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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] nutrition
  • Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:36:59 -0800 (PST)



GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR, NM;  Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan
Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-ranching worldwide in English & Español
 
 
Proven Practices for Profitable
Crop Production
 
These are based on the internet, US & international magazines, experiences teaching agriculture in many countries, research and farmer experiences in those countries and a demonstration garden.  They are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just and economically viable.  There is unlimited, documented proof.  On mechanized farms, no-till reduced production cost 30% the first year and tripled profits in five years. [Argentine].  It is impossible to no-till farm without a no-till planter and/or drill.  On mini-farms the following can double the yields and reduce the labor by half compared to traditional methods.  There are 200,000,000 no-till acres worldwide. ¡It works!
 
Mechanized:  1985-2000, Dr. Morrison, TX research station, proved that permanent beds, with permanent tracks,  increase yields 15%.  In 2002, A D Hughes [806-866-5667] decided to go no-till and purchased a no-till planter.  He planted the cotton, harvested the cotton, planted wheat, knocked down the wheat and he was ready to plant again.  His cost went to the basement.  Buster Adair [806-755-2532] has been no-till [cotton] for twenty years.  Steve Groff [cedarmeadowfarm.com] has been no-till [vegetables, corn] for 30 years.  No-till farming requires a no-till planter and/or no-till drill and a roller/crimper.  ¡It works!
 
Mini-farms:  Fukaoka Farm, Japan, has been no-till [rice, small grains, vegetables] for 70 years.  An Indian farmer has been no-till [vegetables] for 5 years.  A Malawi farmer has been no-till [vegetables] on permanent beds for 25 years.  A Honduras farmer has been no-till [vegetables & fruit] on permanent beds on the contour (73° slope] for 11 years.  Ruth Stout [USA] had a no-till garden for 30 years and 7,000 people visited her garden.  ¡It works!
 
No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as no-till (Baker)
 

1.      Open mind.  
2.      Willing to make changes  [first, in the mind and second, in the field & pasture]
3.      Restore the soil to its natural health.  Contamination: inorganic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.
4.      Maintain the healthy soil: Healthy soil produces healthy plants, for highest yields, and prevents most disease, pest and weed problems.
5.      Feed the soil; not the crops:  Organics feed the soil. Inorganic chemicals feed the crop and kill the soil life]
6.      Increase the soil organic matter every year.
7.      Maintain plant diversity  [with crops and with green manure/cover crops]
8.      Manage crops for highest profit per acre;  not the highest yield per acre
9.      12 months crop production [economical in most climates.  DIY cold weather equipment]
10.   Little or no external inputs [It is not necessary to buy anything from anybody.  Certain things are recommended]
11.   Leave all crop residues on top of the soil
12.   No-till:  no plowing, no disking, no cultivating.
13.   Permanent beds [crops]
14.   Sloped land  [Beds on the contour; no terraces]
15.   Permanent tracks [tractor wheels.  15% yield increase.]
16.   Tractor [small] & no-till planter and/or drill and crimper/roller if needed. [no lister, no plows, no tandem disk, no cultivators]
17.   Organic certification [government certification not recom-mended; use farmer group certification.  Selling locally? not needed]
18.   Organic fertilizers [probably will not need with healthy soil]
19.   Organic disease control  [probably will not need].
20.   Organic herbicides  [probably will not need].
21.   Organic pesticides  [probably will not need].
22.   Biological pest control.
23.   Attract beneficials  [bats, birds, toads, spiders, garden snakes, frogs, lizards, grasshopper mice, prairie deer mice, white footed mice, opossums, lacewings, ladybird beetles, syrphid flies, ground beetles and assassin bugs, ladybugs]
24.   Protect pollinators  [honey bees, native bees, wasps, yellow jackets, dirt daubers, butterflies]
25.   Protect soil organisms  [worms, dung beetles, micros]
26.   Crop rotation [annuals]
27.   Soil always covered
28.   Use mulch/green manures/cover crops.
29.   Feed the soil through the mulch.
30.   Organic matter  [Free.  When economically feasible, transport to the farm or ranch.  Use as mulch]
31.   Composting:  Not needed.  Too much time and work.  Use  organic matter as mulch.  If an excess, pile and use later.
32.   Drip irrigation   [Purchase or DIY drip lines]
33.   Seed [open-pollinated, heirlooms]
34.   Muscovies & Guineas [should be on every farm & ranch]
35.   Marketing [People want to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic.  No contracts with multi-national corporations]
36.   Value-added products  [very profitable]
37.   Protect nature  [wildlife, native plants, streams & riparians, ponds & lakes, wetlands, deserts, forest and prairies.]
38.   Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!
 
Future Organic Farmers of America [FOFA] should be organized in every high school in America. 
 
If you would like a list of website, DVDs, etc  for research, request from minifarms@gmail.com. 
 
Ken Hargesheimer
 

When Soil is Plowed

Dr. Elaine Ingham, describes an undisturbed grassland—where a wide diversity of plants grow, their roots mingling with a wide diversity of soil organisms—and how it changes when it is plowed.
A typical teaspoon of native grassland soil contains between 600 million and 800 million individual bacteria that are members of perhaps 10,000 species.  Several miles of fungi are in that teaspoon of soil, as well as 10,000 individual protozoa.  There are 20 to 30 beneficial nematodes from as many as 100 species. Root-feeding nematodes are quite scarce in truly healthy soils.  They are present, but in numbers so low that it is rare to find them.
After only one plowing, a few species of bacteria and fungi disappear because the food they need is no longer put back in the system.  But for the most part, all the suppressive organisms, all the nutrient cyclers, all the decomposers, all the soil organisms that rebuild good soil structure are still present and trying to do their jobs.
But tillage continues to deplete soil organic matter and kill fungi. The larger predators are crushed, their homes destroyed.  The bacteria go through a bloom and blow off huge amounts of that savings-account organic matter.  With continued tillage, the "policemen" (organisms) that compete with and inhibit disease are lost.  The "architects" that build soil aggregates are lost.  So are the "engineers"—the larger organisms that design and form the larger pores in soil.  The predators that keep bacteria, fungi, and root-feeding organisms in check are lost.  Disease suppression declines, soil structure erodes, and water infiltration decreases because mineral crusts form.  Dr. Elaine Ingham, BioCycle, December 1998.  (From ATTRA News, July 06)
 

 


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