A deep dive into biological/regenerative farming and gardening for soil health, human health and environmental health.
Over two days we cover the soil food web, nutrient cycling, plant and soil microbiome, making hot compost, managing a worm farm and liquid extracts.
Next Date: 2-day workshop, date to be confirmed
Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm on both days
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
This workshop includes a comprehensive workshop book to take home and a nourishing lunch on both days.
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our Cancellation Policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to them. Please make sure to read them.
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Learn about the soil food web and how it works to deliver plants with nutrients. In this 2-day workshop, we will cover many topics that will help you to grow amazing, nutrient dense food for yourself, your family and your livestock.
This workshop is for beginners as well as advanced gardeners, lifestyle block owners and people interested in natural systems and their function.
Day 1
On the first day you will learn about the Soil Food Web and its members. We will discuss its functions and what disrupts it. You will learn about plant succession, nutrient pools in soils, nutrient cycling with the soil food web and the importance of mycorrhizal fungi. Will will discuss photosynthesis, the nitrogen cycle and the food exchange by plants and the soil microbes.
Then we will do some practical applications in the garden like mulching, planting seedlings, worm farming and bokashi composting.
Day 2
The second day is very practical and hands-on. We will build a thermal compost pile together. We will discuss suitable material for the compost, the carbon/nitrogen ratio, how to select for bacterial or fungal dominance, temperature development in the pile and the cooling down phase. We will then make a compost extract with vermicast and compost for soil amendments.
Topics covered:
- Basic principles of biological and organic gardening: soil health and fertility
- The Soil Food Web and its functions
- Food for the soil microbes and your plants
- Plant succession and why this is important for our crops
- Nutrient pools in soils and nutrient cycling
- Nutrient density in plants and the importance for our health and well-being
- The importance of Brix and managing pests and diseases
- Worm farming and Bokashi composting
- Thermal compost: materials, temperature, process
- Signs of a finished and good compost
- Compost and vermicast extract
This workshop runs from 9:30am - 4:30pm on both days. We will provide lunch and drinks throughout the day. Please let us know about any dietary requirements when you sign up.
KoruKai Herb Farm is a bit over 1 hour from Halswell (please see here), carpooling from Chch is usually possible.
There are various accommodation options in Pigeon Bay, surrounding bays and Akaroa (30 minutes by car). More info is at the end of this page.
There are many rental car options from Chch airport to get out to our farm.
Meet your Tutors
Cornelia Holten
MEd (Integrative Learning), Certificate in Organic Horticulture, Apprenticeship in Herbal Medicine, Training with Dr. Elaine's Soil Food Web School and Allan Savory's Holistic Management 
Cornelia is a soil health educator and herbalist with a passion for soil health, growing nutritious food, DIY, herbs, and self-sufficiency.
A certificate in Organic Horticulture, intensive training with Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School, an Apprenticeship in Herbal Medicine at Valmai Becker's Phytofarm, training in Allan Savoury's Holistic Management, Permaculture Design with Geoff Lawton and living on a farm in Pigeon Bay equip her with a lot of knowledge and hands-on experience about soil health, holistic food systems, growing nutritious food and living a healthy life. A Masters Degree in Integrative Learning at Endicott College enables her to weave her vast knowledge together to run easy to understand and fun workshops.
Together with her husband Kai, she is teaching workshops on soil health, whole foods, fermentation, cheese and bread making and regenerative gardening.
A thirst for knowledge and a passion for new scientific studies keep her well informed on those topics.
Ingredients: information and practical knowledge
A fabulous two days full of information and a mix of practical sessions. Information is provided clearly and reinforced with demonstration's. A friendly, open, sharing and professional workshop weekend. Wish I had done this much earlier in my gardening journey.
Had a fantastic weekend with loads of information and inspiration. Will be back for more.<br />
Thanks for the nice workshop. It was a very important step on my journey to create healthy soil and food for my family. I would love to join an online course for farm soil health!<br /> Great work!
A great couple of days learning about the soil food web, worm farming, bokashi, covercrops, and all aspects of composting. <br /> A complicated topic presented at at a level that is evidence based and easily understood. I didn’t realise how much I had learned until I got home and started applying what I had learnt to my own garden.<br /> Highly recommended to anyone who wants to apply any of the above principals to their own garden systems.<br /> Thankyou Cornelia, Kai, Nicholas & Julia for sharing your wealth of experience and knowledge with us, and your home and farm etc it was a awesome couple of days.
Such a great 2-day workshop delivered at a relaxed pace with love, passion and expertise. I always feel grateful that the Korukai Farm Family want to share such valuable knowledge so inclusively with anyone who wants to learn. The extra special sauce is the community that your courses attract. Your vision to care for people and mother-earth is so inspiring - thank you!
I learnt so much, my knowledge cup was full to overflowing. Two weeks later I have just made my first hot compost, and am so proud of myself!! Loving all that I learn every time I attend Korukai workshops, you are tbe best!
Id like to express my gratitude to you and your family for last weekend - I thoroughly enjoyed all the content and have arrived home inspired and excited to start making change to my land.
This well presented workshop was a successful combination of theory and "hands on". The "why" of composting was imparted clearly and the learning was enhanced with questions shared by group participants. Many Thanks.
The workshop was excellent - well planned and the information you shared with us was very clearly explained and demonstrated. <br /> Before the workshop I had understood the purpose of compost to be to increase the range of nutrients available to a plant. Now I know that its most important job is to build up the life in the soil to enable a plant to feed and care for itself to the maximum. Now I am fired up to start worm farming and composting correctly!
I appreciated the workshop so much. It gave a boost to my motivation in order to make new steps towards a more benefitial way of life. I learned a lot: a good mix of technic/ scientific information and easy-to-apply techniques. Thanks so much to Cornelia and her family for their warm welcoming and all the sharing.
Clear communication of the composting process which is hands on! Informative booklet to take away! Very warm and friendly atmosphere. Highly recommended!
I was a little apprehensive about what I had signed up for, but ended up thoroughly enjoying the lessons, knowledgeable tutor and the beautiful location. I came home totally fizzing!
our tutor and her family are amazing people doing amazing things and passing on thier hard work and knowledge at such an affordable price. I will be back for more courses no doubt. Thank you :)
As a gardener with patchy online self educating background, I found this workshop both reaffirmed what that I was doing and gave me some really good info on moving forward and making my garden even healthier. So good to be among other keen gardeners too. Thanks Cornelia and family for such a great weekend.
Having just arrived home from 2 days with Cornelia at Korukai, I can undoubtedly say my knowledge has grown! As a reasonably novice gardener, it was nice to have a hands on approach to learning and felt that these were all techniques I could take home and apply to my own food crops. We had a wonderfully interactive group with plenty of great discussion, and I guarantee everyone took a lot away from it.<br /> <br /> Thank you so much Cornelia, very pleased to have come along. There is tremendous value for money in this workshop!
I must thank YOU for sharing your world of knowledge on everything garden and beyond :) I really enjoyed your workshop and have already organized a wwoofer to put plans into place :)<br /> It was good to see all the stages and I think you as a person are so impressive, I can't think of anything you could do better. I had a great day and will definitely recommend your workshop, and the other workshops, to my friends. <br /> Was a pleasure as always in your garden Cornelia!
A very well organised course. Cornelia's knowledge is outstanding! Loved the practical bits. I now have fire in my belly and excitement/urgency about getting going. I would love to feed my family from the garden. I look forward to next workshop.
Thank you for a wonderful day yesterday. We really enjoyed your workshop and your lovely home and surroundings.<br /> Your introduction and telling us your personal background got me very enthusiastic. You and your family are heroes. The more people that attend this workshop or hear your message the better. <br /> It would be a dream for me to be able to provide all the vegetables for my family, but you and this workshop showed me it is possible.<br /> I think your coverage was spot on, you made room for questions but did not get too distracted from the time. I’m sure your notes will be my source of knowledge- I think I will need to get them laminated.<br /> Thank you for being a guiding figure; we need thousands of people like you so we can turn the way food is produced and the way we look at sustainability around.
Thank you so much for the workshop. I loved it and feel like I came away with so much info, and all very relevant ! I’m very excited to get out in the garden! Thank you and your family for sharing with us. You really do have a wonderful way of teaching.. you are very inspiring!
Guided farm tour for individuals, couples and private groups of up to 20 people. Price is the same for 1 person and for 20 people.
Duration: 2.5 hours.
Either 9:30 - 12pm or 1pm - 3:30pm
Place: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay
Dates: Send a message to [email protected] to arrange a suitable date before making a booking.
Fully booked! To go onto the waiting list please sign up below.
This is an informative workshop for anyone interested in healthy food. No cooking skills are required. You will walk away with some easy recipes that you can implement in your own kitchen using basic equipment.
Date: Saturday, 2nd May 2026
Time: 10am-2:30pm
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
1 hour from Halswell, Carpooling from Chch is usually possible.
Wholesome lunch included!
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our cancellation policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to the Terms & Conditions. Please make sure to read them.
In this workshop you will learn about a range of wild and cultivated medicinal herbs with antiviral and antimicrobial properties to boost immunity for the coming winter months. You will also create a unique herbal winter tea, a foot soak and an inhalation blend.
Next date: Saturday, 9th May 2026
Time: 10pm - 2:30pm
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our cancellation policy here. When signing up for this workshop, you automatically agree to the Terms & Conditions. Please make sure to read them.
Date: To be confirmed for 2026
Time: 1-4pm
Place: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay
Children under 12 years can attend for free with adult supervision. Please let us know if you are bringing children under 12 years!
A guided tour will give you an insight into the work we do here at KoruKai Herb Farm.
It covers aspects of:
Self-sufficiency
Growing nutrient dense food and potent herbs
Permaculture design and forest gardens
Biological/regenerative horticulture
Worm Farming and Compost Making
Grazing management to foster soil and plant health
We are not offering this workshop at the moment as we have put together an amazing online composting workshop, which is much more comprehensive than what we can teach in a day on the farm. The videos make you think you have actually been here and are so engaging that you won't miss a thing.
You can also go back again and again to watch content and ask questions! We are here to help.
Please book our Online Compost Workshop instead.
Learn how to make gluten-free sourdough bread as well as gluten-free pizza dough and focaccia successfully at home.
To book our regular sourdough workshop please go here.
Next Date: to be confirmed
Time: 10am - 3pm
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
Gluten-free lunch included!
You will walk away with a comprehensive recipe booklet and a free gluten-free sourdough starter.
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our cancellation policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to the Terms & Conditions. Please make sure to read them.
Next Date to be confirmed
Time: 1pm - 5pm
There is the option to stay longer and enjoy some dinner cooked on the fire. An extra charge applies for food.
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our cancellation policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to the Terms & Conditions. Please make sure to read them.
Price includes a delicious, healthy and nourishing lunch, an informative booklet and a healing salve.
Next date to be confirmed! Sign up below to get an email once we have set a new date.
Time: 10am - 3pm
Location: Pigeon Bay waterfront, Banks Peninsula
1 hour 20 minutes from Halswell, Carpooling from Chch is usually possible.
Accommodation options in Pigeon Bay, surrounding bays and Akaroa
Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our cancellation policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to the Terms & Conditions. Please make sure to read them.
We will be working on an online version of this workshop. So stay tuned for that.
Learn how to make artisan sourdough bread successfully at home.
Please note that this workshop uses our rye sourdough starter and wheat, spelt and rye flours in the finished products.
For our gluten-free sourdough workshop please go here.
Date to be confirmed.
Time: 10am - 3pm
Lunch and some afternoon tea is included!
We started our sourdough bread baking journey 15 years ago and now bake a large variety of breads and sweet treats for our family and friends.
You will walk away with a recipe booklet and a free rye sourdough starter (valued at $19.90).
In this workshop you will learn about the art of natural cheese making and will get a good understanding of the philosophies behind it. You will walk away with basic skills to start your own journey of natural cheese making.
Date: to be confirmed
Time: 10am - 3:30pm
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
1 hour from Halswell, Carpooling from Chch is usually possible.
Accommodation options in Pigeon Bay, surrounding bays and Akaroa
Lunch included!
This workshop is very popular and always sells out. So book early to avoid disappointment. Limited to 8 people.
You will learn about the foundation of soil health, holistic management and holistic planned grazing, plant diversity, fodder trees, pest, disease and weed management and lots more (see more topics below).
Next date to be confirmed! Sign up below to get an email once we have set a new date.
Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm on both days
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
Discount available for a couple living at the same place. Please email [email protected] to sign up.
This workshop includes a comprehensive workshop booklet to take home and a nourishing lunch on both days.
PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE. Send us an email and we will work something out together.
We are so excited to bring to you an advanced class in natural cheese making. In this two-day workshop you will learn how to make a variety of aged, natural cheeses. We will be making Camembert, Cheddar and Stilton - an English blue cheese.
It is best if you have some basic understanding of natural cheese making, have worked with David Asher's recipes or have attended our Introduction to Natural Cheese making workshop.
Next date to be confirmed!
Time: 10am - 3pm on Saturday and 9:30-3pm on Sunday
Location: KoruKai Herb Farm, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula
1 hour from Halswell, Carpooling from Chch usually possible.
Accommodation options in Pigeon Bay, surrounding bays and Akaroa. A participant from Okains Bay has some budget accommodation. Get in touch for details.
