the weekend.

The apple juice being made from the annual harvest celebration that Old Tree collective is now organising - has all been grown using the biofertilisers that Juan Fran and Matt Dunwell fermented on site for years of the past decade! We are drinking the very fruits of the labour of countless micrco-organisms and passionate action research that was all conducted by the very teachers of this course over a decade of fruit farming and learning how to develop best practice. Many of the teachings have come from internationally renowned soil ecosystem restoration practitioners such as Jairo Restreppo Riveria and now the best students have become the teachers. Join us to be among the first to bring this empowering and accessible practice into the UK to transform our food and farming systems for health and earth repair. 

A Friday evening welcome meal and chance to hear an additional presentation from Juan Fran sharing all about his PHD findings in working with biofertilisers at scale. 

There will be a pay what you can donation pot for low-alcohol seasonal fermented Old Tree drinks in the evenings which we encourage folk to bring cash for as well as to purchase books and our incredible apple juice which will both be available in bulk as well as produce from the onsite market garden. 

Bring a notepad for all recipe recordings and soil wisdom that needs sharing.