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  • From: "E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Ken Hargesheimer on Raised Bed Agriculture
  • Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:13:51 -0600

As I have read excellent articles such as the ones referenced here, I have increasingly noted a "missing link", between sustainable, local, gardening/farming and our personal diets.  Until a few weeks ago, my own understanding of what is required for a healthy diet was stuck in the ' 70s.  Although I have learned a bit, I think it would benefit many to better understand the linkages between our gardening efforts, what we eat, how it gets to the table, and the implications to our health and fitness.
 
There is plenty of information against industrial agribusiness, and plenty of "healthy diet" books, but I haven't found much directly supporting the benefits of eating what we grow. Or, put another way, what should we grow in order to eat well?
 
Are there such books or websites?  Seems to me that it would be a good addition to Ken's or Harvey's website (like they're not already doing their part!).
 
E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 12:15 AM
Subject: [Livingontheland] Ken Hargesheimer on Raised Bed Agriculture


This is from Ken Hargesheimer website page Raised Bed Agriculture,
http://minifarms.com/rba.html . See the rest of the article at that link.

- Food Production
- Traditional & Historic
- Five Principles
- Benefits
      - Applications
- New Crops
- Urban RBA
- Rural RBA



For home gardening raised bed agriculture means: less work, less
irrigation, improved soil, higher yields and no poisons. For market
gardeners, mini-farmers and mini-ranchers it means all the above plus
profits. People can have a comfortable income, a high quality lifestyle,
provide a great service to their community and it's a great way to raise
children.

RBA creates a healthy soil to grow healthy plants to provide healthy food
to feed healthy people. For the human population to be healthy, we need to
consume healthy foods [organic] which come from healthy animals eating
healthy plants grown in healthy soil [C Scheaffer, VMD/holistic].

Health:
People suffer due to very poor diets. The greatest benefit of RBA isn't the
increased yields but the better nutrition provided to the families. This
reduces their medical needs tremendously.




Food Production
Agriculture is in a crisis worldwide. The Green Revolution is not
ecologically sound, economically viable or socially responsible. The "Green
Revolution", which attempted to impose inappropriate crops and techniques
in the Andes, has been a miserable failure. [The same is true around the
world. KH] Srs. I. Garaycochea and J. Palao refer to the remains of twisted
windmills, cracked irrigation canals and rusted out tractors littering the
rural countryside as the "archaeology of development". It is ironic that
the groups promoting the Green Revolution had to destroy ancient
agriculture fields, to introduce the inappropriate technology and
capital-intensive farming practices.

    "The prehispanic raised fields are classified on government maps "for
wildlife use only". It is a good thing that those ancient farmers didn't
have access to those maps!"
    C. Erickson, UPA.

The Green Revolution makes farmers depend on, even economic slaves to,
agribusiness and multinational corporations: Cargill\Monsanto, ConAgra,
Novartis\ADM and others. Their goal is to increase profits and to control
the world's food supply from research to production to consumer by
controling seed, fertilizers and chemicals. These seeds must have chemicals
sprayed on them to produce and the seed can not be saved for the next crop.

    "These companies tell the US patent office that the plants are novel
and unique to get a patent but they tell the FDA/EPA that that they are
natural and not new and not subject to regulations." [S. Ogden,
Straight-Ahead Organics, 1999].

Other corporations are beginning to market irradiated food which may be
dangerous to our health. Most governments, USAID, most ag extension
services and ag universities in most countries help the companies by
promoting the use of their products. They are more interested in export
crop production than in food crops to feed local people.

    "If I had taken what I learned about agriculture at Texas A & M
University to a third world country, I would have starved to death". Mike
Sullivan, ECHO, Ag Missions Conference 1998, quoting his son.

The world's farmers can produce all the food the world's population
requires, regardless of how high it goes, using RBA.

Note: A salesman promotes chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides,
etc and gets paided by the chemical company from the sale. Promoters of
organic gardening and farming have nothing to sell.
Top of Page




Raised Beds - Traditional & Historic
They were used in Asia [Indonesia, China, Vietnam, PNG], Latin America
[Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru], Europe [France] and USA [Indians] for
centuries. They are now being used in Kenya, Nigeria and a few other
countries. I saw a few in the 60's while living in Guatemala. They are
being restored in Peru and Bolivia.

    "It was proven that labor costs were low, harvests were bountiful,
production was sustainable and the technology could be managed by
individual families using available tools." [Bolivia] C. Erickson, UPA.

    On the Web:
    http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cerickso/applied.html
    http://archaeology.about.com/msubfarm.htm
http://archaeology.about.com/blinterviews.htm

Top of Page



Five Principles of RBA
Regardless of the quality of the land, these principles will make it highly
fertile.

       1. Maximize organic matter production
       2. Keep the soil covered
       3. Use zero tillage
       4. Maintain biological diversity
       5. Feed plants through the mulch.
                Roland Bunch, COSECHA

Organic:
All gardeners and farmers were organic until the use of chemicals in WW II
[to kill people then, insects now]. They kill soil micro-organisms and
worms. No one has the right, moral or legal, to poison the air, soil or
water.

    "Organic gardening and farming is more than avoiding chemicals. The
organic method requires a change of attitude and a different thought
process." [H. Garrett, DMN]

RBA does not require the purchase of any outside inputs. The present
generation knows nothing about raised beds or organics because their
fathers and grandfathers have used chemicals since the 1950s. Therefore,
they must be taught.
[Read: From The Good Earth, by M. Ableman, http://www.dirtdoctor.com]


RBA allows people to feed themselves on a local basis that provides total
community food security and is a proven food production system that is
ecologically sound, economically viable, socially responsible and
Biblically based.
Top of Page



Benefits of RBA
A. Organic, biointensive, double dug, permanent raised beds which can
double or even triple the yield while reducing the labor by half compared
to traditional gardening. Using this, a family can grow all their food for
a vegetarian diet on 300 M². http://www.bountifulgardens.org
This works [USA: Chadwick Garden & market garden, Ecology Action; CET,
Chile; Manor House Ag Center, Kenya; ECOPOL, Mexico; IIRR, Baptist Rural
Life Center, Philippines] and the proof is there for all to see. This is
used by home gardeners and small market gardeners.

B. Organic, permanent raised beds can increase yields, stop erosion and
reduce labor. Land sloping up to 75% can be farmed without erosion. I saw
them in Honduras after hurricane Mitch. This works [COSECHA & CIDICCO,
Honduras; M Fukuoka, Japan; Centro de Educacíon y Tecnología,
Chile; IIRR, BRLC, Philippines; M Cain, USA; Vietnam: VACVINA] and the
proof is there for all to see. [read Plowman's Folly, by E. H. Faulker;
Weeds-Control Without Chemicals, by Walters. Video: Necessity of Organic
Resides, by R. Parnes]. This is used by home gardeners, market gardeners
and mini-farmers.

Hand labor with hand tools is used such as hoes, shovels, rakes, digging
forks, machetes. Hand tools: Scythe - cuts grass, harvest grain; Hedge
clipper - long handles for trimming/cutting back growth of hedges,
trellises, etc; Lopper - long handles for cutting limbs; Wheel Hoe -
walk-behind with various implements; Planter - walk-behind which drops
seed; Spreader - walk-behind which spreads fertilizer, etc.

The above boasts two advantages which no other production system can claim.

    First, it is easier on the soil than mechanized methods. Second, it is
the least expensive method in terms of capital outlay. For mini-farms this
method is not only economically viable but superior to the alternatives.
Jeff Rast, Countryside, Nov/Dec 98.

C. Alley-cropping: Raised beds between rows of trees [food, oils,
chemicals, medicinals, spices, beverages, crafts, lumber, forages,
firewood, windbreaks, industrials, etc] which are a planned crop.
http://www.winrock.org
http://www.treesftf.org
http://www.unl.edu/nac
This works and the proof [USA; Nigeria, IITA; Philippines, IIRR, BMRLC;
Costa Rica] is there for all to see.

Bucket drip irrigation kits should be used during the dry season or in
areas of low rainfall. The kit [US$15 + Postage & Handling] irrigates 200
feet of vegetables by filling a five gallon bucket each morning and each
evening. Two kits will produce all the vegetables needed for a family of
seven on a vegetarian diet [Kenya]. Bucket drip kits can be adapted to use
with trees. [video: Third World Irrigation Update, free with first kit or
US$5 ppd.]

Seed:: Use open pollinated, organically grown if possible. Save your seed.
Exchange with others. http://homepage.tinet.ie/~merlyn/seedsaving.html

RBA can be used to produce flowers, dyes, vegetables, nuts, fruits, trees,
grains, fibers, herbs, spices, medicinals, oils, teas, sweeteners,
fragrances, crafts, seeds, ornamentals, bamboo, industrials [lubricants,
brooms, gums, waxes, oils, rubber, emulsifiers, paper], forages, feed
grains, animal medicinals, livestock.
http://www.echonet.org



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