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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost AT gilanet.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Organic, No-Till, Permanent Bed Workshop in NM
  • Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 15:29:54 -0600

(In case anyone is interested, I just recently found out about this workshop
in NM on Sept 25-26. Even if you can't make it,they'll provide a
comprehensive CD of all the events. IMHO-being able to exchange info and
learn from Ken Hargesheimer should be worth its weight in gold. I promised to
spread the word about this and will be attending.)


Dear Gardeners, Farmers, Ranchers and Friends,

My husband Larry and I are organizing Ken Hargesheimer's Organic, No-Till,
Permanent Bed Workshop for both gardeners and farmers for the last weekend in
September, the 25th-26th. The workshop costs $35 and includes a CD with
additional agricultural information. We’ve set the price at rock bottom, so
as many people as possible can attend.
The workshop begins on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., and ends at 6 p.m. We
begin Sunday morning at 9 am, break for lunch at 1 p.m., begin the afternoon
session either at 2 or 2:30 p.m., and end at 6 or 6:30 p.m.
The Living Foods Learning Center just north of Columbus has offered to host
the workshop for free. This is wonderful, as it allows us to keep the price
of the workshop so low. The directors of the center are also offering those
attending the workshop from a distance the opportunity to spend Saturday
night on the premises, if attendees bring their own sleeping bags. A single
camping air mattress or pad might be good as well, since we don't know if
beds are available to lay the bags on, as the Center is not open for business
yet.
Attendees from a distance will also need to provide their own food for 3
meals, no cook or precooked items that don't need refrigeration, or drive
into Columbus for Sat. dinner and Sun. breakfast and lunch. This will help
keep costs down for out of town guests, even Las Cruces, El Paso, etc., folks
who don't want to drive home Sat. only to drive back again early Sunday
morning.
A lot of information will be covered in the 12 hours of the workshop, and the
additional agricultural information on the included CD makes for a
comprehensive workshop, at a value much more than the cost!
Attendees need to contact me and register as soon as possible, as the
workshop may fill up quickly. My email address is celindamiller AT yahoo.com,
phone 505-531-2435 and address PO Box 229, Columbus, NM 88029. Anyone
emailing me needs to mention the no-till workshop in the subject line, so I
don't delete them as spam.

Thank you,

Celinda Miller


GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK

USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR; Mexico, Rep Dominicana, Côté 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 taught in English & Spanish.
Contact:
Ken Hargesheimer minifarms AT aol.com
Member: TX Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Gardening/Mini-Farming Workshops

There are unlimited opportunities in agriculture today. The average gross
sales for market gardeners selling at the farmers market is $8,000 per acre.
There is a market for ranged-raised eggs and 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 and buy
organic.

I teach:
A. Organic: Reduces inputs to nearly zero. Organic fertilizers, etc.
restores/maintains a healthy soil.
B. No-till: No digging, 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.
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)
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.
E. Marketing: The farmers 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.
F. Drip irrigation should be used during the dry season and in areas of
low rainfall.
H. 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, USA, 25 September; Nigeria, 18 October



Proven Practices for Gardening, Mini-Farming, Farming & Ranching

Every gardener/farmer in the world should use the following. There is
unlimited, documented proof they work. They are based on worldwide research,
the Internet, international agriculture magazines, experiences teaching
agriculture in the USA and many other countries, experience of
gardeners/farmers in those countries and in a demonstration garden. They are
ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just,
economically viable, humanely managed and Biblically based.
On gardens/mini-farms these practices will double the yields and reduce the
labor by half compared to traditional methods. This is so successful that it
stops the farmer migration from rural areas to the cities.
Applying the following, farmers and ranchers in every country can produce all
the food they will ever need. This has also been proven and documented. On
mechanized farms it reduced production cost 30% the first year and tripled
profits in five years. [Argentina].

1. Open mind; willing to make changes [in the
office/garden/field/pasture]
2. Restore soil to its natural state [Contamination: lead, pesticides,
insecticides,
inorganic fertilizers, etc. Takes up to three years to restore.
Yields may go down
first year]
3. Maintain healthy soil [produces healthy crops which have few or no
diseases or
pests]
4. Maintain 5% or more soil organic matter.
5. Maintain plant diversity [with crops and green manure/cover crops]
6. Manage crops for highest profit per acre, not highest yield per acre.
7. Manage livestock for lowest cost per pound, not highest number of
pounds.
8. Manage dairies for lowest cost of production, not the highest level
of production.
9. Manage forages for least cost per ton, not highest tons per acres.
10. Marketing [no marketing contracts with corporations]
11. Low or no external inputs
12. No-till [no digging, no plowing, no cultivating. Plant & harvest.
173,000,000 acres
worldwide in 2003 [FAO]. In Asia from 100,000 acres to 300,000
acres in one
year.]
13. Permanent beds [little or no walking in beds]
14. Permanent paths [for walking using hand tools]
15. Permanent tracks [for tractor wheels to plant/harvest. 10% yield
increase.]
16. Sloped-land [beds on the contour. No terraces]
17. Tools & pumps [hand, foot and power hand]
18. Tractor [use no-till planter; use no plows, no cultivators]
19. 12-months production [economically feasible in nearly all climates.]
20. Organic certification [only if market demands it]
21. Organic fertilizers
22. Organic disease control; biological pest control
23. Organic herbicides; organic pesticides
24. Perennial weeds [Control or eliminate using specific crops and/or
practices]
25. Soil pests [Control or eliminate using specific crops and/or practices]
26. Soil PH [correct by adding organic matter]
27. Attract beneficials [bats, birds, insects, toads, spiders]
28. Protect pollinators [bees, wasps, yellow jackets, etc]
29. Protect soil micro-organisms and worms
30. No water runoff
31. Soil always covered.
32. Use mulch/green manures/cover crops.
33. Feed plants through the mulch.
34. Organic matter [Free. When economically feasible, take it to the
mini-farm or
mini-ranch]
35. Compost [use organic matter as mulch, compost excess]
36. Drip irrigation [Use pressure system or imported bucket drip kits
-US$12 or made
by local farmers -US$3in Nicaragua & Uzbekistan]
37. Wastewater for irrigation [cleaned with plants]
38. Seed [open-pollinated. no GMs]
39. Crop rotation.
40. Inter-cropping; strip-cropping
41. Shelterbelts/hedge rows.
42. Grass/forage-based livestock.
43. Seasonal dairying.
44. Confined livestock [free; no stalls]
45. Free range livestock
46. Rotation grazing
47. Small livestock in pens over garden beds
48. Miniature livestock [cattle, horses, pigs]
49. Holistic animal health care.
50. Purebred/crossbred /alternative livestock [Niche markets are
profitable]
51. Foreign livestock [animals from other countries. Market may be only
large enough
for your production]
52. Alternative crops [May have to develop the market]
53. Foreign/ethnic crops [grains, fruits, vegetables, roots, fibers,
herbs, nuts,
medicinals, flowers, dyes, sweeteners, syrups. Market may be only
large enough
for your production. Very profitable]
54. Special Crops [saline tolerant, desert, high altitude, aquatic]
55. Alternative soils [saline, flooded]
56. Marketing [people want to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic]
57. Value-added products [increases profits]
58. Aquaculture
59. Agro-forestry
60. Eco-tourism [city people want to experience nature]
61. Agri-tourism [city people want to experience life on a working farm or
ranch]
62. Agri-training [train others]
63. Protect wildlife, native plants, streams, ponds, riparians, wetlands,
forest, prairies
64. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always win!

Imagine the beauty of your city or town with all vacant lots/land in
gardens/mini-farms growing vegetables, flowers, fruits, nuts and trees!







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