Organic Farming: The revolution of the future.

[ralis]

It may not take a degree but ag skills and animal husbandry are no less technical than plenty of useless subject matter foisted upon students in college, and quite probably more technical and certainly important.

 

The subject matter I cared most about in college geography and human ecology had to do with sustainability and permaculture on the scale of ecovillages. Yeah, it's a worthy subject in this era of social contraction, and yeah, I grew up in a family that produced organic gardens. I chose to underplay the issue of climate change so as not to repeatedly rear the ugly and heated argument of climate change with the deniers who haunt this board.

 

I would like to hear your ideas on permaculture. The way permaculture has been practiced here in Santa Fe is an insult to my profession. I worked very hard to obtain my degree and someone comes into Santa Fe and gives a weekend workshop on permaculture techniques and a new crowd of expert wannabes is born!

Edited May 16, 2011 by ralis

[Adishakti]

It's Fukuoka's - The One-Straw Revolution. The preface is by Partap Aggarwal. You might find some of his (PA) writings online. Love this guy.

The One-Straw Revolution - Masanobu Fukuoka.pdf

[ralis]

I will have additional comments later on today.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

[ralis]

[Harmonious Emptiness]

It costs that much now because of scarcity. A 200ml bottle of hemp oil costs about $15 and it's one of the most oil producing plants out there, if not THE most. During WWII people had to grow it between their houses since it was an emergency situation. With that kind of access it would cost next to nothing.

 

Check this out too:

 

"Hemp Ethanol will Only Cost 50 cents per Gallon"

 

http://hempnews.tv/2009/09/06/hemp-ethanol-will-only-cost-50-cents-per-gallon/

[.broken.]

These might be of interest:

 

A BBC Documentary called 'A Farm for the Future' (6 parts)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xShCEKL-mQ8

 

And re-greening the desert in action

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTHjlueqFI

 

Love,

James

[walkerinthewoods]

It's Fukuoka's - The One-Straw Revolution. The preface is by Partap Aggarwal. You might find some of his (PA) writings online. Love this guy.

 

I love this guy, his book and what he has done. I find it funny and sad that he was showing a way to farm that is very effective (and natural), yet everyone that came to 'study' it only wanted to look at one small aspect of it instead of the whole picture.

 

This year I am starting to implement his methods. I will see how it goes.

 

 

I also like how everyone says we can't feed all the people on Earth. Yet I drive around and see houses sitting on acres and acres of grass. What do they do with all that grass in their yards? They mow it. No we probably can't feed all the people in the world with this kind of mind set. Yet if we actually used most of the land we have to actually grow food we would have more than enough to feed everyone.

[thelerner]

Its been long in coming, but I'm seeing progress here in the Midwest. Nothing dramatic, but people are shrinking there lawns, adding more ground cover type plants that stay short and green without fertilizer and little if any watering. I'm seeing bigger gardens in the back and some, like me, are planting in the front.

 

I've gotten great ideas from Mother Earth magazine. It'd be great to see a revival in chicken coop ownership. There are a number of inspirational sites on home owners doing massive farming on a half acre of land.

 

Its impractical at the moment, but I was just watching a TED video on an architect who plans out the ultimate 'green' houses, built through growing plants. Fascinating. In the meantime, everyone should have a small square garden or raise something in a few pots. I've found a long square foot garden, instead of rectangular to be the easiest to care for. I literally put a border down and filled it with a 40# bags of soil, ala an article by Mother Earth, its worked beyond my expectations.

[zerostao]

it is great to see enthusiasm for gardening in the suburbs and cities.

if ya wanna do the chicken coop thing, go for it

your "massive farming on a half acre' went way over my head BUT i do agree

most folks could find space to grow something. a garden on a half acre will produce

alot for sure. so much that the skill of canning might be considered.

for me gardening is a joy of itself. a man in his garden

 

i do recommend obtaining some non hybrid seeds. my main focus is growing the herbs i like and the herbs others seem to find useful. i realize many folks dont have a large forest handy. but even if one grew the "kitchen herbs" they will be well served.

and i have the good fortune to live around many experienced gardeners/farmers.(who find joy in giving away fresh produce to their neighbors)

 

meat eaters might consider buying directly from the farmer.

the 2 things i am picky about is water and dirt

[thelerner]

Can't find the link, but there are people who've used every inch of space they have in there front and back yards, they've found ways to max out produce, going beyond square foot gardening into multi layer and multiple harvest techniques. They ended up with thousands of pounds of food from an amazingly small space. Lots of work though. I think Trunk provided the original link. Santiago is also big on cutting edge gardening.

[Adishakti]

Check this link http://www.navadarshanam.org/mission.html I go here often. They are self-sufficient community of sorts. Organic farming main focus. Solar energy, wind energy all harnessed. A good working business model. So much more about them, see the link, you might like it.

 

Re the food for all on Earth. Yes, there is enough and more even if some people choose to have acres and acres of grass. I guess the issues are deeper, the conspiracy theory, greed of the few, power.. all that comes in. And what do we know, maybe the gods want it this way for a while so we all see the unfairness and are motivated to cultivate our spirits. I don't know whats unfair anymore, and as Fukuoka says "Humanity knows nothing at all, there is no intrinsic value in anything, and every action is a futile meaningless effort." Hmmm.

 

 

I love this guy, his book and what he has done. I find it funny and sad that he was showing a way to farm that is very effective (and natural), yet everyone that came to 'study' it only wanted to look at one small aspect of it instead of the whole picture.

 

This year I am starting to implement his methods. I will see how it goes.

 

 

I also like how everyone says we can't feed all the people on Earth. Yet I drive around and see houses sitting on acres and acres of grass. What do they do with all that grass in their yards? They mow it. No we probably can't feed all the people in the world with this kind of mind set. Yet if we actually used most of the land we have to actually grow food we would have more than enough to feed everyone.

[Nanashi]

Hello Adishakt-- since you are in India, you may have a first hand experience in the crisis of overpopulation and sustainable farming. I've heard reports of Monsato and genetically modified seeds effectively displacing or ruining rural farmers to the point where they are committing suicide out of desperation. I'm sure the more urban areas have other economies to focus and succeed in, but these reverberations may reach your entire nation-- eventually the world.

[Adishakti]

What do I say, well the scene looks pretty bad, isn't it? And it is. But we in the urban areas have no clue about it. Why? Callousness. And right now the whole world seems to be plagued by it.

 

Hello Adishakt-- since you are in India, you may have a first hand experience in the crisis of overpopulation and sustainable farming. I've heard reports of Monsato and genetically modified seeds effectively displacing or ruining rural farmers to the point where they are committing suicide out of desperation. I'm sure the more urban areas have other economies to focus and succeed in, but these reverberations may reach your entire nation-- eventually the world.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Adishakti

[.broken.]

Can't find the link, but there are people who've used every inch of space they have in there front and back yards, they've found ways to max out produce, going beyond square foot gardening into multi layer and multiple harvest techniques. They ended up with thousands of pounds of food from an amazingly small space. Lots of work though. I think Trunk provided the original link. Santiago is also big on cutting edge gardening.

 

No doubt about it. Forest gardening is the way to go

[levo]

I love this guy, his book and what he has done. I find it funny and sad that he was showing a way to farm that is very effective (and natural), yet everyone that came to 'study' it only wanted to look at one small aspect of it instead of the whole picture.

 

This year I am starting to implement his methods. I will see how it goes.

 

 

I also like how everyone says we can't feed all the people on Earth. Yet I drive around and see houses sitting on acres and acres of grass. What do they do with all that grass in their yards? They mow it. No we probably can't feed all the people in the world with this kind of mind set. Yet if we actually used most of the land we have to actually grow food we would have more than enough to feed everyone.

I also believe we can feed all the people, and agree with M. Gandhi who said something like:

World has enough for everybody's needs, but not for everybody's greed.

 

I would rather take action, learn from my mistakes and adapt quickly, rather than waiting for the perfect environment which I don't control.

[bindo]

Can't find the link, but there are people who've used every inch of space they have in there front and back yards, they've found ways to max out produce, going beyond square foot gardening into multi layer and multiple harvest techniques. They ended up with thousands of pounds of food from an amazingly small space. Lots of work though. I think Trunk provided the original link. Santiago is also big on cutting edge gardening.

Maybe this is it?

[ralis]

I also believe we can feed all the people, and agree with M. Gandhi who said something like:

World has enough for everybody's needs, but not for everybody's greed.

 

 

There was not a world wide population problem or shrinking reserves of fossil fuels, when he stated that. Over 3 billion on this planet live in abject poverty. When fossil fuels begin to run out, over half the planet will die of starvation. Most don't realize just how dependent humans are on fossil fuels.

 

Romanticizing organic farming or wishful thinking is not going to solve the problem for so many people.

 

I think organic farming is wonderful. However, the present infrastructure is almost impossible to change. Unfortunately, humans have a nasty habit of denying what is rationally inevitable.

 

There are other issues, such as shrinking potable water supplies, top soil loss, erosion, pollution of soils with petrochemicals and nitrate based fertilizers.

 

Not all have access to fertile soils in which to grow crops or even the technical know how to rejuvenate soil.

 

 

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/21/millions-face-starvation-west-africa

 

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty

 

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/freshwater_supply/freshwater.html

Edited May 19, 2011 by ralis

[Harmonious Emptiness]

There was not a world wide population problem or shrinking reserves of fossil fuels, when he stated that. Over 3 billion on this planet live in abject poverty. When fossil fuels begin to run out, over half the planet will die of starvation. Most don't realize just how dependent humans are on fossil fuels.

 

Romanticizing organic farming or wishful thinking is not going to solve the problem for so many people.

 

I think organic farming is wonderful. However, the present infrastructure is almost impossible to change. Unfortunately, humans have a nasty habit of denying what is rationally inevitable.

 

There are other issues, such as shrinking potable water supplies, top soil loss, erosion, pollution of soils with petrochemicals and nitrate based fertilizers.

 

Not all have access to fertile soils in which to grow crops or even the technical know how to rejuvenate soil.

 

 

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/21/millions-face-starvation-west-africa

 

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty

 

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/freshwater_supply/freshwater.html

 

 

If you read the all the posts here, you'll see that there is enough land (not being used + fixable land). Also dependence on fossil fuels is not necessary (read all the posts about hemp down to $0.50cents a gallon). Potable water supplies would be hugely increased by switching to hemp and organic farming since pesticides would contaminate, and hemp based fuel causes no CO2 (once it's made with hemp fuel itself. Plus building with hemp takes CO2 out of the air and puts into infrastructure, saving the CO2 released by cutting down trees).

 

When, and if, "Think Global, Act Rural" is made available in English on utube, there will be a huge switch to growing organic, since it is shown, by experts, to be better in every way -- cheaper, more yeild, healthier farms, healthier everybody, healthier water, easier (explains how to fix and maintaining soil the natural way --sorry tractor, pesticide, and chemical fertilizer companies), etc.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[thelerner]

Maybe this is it?

 

Yup, here is some cut and paste from the site:

 

Urban Homestead at a Glance

Location: Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena

Property Size: 66’ x 132’ = 8,712 sq.ft. (1/5 acre)

House: Simple, wood frame craftsman bungalow. Circa 1917.

House Size: 1,500 sq. ft.

Garden Size: ~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')

 

Garden Diversity: Over 350 different vegetables, herbs, fruits & berries

Productivity: Up to 6,000 lbs harvest annually on 1/10 acre

 

Harvest Chart (last updated: 2009)

6,000 lb Harvest Breakdown

 

Annual Results & Yields

Energy Chart (last updated: 2009)

Water Usage (last updated: 2009)

Food & Garden

Growing 99 % of produce

6,000lbs on 1/10 acre Garden

Saving seeds

Companion planting

Square inch, intensive growing methods

Polyculture/intercropping

 

HEALTHY SOIL / PLANTING METHODS

Remineralization

Self watering containers

Integral pest management

Square inch plantings

Polyculture

Successive sowing

 

COMPOSTING METHODS

Making / Using EM Bokashi

Vermicomposting

Composting food, garden and green waste

 

FOOD CHOICES

 

Buying in bulk

Organic

Local

Eating seasonally

Reducing "food miles"

Fair trade

Vegetarian (since 1992)

 

ENERGY CONSERVATION

"Powering down" - cut daily energy use in 1/2 12 kwh to 6 kwh a day

12 solar panels provide 2/3rds of our energy

Rechargeable batteries

 

 

Cut and paste a little murky. Bottom line about 6,000 lbs harvest annually on 1/10 acre!!! Unbelievable. What amazing potential. Lots of work though, but very inspiring.

Edited May 20, 2011 by thelerner

[Harmonious Emptiness]

 

ENERGY CONSERVATION

"Powering down" - cut daily energy use in 1/2 12 kwh to 6 kwh a day

12 solar panels provide 2/3rds of our energy

Rechargeable batteries

 

 

Cut and paste a little murky. Bottom line about 6,000 lbs harvest annually on 1/10 acre!!! Unbelievable. What amazing potential. Lots of work though, but very inspiring.

 

Wow! and all that on 6 kwh a day. 1 kwh is used by a light bulb running for 1 hour. So just the lights in my apartment use the same amount of energy in about 2 hours.

[candide]

Wow! and all that on 6 kwh a day. 1 kwh is used by a light bulb running for 1 hour. So just the lights in my apartment use the same amount of energy in about 2 hours.

1 kilowatt = 1000 watts, so that would be one hell of a light bulb. 1 kWh just means 1kW used for an hour. Traditional light bulbs are usually around 40-60W, 100W is a very bright one. Modern lights (like say LED lights) draw much less power.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

1 kilowatt = 1000 watts, so that would be one hell of a light bulb. 1 kWh just means 1kW used for an hour. Traditional light bulbs are usually around 40-60W, 100W is a very bright one. Modern lights (like say LED lights) draw much less power.

 

Ah, true. I had some pretty faulty info on that one. However, I'm glad that out of all the debunks and rebuttals on this post, this is the first one that couldn't be corrected with factual info.

 

Seems I'm the only one willing to admit it though

[thelerner]

So, how are our gardens growing? My square foot garden is doing well. Though I've needed to water it daily due to current hot dry weather in the Midwest. I'm letting the rest of my lawn go dormant in the drought.

 

Leaf lettuce came up early and doing great. Tomatoes doing well, I have a trio on my front lawn, the usual sweet 100, yellow hybrid, and I found black grape tomato(or so they said). They should begin ripening this week, then its a dozen fresh tomatoes daily. I picked my first cucumber today. Its small, hopefully it will be tasty.

 

 

I'd wanted to see if I could create some statue/trellis but its just too hot to do much outside these days.

[Adishakti]

Try to start early before the sun is out. I've created a landscape of succulents, ideal for hot weather and doesn't require much water or care. Grow them in waste tyres or shoes. Alamanda can be grown around the trellis, which will give you lots of bright yellow or purple flowers.

 

I've been trying to create something with waste tyres and thought I'll share this bit. (I just googled for some image, it's attached.)

 

Oh ya, make bird feeders and attach water containers. Make a butterfly bed (put some rock salt). All this will make your plants grow beautifully.

 

I've recently started putting out waste fruits and veggies in a tray. It attracts fruit flies and then some birds come around to eat these fruit fly. Creates this small happy ecosystem, excites me immensely.

 

Ok, back to work. Have a uber day you.

 

I'd wanted to see if I could create some statue/trellis but its just too hot to do much outside these days.