[Market-farming] Organic, No-Till, Permanent Bed Workshop in NM
Tradingpost
tradingpost at gilanet.com
Tue Sep 14 17:29:54 EDT 2004
(In case anyone is interested, I just recently found out about this workshop in NM on Sept 25-26. Even if you can't make it,they'll provide a comprehensive CD of all the events. IMHO-being able to exchange info and learn from Ken Hargesheimer should be worth its weight in gold. I promised to spread the word about this and will be attending.)
Dear Gardeners, Farmers, Ranchers and Friends,
My husband Larry and I are organizing Ken Hargesheimer's Organic, No-Till, Permanent Bed Workshop for both gardeners and farmers for the last weekend in September, the 25th-26th. The workshop costs $35 and includes a CD with additional agricultural information. Weve set the price at rock bottom, so as many people as possible can attend.
The workshop begins on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., and ends at 6 p.m. We begin Sunday morning at 9 am, break for lunch at 1 p.m., begin the afternoon session either at 2 or 2:30 p.m., and end at 6 or 6:30 p.m.
The Living Foods Learning Center just north of Columbus has offered to host the workshop for free. This is wonderful, as it allows us to keep the price of the workshop so low. The directors of the center are also offering those attending the workshop from a distance the opportunity to spend Saturday night on the premises, if attendees bring their own sleeping bags. A single camping air mattress or pad might be good as well, since we don't know if beds are available to lay the bags on, as the Center is not open for business yet.
Attendees from a distance will also need to provide their own food for 3 meals, no cook or precooked items that don't need refrigeration, or drive into Columbus for Sat. dinner and Sun. breakfast and lunch. This will help keep costs down for out of town guests, even Las Cruces, El Paso, etc., folks who don't want to drive home Sat. only to drive back again early Sunday morning.
A lot of information will be covered in the 12 hours of the workshop, and the additional agricultural information on the included CD makes for a comprehensive workshop, at a value much more than the cost!
Attendees need to contact me and register as soon as possible, as the workshop may fill up quickly. My email address is celindamiller at yahoo.com, phone 505-531-2435 and address PO Box 229, Columbus, NM 88029. Anyone emailing me needs to mention the no-till workshop in the subject line, so I don't delete them as spam.
Thank you,
Celinda Miller
GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR; Mexico, Rep Dominicana, Côté dIvoire, Nigeria, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, England, Nicaragua, India, Uzbekistan
Workshops [urban & rural] in organic, no-till, permanent-bed gardening, mini-farming, mini-ranching taught in English & Spanish.
Contact:
Ken Hargesheimer minifarms at aol.com
Member: TX Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Gardening/Mini-Farming Workshops
There are unlimited opportunities in agriculture today. The average gross sales for market gardeners selling at the farmers market is $8,000 per acre. There is a market for ranged-raised eggs and fryers in every farmers market. Farmers can control farm prices by alternative marketing and they can control cost of production. People are wanting to buy local, buy fresh and buy organic.
I teach:
A. Organic: Reduces inputs to nearly zero. Organic fertilizers, etc. restores/maintains a healthy soil.
B. No-till: No digging, no tilling, no plowing, no cultivating; plant and harvest. One farmer can farm ten acres alone using hand tools only [Honduras]. Use tractor with no-till planter. Reduces cost by 30% the first year.
No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as no-tillage. (Baker, 1996)
C. Permanent Beds: They were used 2000 BC in Guatemala, Mexico and many other countries. Because 15% to 20% of the land is in permanent paths/tracks, that saves 20% of the seed, fertilizer, irrigation water and labor but yields will be 10% higher.
D. Livestock: Use moveable pens over beds growing forages, etc. or cut and carry or use rotational grazing; range-raised animals.
E. Marketing: The farmers market is first choice, in most situations, for selling what the farm produces. Other possibilities are: on-farm stand, pick your own, community supported agriculture, restaurants, supermarkets, etc.
F. Drip irrigation should be used during the dry season and in areas of low rainfall.
H. Winter Production: Extend the growing season to twelve months.
Workshops are practical and how-to. I take reference books, videos, order free magazines [English, French, Spanish, Portuguese] if there is a library/office. I demonstrate drip irrigation, tools, make a no-till bed. Funds must be provided:
Speaking/Workshop Schedule 2004: Mexico, 12 June; Uzbekistan, 9 July; New Mexico, USA, 25 September; Nigeria, 18 October
Proven Practices for Gardening, Mini-Farming, Farming & Ranching
Every gardener/farmer in the world should use the following. There is unlimited, documented proof they work. They are based on worldwide research, the Internet, international agriculture magazines, experiences teaching agriculture in the USA and many other countries, experience of gardeners/farmers in those countries and in a demonstration garden. They are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just, economically viable, humanely managed and Biblically based.
On gardens/mini-farms these practices will double the yields and reduce the labor by half compared to traditional methods. This is so successful that it stops the farmer migration from rural areas to the cities.
Applying the following, farmers and ranchers in every country can produce all the food they will ever need. This has also been proven and documented. On mechanized farms it reduced production cost 30% the first year and tripled profits in five years. [Argentina].
1. Open mind; willing to make changes [in the office/garden/field/pasture]
2. Restore soil to its natural state [Contamination: lead, pesticides, insecticides,
inorganic fertilizers, etc. Takes up to three years to restore. Yields may go down
first year]
3. Maintain healthy soil [produces healthy crops which have few or no diseases or
pests]
4. Maintain 5% or more soil organic matter.
5. Maintain plant diversity [with crops and green manure/cover crops]
6. Manage crops for highest profit per acre, not highest yield per acre.
7. Manage livestock for lowest cost per pound, not highest number of pounds.
8. Manage dairies for lowest cost of production, not the highest level of production.
9. Manage forages for least cost per ton, not highest tons per acres.
10. Marketing [no marketing contracts with corporations]
11. Low or no external inputs
12. No-till [no digging, no plowing, no cultivating. Plant & harvest. 173,000,000 acres
worldwide in 2003 [FAO]. In Asia from 100,000 acres to 300,000 acres in one
year.]
13. Permanent beds [little or no walking in beds]
14. Permanent paths [for walking using hand tools]
15. Permanent tracks [for tractor wheels to plant/harvest. 10% yield increase.]
16. Sloped-land [beds on the contour. No terraces]
17. Tools & pumps [hand, foot and power hand]
18. Tractor [use no-till planter; use no plows, no cultivators]
19. 12-months production [economically feasible in nearly all climates.]
20. Organic certification [only if market demands it]
21. Organic fertilizers
22. Organic disease control; biological pest control
23. Organic herbicides; organic pesticides
24. Perennial weeds [Control or eliminate using specific crops and/or practices]
25. Soil pests [Control or eliminate using specific crops and/or practices]
26. Soil PH [correct by adding organic matter]
27. Attract beneficials [bats, birds, insects, toads, spiders]
28. Protect pollinators [bees, wasps, yellow jackets, etc]
29. Protect soil micro-organisms and worms
30. No water runoff
31. Soil always covered.
32. Use mulch/green manures/cover crops.
33. Feed plants through the mulch.
34. Organic matter [Free. When economically feasible, take it to the mini-farm or
mini-ranch]
35. Compost [use organic matter as mulch, compost excess]
36. Drip irrigation [Use pressure system or imported bucket drip kits -US$12 or made
by local farmers -US$3in Nicaragua & Uzbekistan]
37. Wastewater for irrigation [cleaned with plants]
38. Seed [open-pollinated. no GMs]
39. Crop rotation.
40. Inter-cropping; strip-cropping
41. Shelterbelts/hedge rows.
42. Grass/forage-based livestock.
43. Seasonal dairying.
44. Confined livestock [free; no stalls]
45. Free range livestock
46. Rotation grazing
47. Small livestock in pens over garden beds
48. Miniature livestock [cattle, horses, pigs]
49. Holistic animal health care.
50. Purebred/crossbred /alternative livestock [Niche markets are profitable]
51. Foreign livestock [animals from other countries. Market may be only large enough
for your production]
52. Alternative crops [May have to develop the market]
53. Foreign/ethnic crops [grains, fruits, vegetables, roots, fibers, herbs, nuts,
medicinals, flowers, dyes, sweeteners, syrups. Market may be only large enough
for your production. Very profitable]
54. Special Crops [saline tolerant, desert, high altitude, aquatic]
55. Alternative soils [saline, flooded]
56. Marketing [people want to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic]
57. Value-added products [increases profits]
58. Aquaculture
59. Agro-forestry
60. Eco-tourism [city people want to experience nature]
61. Agri-tourism [city people want to experience life on a working farm or ranch]
62. Agri-training [train others]
63. Protect wildlife, native plants, streams, ponds, riparians, wetlands, forest, prairies
64. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always win!
Imagine the beauty of your city or town with all vacant lots/land in gardens/mini-farms growing vegetables, flowers, fruits, nuts and trees!
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