Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>]

Leave cover crops on top of the soil.  Otherwise, you are not no-till.   I have been no-till for decades.

 

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK

USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR;  Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria,

Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan

minifarms@gmail.com

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

 

 

Organic, No-Till Gardening

 

These are based on the internet, US & international agriculture 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 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!

 

Fukaoka Farm, Japan, has been no-till [rice, small grains, vegetables] for 70 years.  At the time of my visit: An Indian gardener has been no-till [vegetables] for 5 years.  A Malawi gardener 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 8 years.  Ruth Stout [USA] had a no-till garden for 30 years and 7,000 people visited.  In 2006 a Cal urban mini-farm of 1/10 acre produced 6,000 lbs. of vegetables [not organic; not no-till].  Free DVD on request.

 

1.        Financial:  Little funds are needed. A few hand tools, seed, free land available, irrigation water.

2.        Restore the soil to its natural health:  Contaminations:  inorganic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. 

3.        Healthy soil:  Healthy soil produces healthy vegetables, for high yields, and prevents most of the disease, pest and weed problems.    

4.        Feed the soil; not the crops  [Inorganics feed the plants and poison the soil;  organics feed the soil and promote health.]

5.        Increase soil organic matter every year

6.        Little or no external inputs [not necessary to buy anything, from anybody, for the garden.  Certain things are recommended]

7.        Leave all crop residue on the beds.

8.        No-till:  no tilling, no digging, no plowing, no cultivating:  Nature will till the soil using roots and worms. No hard physical labor is needed so the elderly, children and lazy people can garden.

9.        Permanent beds  

10.     Permanent paths

11.     Hand tools & power-hand tools

12.     12-months production  [hoop houses, row covers, shade cloth]

13.     Organic fertilizers [14-16 probably not needed with healthy soil]

14.     Organic disease control.

15.     Organic herbicides and pesticides.

16.     Biological pest control.

17.     Soil always covered

18.     Green manures/cover crops for OM

19.     Organic matter:  Free.  Delivered free?  When economically feasible, transport to the garden.  Use as mulch.

20.     Composting:  Not necessary except for special use.  Too much time and work.  Pile excess organic matter until used as mulch. 

21.     Vermiculture   Not necessary.  Worms will be in the beds.

22.     Drip irrigation [Purchase or DIY drip lines]

23.     Imitate nature. Most gardeners fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!

 

 

Ken Hargesheimer

 

When Soil is Tilled

Dr. Elaine Ingham, describes an undisturbed soil—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 tilling, 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)

 

Tue, Dec 30, 2008

 

Dear Ken,

 

Thank you for all the DVD’s you sent me. Thank you for all the info. I am applying it in my own vegetable patch.  It is working.   Got half a pocket of potatoes off a square metre.  So would imagine about 10 pounds per square yard. This off previously dead low, carbon soil.  Sure next crop will be better.  Got yams coming up on same spot already.  Want to plant herbs and spices. I will send photos.

 

Your advise is so simple. People do not believe me when I tell them. I am so excited about growing things now. This coming from a commercial plum farmer.  May you be blessed this holy season a thousand times more than you blessed me with you help.  Jeremy Karsen, middagkrans@mwebbiz.co.za

 

Project room:  Kyomya, Uganda

We have been working on improving farming techniques for almost a year. Unfortunately, the farmers are planting small plots of land that only feed their family.  There is no other choice but to try new techniques to improve the output of their plot.  Ken Hargesheimer suggested the "no till" farming techniques as well as the "drip system".  Both have proven effective at increasing production by at least 5 fold.  The time is now for Kyomya to become a model agricultural village.     [nabuur.com]

 

Name	Number	Price	Total Cost
Organic, no-till gardening and mini-farming		4.00
Organic, no-till gardening and mini-farming No. 2		4.00
Cuban Agriculture		4.00
Close to Nature Garden, Ruth Stout's Garden.		4.00
La Agricultura		4.00
La Agricultura Urbana		4.00
Pay by check, money order or cash [US dollars only].  Postage Paid Mail to:  Ken Hargesheimer, Box 1901, Lubbock TX 79408-1901. minifarms@gmail.com		Enclosed	$