To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Using permaculture in market farming and homestead
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 16:41:13 -0200
An interesting example of urban market farming from Belo Horizonte, Brazil:
A program was developed whereby unemployed and landless farmers plant vacant
lots. The owner provides the land and the fence, the farmer the seeds and
the work. The owner receives a third of the produce. The farmer two-thirds
, which feeds his family or gives a small income selloing in local markets.
This has been a win-win situation which , according to reports, has given
satisfaction to all, as the owner no longer has to worry that his lot will
be invaded, covered with garbage, etc...
----- Original Message -----
From: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflondon@mindspring.com>
Newsgroups: permaculture,market-farming
To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2000 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: Using permaculture in market farming and homestead
> On Tue, 08 Feb 2000 07:26:45 -0500, georg parlow <georg@amidanet.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >At 03:07 AM 02/08/2000 -0500, Lawrence F. London, Jr. wrote:
> >>I am thinking of mandala-shaped raised bed gardens linked to one another
> >>in a design similar, visually, to a fractal. This suggests a flow of
some
> >>sort, perhaps imitating nature. The energy flows in adjoining, connected
> >>mandala gardens allow throughput of
> >>nutrients, microorganisms, earthworms and insects, some beneficial.
> >
> >ok, yes, but i call this matket gardening, how do you apply that to
farming
> >(growing crops like grain or oilseeds or industrial raw materials)?
>
> Let me readjust the path of this discussion. I didn't say so but meant
> by market farming, _small scale_ market farming. 1/100 of an acre to
> 20-30 acres. The kind of commercial operation that an urban/suburban
> or rural homesteader involved in developing his property using
> permaculture [rinciples might be involved in. See a back issue of
> Taunton's "Kitchen Gardener" to read about a retired man in San
> Francisco growing all sorts of produce in raised beds in his small
> back yard for sale to upscale gourmet restaurants in SF.
> Inspirational. Lots of little market farmers like this person make up
> a lot of production on a national or worldwide scale, potentially.
>
> Large scale operations _could_ make use of some of the principles
> I suggest for small operations. Self-sufficient home food growing
> should use the same methods that a small commercial grower would.
> It is a matter of scale - tractors, implements and grading equipment
> could be employed to imitate some of these methods on a much larger
> scale. That is a different discussion altogether but one I would also
> enjoy. For example large equipment could, on large market farms,
> be use to install permaculture systems as well as prepare areas
> for food production.
>
> >>Cycling of nutrients and water occurs. So it would seem that we may
> >>have accomplished in some part what you are proposing above in
> >>this simple garden. Enter grassways, cover crops, perennials, shrubs,
> >>trees of all sorts and the system becomes much more complex and
> >>more capable of capturing and recycling nutrients, water and energy.
> >
> >as the research of the 'synergistic farming' people in france has
>
> Tell me more about synergistic farming.
>
> >scientifically proven, nutrients are never the problem if we keep our
soil
> >covered with living mulch (emphasis is on 'living' as this keeps the
>
> Do they plant crops in living mulch?
> I would like to see a list of cover crops and feed crops that are
> compatible when grown in the same location.
>
> >oxygen-ethylene cycles going). i feel sustainability is much more a
matter
>
> Can you explain this?
>
> >of the resources we need to produce our crops (hi tech? how much
labour?),
> >and if we master that - if it is also financially sustainable.
>
> I agree with this. I lean toward maximizing the use of labor intensive
> methods and equipment and minimizing the use of gas-powered
> equipment.
>
> Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
> metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
> metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
> metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
> metalab.unc.edu/market-farming Market Farming
> lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu
>
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to permaculture as: hanzibra@svn.com.br
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
$subst('Email.Unsub')
>
Re: Using permaculture in market farming and homestead,
Marsha Hanzi, 02/11/2000