🧑‍🌾 Course Title: Backyard Biodiversity: Gardening 101

The Soil Types & Amendments Guide is available from the Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy. Just in case it isn't or if you're having trouble accesing it, we are going to have the guide posted throughout each course. However, is done in segments, so we strongly reccomend getting a copy of the book to follow along with the course and for refrence after the completion of the module when out expirimenting and growing in your garden.

The Interactive! GardenGoals Worksheet should be available from The Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy. Alternatively, KieraGirl Interactive has a fun game that is kinda HarvestMoon-esk; however, either playing the KieraGirl Interactive Game: Alchemist of Wora or Completing a GardenGoals Worksheet is required to complete this course. 

Lesson 2: Picking Your Plants - Reading; Annuals vs. Perennials. Annuals vs Perennials should be available from the Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy. If you believe you already have the knowledge necessary to successfully complete the quiz then you can skip this step; however we strongly encourage reading and re-reading the material so that you can be a gardening expert--there's good knowlege in there. 

A layout template is available (or should be) from The Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy. This is a basic template that can be used for designing your garden. Alternatively, you can take a screen shot of your garden from KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game, and submit that screen shot as a completion grade for this assignment. 

A layout template is available (or should be) from The Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy. This is a basic template that can be used for designing your garden. Alternatively, you can take a screen shot of your garden from KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game, and submit that screen shot as a completion grade for this assignment. 

Lesson 1: Composting Basics - Building a Compost Pile -

Lesson 1: Composting Basics - Building a Compost Pile - For a more advanced version, see biodigesters. 

Lesson 2: Building Healthy Soil - Natural Fertalizers You Can Make  (.pdf) - 

Lesson 2: Building Healthy Soil - Building Healthy Soil & Fertilizers Video  - 

Lesson 2: Building Healthy Soil - Bonus! Worm Bin 101 - 

Lesson 3: Testing and Amending Soil - Interactive! Soil Test Expirement DIY -  Either complete this asignment in the KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game, which is a very realistic version of how things work in real-world application, or use a soil test kit or soil test method outlined in the lesson. Sometimes simply looking at the leaves of other plants in the area can let you know if there is a nutrient defficiency or not. Signs of wildlife may be good indicators too. One soil test kit is included with the course as simply looking at nearby plant and soil life should suffice, but in the event it's simply a flower pot or something, a single, solitary soil test kit should suffice for completion of this course. If would like an extra soil test kit there are soil test kits available at the Lionswerth Academy Campus Store, and they may have some soil test kits available at the Lachman Library at Lionswerth Academy, idk, check it out. 

Using the soil test kit, seeds, soil, and plant mailed out to you (if you provided your address and did the mail out option) or in the KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game, go ahead and test the soil, folling the provided instructions, and fill out the worksheet. Let's intrepret the results, and see what all that acutally indicates. 

Now this varries from plant to plant. For the purposes of this excersize we are going to refrence the plant provided along with the instruction. If you went with the sandard plant (a, b, c, d) or one of the premium plant options (a, b, c, d) or one of the exclusive plant options (a, b, c, d, e,) or one of the speciality plants, in regions where legal, (a, b, c, d, e, f, g). these are the watering stuff. Now remember there are grow zones, and some require humitidiy levels, which is air water content, k, cause, although the kalahari desert may have ideal growing temperatures for Mitragena Speciosa (Kratom), Bannanas, and Pineapples, the air there is very dry because there is little to no moisture in the air, so a plant like that likely wouldn't grow there without some sort or kind of humidifier or humi-water, air green house swampy ass type of complex, however, in Indonesia, Malasia, or regions like Florida, the Carribean, Brazil, or some of the areas near the equator, those grow conditions would be ideal; but if you're growing something like Dagga Dagga or an olive tree, it's possible that you could get that to grow in the Kalahari. 

Included here is a watering tracker template with your specific plant; now, if your in more advanced gardening techniques utalizing things like irrigation and drip irrigation, or some kind of aquaduct or hydo or aquaponic system you probably won't need this as that is automated, or if you are in a region where it rains plenty, you probably won't use that, but when it comes to actually building it, this template can be a helpful tool. Also, it is wise to use that and track your watering with it to ensure the rainfall is adequate and that you don't end up over or underwatering plants, or build that template into your automated watering process, k.? 

Mulching is very important, as the wood holds the excess moistrue for times of drought so that the plants can get the water they need. Have you ever soaked or seen a soaked wood board, like a 2x4 in a pond, river, or a lake, when that wood starts to bulge it's called being water logged, kinda like drift wood. Have you ever picked up a super wet stick or log and it is really heavy, and then let it sit for a while out side of the water like on the beach or in a field or something and it's super light weight; that's becasue the heat of the sun took the water out of it, and now it's dry. That's why they call a soaked piece of wood being water logged, because, although wood can float, when it's filled with water, it's heavy, because wood holds moisture, k. Mulch is kinda like having a bunch of mini water logs around your tree, but because they're dead, as in simply a storage medium absent of any productive function, the tree or plant can use those as an aditional water source. (biblical analogy egypt moses here), However, selecting the right mulch is important, some are okay with having dies and some aren't, and some simply floats away and doesn't really halp all that much. A more advanced course goes into how to actually make your own mulch and diy mulching and other alternatives, such as setting down plastic aroundt he base of the tree, creating a geothermal to keep soil temperatures warm, and installing a drip irrigation under the plastic at the base of the tree connected to a rain water collector or storage medium, covering that with clay and some dirt, and covering that with plastic around the base of the tree and covering the plastic with rocks, like river rocks or something, so that weeds and plants don't get through there, or having some kind of filter or something, which is really neat, but we're just going to keep it simple and talk about selecting types of mulch that's usually available at a local nursery, simply laying around, or at a local or district hardwar or gardening and supply store. Mulch ain't included with this course as it isn't necessary for course completion; however, there should be some samples of mulch included with your class planting gardening bio kit or whatever it is, and there are some various types of mulches that you can play around with in the KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game to kinda get the idea there, but that's kinda what it does as far as watering goes, also most weeds won't grow through mulch, some do, but some don't. Depending on what type of much and weed control you have selected and what type of garden you're trying to build the case study, mulch magic in action, in our next lesson can kinda help with that. 

Mulching is very important, as the wood holds the excess moistrue for times of drought so that the plants can get the water they need. Have you ever soaked or seen a soaked wood board, like a 2x4 in a pond, river, or a lake, when that wood starts to bulge it's called being water logged, kinda like drift wood. Have you ever picked up a super wet stick or log and it is really heavy, and then let it sit for a while out side of the water like on the beach or in a field or something and it's super light weight; that's becasue the heat of the sun took the water out of it, and now it's dry. That's why they call a soaked piece of wood being water logged, because, although wood can float, when it's filled with water, it's heavy, because wood holds moisture, k. Mulch is kinda like having a bunch of mini water logs around your tree, but because they're dead, as in simply a storage medium absent of any productive function, the tree or plant can use those as an aditional water source. (biblical analogy egypt moses here), However, selecting the right mulch is important, some are okay with having dies and some aren't, and some simply floats away and doesn't really halp all that much. A more advanced course goes into how to actually make your own mulch and diy mulching and other alternatives, such as setting down plastic aroundt he base of the tree, creating a geothermal to keep soil temperatures warm, and installing a drip irrigation under the plastic at the base of the tree connected to a rain water collector or storage medium, covering that with clay and some dirt, and covering that with plastic around the base of the tree and covering the plastic with rocks, like river rocks or something, so that weeds and plants don't get through there, or having some kind of filter or something, which is really neat, but we're just going to keep it simple and talk about selecting types of mulch that's usually available at a local nursery, simply laying around, or at a local or district hardwar or gardening and supply store. Mulch ain't included with this course as it isn't necessary for course completion; however, there should be some samples of mulch included with your class planting gardening bio kit or whatever it is, and there are some various types of mulches that you can play around with in the KieraGirl Interactive: Alchemist of Wora game to kinda get the idea there, but that's kinda what it does as far as watering goes, also most weeds won't grow through mulch, some do, but some don't. Depending on what type of much and weed control you have selected and what type of garden you're trying to build the case study, mulch magic in action, in our next lesson can kinda help with that.  A copy of this should be available from The Lachman Library at Lionswerth Acadademy, k?

Lesson 3: Creating Pollinator-Friendly Spaces - Reading; Pollinator Plant List -

Lesson 3 (Optional): Creating Pollinator-Friendly Spaces - Interactive! ; DIYA - Build a Bee Hotel Activity -

The KieraGirl! Interactive Game is bonus points, but would actually need to submit your own photo of an ideal garden using god mode (with achievements disabled) if using the game; otherwise simply use pen, paper, pencil, mascara, or whatever you have, or ms paint, or some kind of animation program, or whatever may have you that outlines what we went over in this course, label the parenials, the annuals, give a brief of why you chose those plants, and what schudule you have chosen for caring for that garden. If you find a picture on the internet, a movie, or a magazine or something, that's okay, but would still need to make up a care schedule for that photo there. If you are using a generated image or something from another video game or something, or a garden taht you've already started or that a friend has or has already started or began, that's great, such as a local park or something, or pond area, or even a grave yard, but would still need to submit a garden plan, care schedule, etc, of your ideal garden. Think of it like bing a Shinto Master, if there is such a thing. In Shintoism, there are Oni, and PowerOni, which in christianity would be more like Demons and Power or Arch Demons, and nobody every messes with the gardener, the Oni guard and protect the gardener and are there in the garden to make sure everyone follows the rules. Now if you were the gardener, what kind of plan and care schedule would you have, and what kind of oni, shiogami, if any, would that attract, and what kid of birds, insects, people, if any, and creatures would be living there or coming to visit, would there be a humming bird, bees, why? what other things would you put out there to encourage that activity. When are you going to water the plants or are you going to delegate that or depend on rain fall or ground water, what would your ideal garden be. For bonus points, if you like, you can submit a mystery garden, one like that of a fantassy realm, but would still need to have at least somewhat of a plan, care schedule, and some kind of rendering, photo, depiction, drawing or something legible or visual, perhaps even audible or imaginative that we can review here of your ideal garden. Okay, Have fun, + be creative with it.