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
|
$
|
