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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org, Minifarms@aol.com
  • Cc:
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Fwd: Clumbus NM workshop
  • Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2004 20:21:53 -0600


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On 10/2/2004 at 4:52 PM Minifarms@aol.com <Minifarms@aol.com> wrote:

>
GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, PA, AR; Mexico, Rep. Dominicana,
Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya,
Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan
_Minifarms@aol.com_ (mailto:Minifarms@aol.com) + minifarms.com


Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent-bed gardening, mini-farming,
mini-ranching worldwide in English & Spanish

Columbus NM Workshop
I tell people that I have now been in 18 countries and Columbus, NM.
Poncho Villa and his 1000 men hid behind the hill that is in town so the
army
could not see him. That was the last exciting thing to happen there until I
arrived!!! Celinda Miller mailed many varieties of seed to me to take to
Uzbekistan last July. She contacted me several weeks ago about teaching a
workshop.
She and Larry are gardeners but no one in those 18 countries have worst
garden soil than they do. The amount of rocks in their soil is shocking.
Saturday AM Larry gave me a tour of their garden and the plants. Some I had
read about but never seen such as Jerusalem artichokes. Since it is a
desert, there were many desert plants that I did not know. They received 4
inches
of rain last year. Like Lubbock, their water is hard and salty.
I stayed in their home which Larry constructed of strawbales. I have
visited two strawbale houses in Lubbock and I really like that construction.
It
is at 4,000 feet and without any heat but I got warm during the night.
Outside it was really cool. It is amazing how the climate changes with just
800
more feet of altitude above Lubbock. Of course, being a desert makes a
difference.
Celinda picked me up at the El Paso airport at 12:30 PM on Friday, 24 Sept
04. We drove the two hours to Columbus. At 6 PM we had a free
“introductory
meeting” in Deming. I explained that I would be teaching organic, no-till,
permanent bed gardening on Saturday and Sunday at the new permaculture center
being established about 8 miles NW of Columbus by Shu Chan and Dwayne Madsen.
They hope to begin taking students this coming year. They are turning the
desert into a garden. They do not have the rocks in their soil that the
Millers have. The PC center is at 4,300 ft.
About 15 people came to the free meeting. Two enrolled in the workshop
while there. We started the workshop at 2 PM Saturday and went all day
Sunday. About 15 people attended. 17 people enrolled. I told Celinda
that I
couldn’t get 17 people to enroll in a workshop in Lubbock. How she did it
in
Columbus I do not know. I took various magazines and articles to leave with
them. Showed some videos. What I teach works. None of it is orginal from
me.
It is difficult for me to understand why every gardener and every farmer
does not switch to no-till.
People were from Columbus, Deming and Las Cruces. Larry videoed the whole
workshop. I gave all who attended a certificate signed by Celinda and me.
I returned home on Monday. Really did enjoy teaching. I wish that I could
teach more in the USA. [I leave 12 Oct. for Nigeria] I have thought
about offering a workshop in Lubbock inviting people across the USA. I have
no
doubt but that people would come but I do not want to handle the logistics to
put one on. As Celinda will verify, it is a lot of work. I just want to
teach.
Ken Hargesheimer
GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK

USA: TX, MS; FL, CA, PA, AR, NM; Mexico, Rep Dominicana, Cote d’Ivoire,
Nigeria,
Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, England, Nicaragua, India,
Uzbekistan


Workshops [urban & rural] in organic, no-till, permanent-bed gardening,
mini-farming, mini-ranching in English & Spanish


minifarms@aol.com
Member: TX Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Minifarming Workshops
There are unlimited opportunities in agriculture today. The average gross
sales for market gardeners selling at the farmer’s market is $8,000 per
acre.
There is a market for ranged-raised eggs, 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, buy organic.
Every farmer in the world should use the following. There is unlimited,
documented proof they work.
I teach:
A. Organic: Reduces inputs to nearly zero. Organic fertilizers, etc.
restores/maintains a healthy soil.
B. No-till: 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.
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.

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)
Marketing: The farmer’s 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.
Drip irrigation should be used during the dry season and in areas of low
rainfall.
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, 24 Sept; Nigeria, 12 Oct;
Ken Hargesheimer



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  • [Livingontheland] Fwd: Clumbus NM workshop, Tradingpost, 10/02/2004

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