This past Sunday we had the pleasure of receiving a class led by Mark, an organic farmer. The following are notes that were taken directly from the lecture.
- Surviving as a farmer is not easy. In 1980 farmers made 30 cents per dollar of food sold. In present day it is down to 19 cents per dollar.
- Although in the country there is usually no problem, in the city you must be aware of any zoning laws that may pertain to your garden.
- Consider edible landscaping. Keep in mind that it is better to purchase a tree that may take five years to fruit but will live for years rather than to plant a tree that bears fruit for only the first five years. Some plants that grow well in our area are black walnut trees, plumbs (Mexican plumb is native), peaches, and nuts.
- Be aware of children watching you pick food out of the garden. They are not able to discern what is and isn't poisonous. Some plants have both edible and poisonous parts.
- Growing your own food will save you money. A good aim is to grow a large enough garden to provide you with at least a third of your years food.
- Try to buy as little as possible to aid in your garden. An example would be making your own fertilizer rather than purchasing it.
- Although leaves are commonly discarded to end up in the landfill, mother nature's intention was for it to fertilize the very tree or plant it fell from.
- Bins are not necessary for composting. A very simple way to compost is to place concrete blocks in the corner of your yard and dump compost in there.
- Earthworm castings are even better fertilizer than leaves.
- Our planet is dominated by microbes (i.e. bacteria) of which 99% are to our benefit. Anti-bacterial soap kills the beneficial bacteria along with the harmful bacteria. This leaves us more susceptible to the harmful bacteria because some of the beneficial bacteria actually helps fight off the harmful microbes.
- Microbes help balance the pH in soil to stay at 7.
- Microbes make natural antibiotics that change in order to prevent resistance.
- A recommended reading is Bacteria in Relation to Country Life written by Jacob G. Lipman in 1908. It is out of print but can be read in its entirety at books.google.com. For further information search "bacteriology".
- Although it is not widely known, plants are not the only GMO product -- GMO microbes are also being created.
- Cow manure is 90% microbes.
- Worms are the best source for microbes. (F.Y.I. citrus is bad for worms).
- Snake oil is a good microbe.
- There is no such thing as too much compost tea. It helps improve the soil with microbes.
- Spraying four times a year (once every season) should probably be enough.
- 1 gallon per yard is plenty (2Hand members get 10 gallons free!).
- You can make your own aerated tea in a bucket with the correct setup. Elizabeth will be setting up a workshop for 2Hands in which everyone will be able to make their own buckets.
- For those who are interested, contests are held for best tea.
- Unfortunately, fertilizer application rates are continually rising.
- Anhydrous pneumonia is a chemical used as fertilizer (although the availability has been stinted due to it's use in meth labs). To give an idea of how harmful it is, during WWII it was used to make runways!
- E.Coli is everywhere, not just in contaminated food.
- Naturally a cattle's digestive system is neutral in pH.
- Cattle that are fed grain develop acidic digestive systems. E. Coli likes the level of acidity that is reached.
- Cattle that are fed grass do not develop E. Coli.
- An organic garden can be completely cyclical just as nature intended. For example, a garden can include rabbits, worms, and a fish pond all while feeding yourself.
- The rabbits feed the worms. (Coffee grounds are an alternative option to the rabbits.)
- The worms feed the fish in the pond. (If using Coy fish, use rainwater rather than tap to avoid killing any.)
- The pond feeds the garden.
- Collect rainwater!! Water is getting so scarce that we have even been wanting water transported to us from Oklahoma.
- Greg Willis wrote an e-book that is available for free. It is called The Holistic Agriculture Field Broadcast Handbook. To obtain a copy for yourself simply email Greg at gwagriculture@yahoo.com. It should be read with an open mind. He is influenced by Dr. Rudolph Steiner.
- Dr. Rudolph Steiner was a German, who in the 1920's dealt with quantum physics and related it to gardening. Any books available with his teachings are actually notes taken from his lectures rather than books he himself wrote.
- Greg Willis includes information on "remote spraying". This is the belief that spraying an image of your garden will help keep your tangible garden hydrated and healthy.
- The good part of the book starts on page 114 and is titled "Laws of Nature".
- Weed Pepper fools the targeted plant into thinking it has gone through its entire life cycle. For example, if grass burr is a problem simply burn some grass burr and spread the ashes over the area it is growing in. This method is widely used in the wine industry and can be further researched by searching "biodynamics".
- The entire universe affects everyday life on Earth. As incomprehensible as that may seem, consider the fact that the moon affects movement of Earth's water and soil.
- Energy is all around us even though it can not be seen. Pyramids have unexplainable energies.
- Dr. T. Galen Hieronymus improved upon field broadcasting in the 1930's.
- Power is not needed for AM radio. All that is needed is an antenna.
- He performed an experiment where he put copper on the roof of a house and ran the copper to a cigar box in the basement of the house. Another cigar box was placed in the basement without any copper running to it. The cigar boxes had seeds inside of them. The energy from the sun ran from the copper to the seeds and helped them grow just as if they were outside. However, the seeds in the control box did not show any growth.
- Mineral frequencies stimulate plants. For further information search for "cosmic pipe". The mineral frequency used in the demonstration was Valerian 500 spray.
- More recommended readings are:
- Soil Biology Primer which can be purchased from the Soil and Water Conservation Society Website.
- Teaming With Microbes: A Gardner's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis which can be previewed at books.google.com.
- Prairie soils were the best soils the world had seen.
- Consider installing several small wind turbines.
- Be sure to follow ordinances such as noise and height.
- The benefit of having several small turbines as opposed to one large one is that if one goes out, you still have several others running still creating energy.
- They should be ten to twenty feet above the highest obstacle.
- Buckets, rather than blades, are quieter.
- They cost on average about $1,000 for a small one.
