When your adding the required amounts of various elements to your soil, you do so by adding amendments which contain only a percentage of them. The following formulas are used to calculate the amount of ammendments needed in order to apply the propper amount of elements required by a soil test and remineralization recipe:
Sulfur from gypsum /.11
calcium from gypsum /.22
Phosphorus from 0-12-1 guano /.12
Calcium from calcitic line /.39
Magnesium from calcitic lime /.02
Magnesium from dolomite /.11
Calcium from dolomite /.22
Potash from potassium sulfate /.51
Potassium from kelp /12.5
Potasium frim alfalfa /2.5
Potassium in greensand /.03
Iron in greensand /.17
Sulfur from potassium sulfate /.17
Sodium from sea salt /.35
Boron from borax /.09
Iron from iron sulfate /.30
Sulfur from iron sulfate /.18
Copper from copper sulfate /.25
Sulfur from copper sulfate /.12
Zinc from zinc sulfate /.35
Sulfur from zinc sulfate /.17
Nitrogen from 12-10-2 guano /.12
Phosphorus from 12-10-2 guano /.10
Manganese from manganese sulfate /.32
Sulfur from manganese sulfate /.19
Sodium from kelp /.04
Calcium from kelp /.02
Nitrogen from 1-0-0 worm castings /.01
(Formula: divide the element percentage in the ammendment to figure out how much of the ammendment is needed to supply the soil test requirement and multiply the ammendment by the element percentage to figure out how much is in any given amount. Example: if you need 10 lbs of sulfur for your garden and you wish to get it with gypsum, then divide 10 lbs by .11 to get the amount of gypsum required to supply this 10 lbs of sulfur, in this case 90.9 lbs are needed. Don't forget to calculate the amount of calcium this 90.9 lbs of gypsum will add in addition to the sulfur, which is 20lbs. This is figured out by multiplying the amount of gypsum by .22 which is its percent of calcium.)
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Remineralization Recipe
Ziwaneh Soil formula for high brix food, per acre (for 100 square feet, divide by 435.6)
1/1 calcium (4000# per acre*),
1/9 magnesium (444#),
1/9 potassium (444#),
1/9 phosphorus (444#), should = potassium
1/9 iron 222ppm (444#), 100-300ppm ok
1/18 sulfur (222#), 1/2 of phosphorus, up to 600ppm ok
1/36 sodium 55ppm (111#), 16-99ppm ok (avo's burn @115ppm)
1/36 chlorine 55ppm (111#), 1-2x sodium
1/36 manganese 55ppm (111#), 1/3 - 1/2 of iron, 33-150ppm ok
1/90 zinc 22ppm (44#), 1/10 Phosphorus, 7-50ppm ok
1/90 nitrate nitrogen 22ppm (44#),
1/90 ammonium nitrogen 22ppm (44#),
1/180 copper 11ppm (22#), 1/2 of zinc 3.5-25ppm ok
1/1000 boron 2ppm (4#). 1-4ppm
1/9 trace minerals as kelp (444#)
1/9 Trace minerals as azomite (444#)
1/9+ nitrogen and harmones as alfalfa (444#)
4-10%+ organic matter
The above amounts are acheived by adding to what is already in the soil. Do not add these amounts to your soil! A soil test is needed to determine the amount already there which is then subtracted from the above amounts. To get the proper amount of these elements into your soil, you will have to add them in the form of amendments which contain only a small percentage of them. Soil testing should be repeated every few years.
Not too much nitrogen, but some, from 12-12-2 guano, alfalfa meal, compost or worm castings. If alfalfa is used as a nitrogen source, the amount can be well above the 1/9 mentioned above.
For calcium, use calcitic lime and calculate it at 39%( the amount of calcium in lime, so that 100 lbs of lime have to be applied in order to add 39 lbs of calcium to the soil.) Gypsum has both .22 calcium and sulfur(compute both), and Dolomite Lime has calcium and magnesium.
Don't use rock phosphate for phosphorus because of heavy metals and radiation, use high phosphorus guano instead such as Primal Harvests 0-12-1. Potasium Sulphate for potash. Sea Salt or kelp for sodium and chlorine. Zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, iron sulfate, maganese sulfate are safe to use. Use borax laundry additive for boron. Nitrogen from 12-12-2 guano, alfalfa meal, or worm castings.
Do not over apply these ammendments, except for worm or azomite, lest an over abundance of one element squeeze out another. The limit, per year, for kelp is 444# per acre which equals 1# per 100 square feet.(444# of kelp contains 17# of sodium). Kelp and Azomite can be reapplied at these amounts ever other year or so in heavy rainfall areas like the pnw. The pnw also looses about 500# of calcium each year to rain and crop production, so this should be replinished each year by its addition in Yesai's Mix.
Yesai's Mix(Use 16 cups for 100 sf):**
6 cups 12-12-2 guano,
4 cups alfalfa,
2 cups Calcite lime
2 cups kelp,
2 cups azomite
6 cups worm castings
(plus 8 additional gallons of worm castings or 15 gallons of compost)
For a 4'x20' bed, each year initially apply 13 cups Mix & 12.5 gallons compost*. This should be sufficient for low demand crops like beans, carrots kale. Add 1/2 cup mix in hole at planting and side dressings (every 3-4 weeks) for medium demand crops like tomato and corn until another 6 cups or so has been added. Add another additional 6 cups side dressings for high demand crops like celery.
**(Mix per year @ medium strength for 6000sf beds & lite strength for 100 8' diameter semi-dwarf fruit trees): 225# guano, 180# alfalfa, 240# lime, 58# kelp, 58# azomite. $500 gardens & orchard)
*4000# based on an average CEC of 15.
1/1 calcium (4000# per acre*),
1/9 magnesium (444#),
1/9 potassium (444#),
1/9 phosphorus (444#), should = potassium
1/9 iron 222ppm (444#), 100-300ppm ok
1/18 sulfur (222#), 1/2 of phosphorus, up to 600ppm ok
1/36 sodium 55ppm (111#), 16-99ppm ok (avo's burn @115ppm)
1/36 chlorine 55ppm (111#), 1-2x sodium
1/36 manganese 55ppm (111#), 1/3 - 1/2 of iron, 33-150ppm ok
1/90 zinc 22ppm (44#), 1/10 Phosphorus, 7-50ppm ok
1/90 nitrate nitrogen 22ppm (44#),
1/90 ammonium nitrogen 22ppm (44#),
1/180 copper 11ppm (22#), 1/2 of zinc 3.5-25ppm ok
1/1000 boron 2ppm (4#). 1-4ppm
1/9 trace minerals as kelp (444#)
1/9 Trace minerals as azomite (444#)
1/9+ nitrogen and harmones as alfalfa (444#)
4-10%+ organic matter
The above amounts are acheived by adding to what is already in the soil. Do not add these amounts to your soil! A soil test is needed to determine the amount already there which is then subtracted from the above amounts. To get the proper amount of these elements into your soil, you will have to add them in the form of amendments which contain only a small percentage of them. Soil testing should be repeated every few years.
Not too much nitrogen, but some, from 12-12-2 guano, alfalfa meal, compost or worm castings. If alfalfa is used as a nitrogen source, the amount can be well above the 1/9 mentioned above.
For calcium, use calcitic lime and calculate it at 39%( the amount of calcium in lime, so that 100 lbs of lime have to be applied in order to add 39 lbs of calcium to the soil.) Gypsum has both .22 calcium and sulfur(compute both), and Dolomite Lime has calcium and magnesium.
Don't use rock phosphate for phosphorus because of heavy metals and radiation, use high phosphorus guano instead such as Primal Harvests 0-12-1. Potasium Sulphate for potash. Sea Salt or kelp for sodium and chlorine. Zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, iron sulfate, maganese sulfate are safe to use. Use borax laundry additive for boron. Nitrogen from 12-12-2 guano, alfalfa meal, or worm castings.
Do not over apply these ammendments, except for worm or azomite, lest an over abundance of one element squeeze out another. The limit, per year, for kelp is 444# per acre which equals 1# per 100 square feet.(444# of kelp contains 17# of sodium). Kelp and Azomite can be reapplied at these amounts ever other year or so in heavy rainfall areas like the pnw. The pnw also looses about 500# of calcium each year to rain and crop production, so this should be replinished each year by its addition in Yesai's Mix.
Yesai's Mix(Use 16 cups for 100 sf):**
6 cups 12-12-2 guano,
4 cups alfalfa,
2 cups Calcite lime
2 cups kelp,
2 cups azomite
6 cups worm castings
(plus 8 additional gallons of worm castings or 15 gallons of compost)
For a 4'x20' bed, each year initially apply 13 cups Mix & 12.5 gallons compost*. This should be sufficient for low demand crops like beans, carrots kale. Add 1/2 cup mix in hole at planting and side dressings (every 3-4 weeks) for medium demand crops like tomato and corn until another 6 cups or so has been added. Add another additional 6 cups side dressings for high demand crops like celery.
**(Mix per year @ medium strength for 6000sf beds & lite strength for 100 8' diameter semi-dwarf fruit trees): 225# guano, 180# alfalfa, 240# lime, 58# kelp, 58# azomite. $500 gardens & orchard)
*4000# based on an average CEC of 15.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Miryai Mt. Soil Ammendments (Upper Gardens)
For each 2400 square feet,Or 80 sf, add:
6" forest mulch (625 sf or 375 gal per 100sf) for organic matter
0-13-1 181# for phosphorus, or 6# or 11 1/3 cups per 80sf
12-10-2. 20# For nitrogen and phosphorus, 1 3/4 cups per 80sf
Lime 349# for calcium, 16 cups per 80sf
Zinc sul. 6.5# fir zinc and sulfur, .21# per 80sf
Copper su. 4.4#,.0366#(16gram) per 80, for copper and sulfur
Borax 2.44# for 1/1000 calcium levels of boron, .07# per 80sf
Sea Salt 10# for sodium, clorine and trace and minerals, 1/3#, 5 3/4 tbsp, per 80
azomite 25# for trace minerals, 8#
Kelp 25# for sodium and trace, 1 2/3 cups
Alfalfa 25# for nitrogen and growth stimulants, 2 1/4 cups
Greensand 69# for potassium and iron, 2 2/3 cups
organic Worm castings (EB Stone brand feeds its worms only cardboard and food scraps), 12.5 20# bags, for 1/8" coverage (250#) or a yard, 27 cf, of compost for nitrogen, etc., 7.33# per 80 sf
For 100 4' diameter circles or tree mounds, mix above ammendments(except mulch and worm) and apply @ 3.55# per mound.
(For 8' diameter mound, 7# of calcium rich lime, gypsum or dolomite is needed)
6" forest mulch (625 sf or 375 gal per 100sf) for organic matter
0-13-1 181# for phosphorus, or 6# or 11 1/3 cups per 80sf
12-10-2. 20# For nitrogen and phosphorus, 1 3/4 cups per 80sf
Lime 349# for calcium, 16 cups per 80sf
Zinc sul. 6.5# fir zinc and sulfur, .21# per 80sf
Copper su. 4.4#,.0366#(16gram) per 80, for copper and sulfur
Borax 2.44# for 1/1000 calcium levels of boron, .07# per 80sf
Sea Salt 10# for sodium, clorine and trace and minerals, 1/3#, 5 3/4 tbsp, per 80
azomite 25# for trace minerals, 8#
Kelp 25# for sodium and trace, 1 2/3 cups
Alfalfa 25# for nitrogen and growth stimulants, 2 1/4 cups
Greensand 69# for potassium and iron, 2 2/3 cups
organic Worm castings (EB Stone brand feeds its worms only cardboard and food scraps), 12.5 20# bags, for 1/8" coverage (250#) or a yard, 27 cf, of compost for nitrogen, etc., 7.33# per 80 sf
For 100 4' diameter circles or tree mounds, mix above ammendments(except mulch and worm) and apply @ 3.55# per mound.
(For 8' diameter mound, 7# of calcium rich lime, gypsum or dolomite is needed)
Michael Astera's Soil Recipe
Part III The Recipe
Assuming that it is possible to grow crops with great flavor, high levels of nutrition, excellent keeping qualities, and a high resistance to disease and insect attack, how does one go about doing it? Obviously it starts with the soil.
Astera's Hypothesis v1.0: Food of high nutritional quality can only be grown in a fully mineralized, biologically active soil in which energy is flowing or being released.
Biology, i.e. living organisms and their remains, has been the focus of "organic" growers since the 1920s, more especially since the 1950s, and is the only aspect that most "organic" growers have any knowledge of or experience with so far. For most of the this time, the emphasis was on adding more organic matter to the soil in the form of compost and manure; only in the last fifteen years or so has the emphasis shifted more towards the living soil microorganisms, what the popular buzzword calls the SoilFoodWeb.
Energy as used here means energy flow or movement from higher to lower potential. The flow of electric battery current through a light bulb filament is a simple example; as the current flows the resistance to that flow in the filament causes it to give off heat and photons of light. Chemical potentials in the battery are trying to come into balance, taking the path through the light bulb filament. When the chemical balance is achieved, the battery is dead. There are three main schools of thought on energy in plant growth: the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization or RBTI based on the work of Carey Reams, the science of Paramagnetics based on the work of Phil Callahan, and the Biodynamics approach that originated with Rudolph Steiner. All valuable, but none of them well known or accepted by "mainstream" agriculture, chemical or organic. We'll get back to these.
One does not need to know all that much to add biologically active organic matter to the soil. If one does that, and soil moisture is present, there will be an energy release and flow that will result in the growth of soil organisms and plants. Given light, moisture, and warmth, growth is pretty much guaranteed. Nutritional value is not; all that can be counted on is that the plants will produce some quantity of carbohydrates and proteins from the combination of the air and water elements Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen. To achieve high nutritional value, however, the crops must also contain the soil minerals that our body needs; the essential mineral nutrients.
96% of the human body is made up of the four air and water elements Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen. Much the same goes for plants. Here is a short list of the major mineral elements our body needs to maintain good health, in descending order of amount required: Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium, and Iron. Minor and trace essential minerals include Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Selenium, Chromium, Tin, Vanadium, Silicon, Boron, Iodine, Fluorine, Cadmium, Arsenic, Nickel, and Lead. If any of these are absent from your diet, out of balance with each other, or not available in sufficient amounts, the body will be unable to grow, repair itself, or reproduce. All of 25 of these and possibly another 30 or so are essential for human health and reproduction. They are NOT all essential for plant health. Plants have no known need for Lead, Cobalt, or even Sodium for that matter, so just because a plant looks perfectly healthy is no guarantee that it will provide the minerals that a human or animal needs.
It is unfortunate that planet Earth's crust does not have these minerals equally distributed, nor does it have them in the quantities needed in many places for robust plant or animal health. Grazing animals make up for this unequal distribution by covering a lot of territory. Predators eat those grazing animals and get their minerals by doing so. Hunter-gatherer humans also cover a lot of territory, as do pastoral nomads who follow their herds. Humans dependent on local agriculture are stuck with the minerals naturally found in their area.
Because rivers get all of the minerals washed into their drainage systems and deposit those minerals at their banks and mouths, river-bottom soil and river deltas contain the richest mix of essential mineral nutrients. The Nile river is our poster child for this phenomenon. The annual Nile floods carried minerals washed down from millions of square miles of Africa, each year flooding and depositing those nutrients along the shores of Eqypt. The lower Nile valley was the breadbasket of North Africa from the Pharaohs' times until the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s. Now much of Egypt goes hungry while it imports food and fertilizer and the Nile's fertility silts up the area behind the dam. One has to laugh or cry.
Worldwide, the valleys of the great rivers were the cradles of civilization, simply because of the wide assortment of essential minerals in their soils. A few other places approached or matched that level of fertility, such as the Great Plains of North America, the Chernozem soils of the Ukraine, and the Loess areas of China and the Mississippi Valley. All were the result of either a fortunate combination of rocks from which the soil formed, or windblown dust from large areas, or both.
Of course ancient and even modern people knew nothing about the mineral makeup of their soils; they only knew that some areas grew crops that brought health to people and livestock, some areas didn't. The knowledge of mineral elements and chemistry as a science didn't exist until the late 1700s; the first chemical assays of crops and soils weren't done until the 1830s, and the Periodic Table of the Elements wasn't put together until the late 1800s. Furthermore, despite over two centuries of advances in the fields of chemistry and nutrition, very little knowledge of the mineral basis of soil fertility or nutrition has filtered down to agriculture.
Our goal should be to match or exceed the fertility and mineral balance and availability of the great breadbaskets of the world, so let's get to it.
I'm going to start here with how I grow high-brix nutrient dense crops. There is at least one other method that deserves mention and we will touch on that.
The method I use is largely based on the work of William Albrecht and Firman Bear in the 1930s and '40s in the USA. The essence of it is the Basic Cation Saturation Ratio or BCSR. Note first off that this BCSR idea is neither appreciated nor recognized by mainstream chemical or organic agriculture. That need not concern us overmuch as long as it works, right? The Basic Cations that we are talking about are Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium. They are called 'basic" because adding them to a water solution makes the solution more alkaline or "basic". They are cations because they have a positive charge, a + charge. Ca and Mg have a double plus charge ++, K (Potassium) and Na (Sodium) have a single plus + charge. Those elements with a negative - charge are called anions.
Important notice: Anyone who wishes to follow the rest of this, unless they already have a good understanding of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), needs to do a few pages of outside reading here: http://www.soilminerals.com/Cation_E...Simplified.htm. I promise that it will be almost painless and possibly even enlightening. I'll wait.
Done? Good. Now that everyone is familiar with CEC, we can talk about the BCSR and how to mineralize or re-mineralize our soils. First of all one needs to have the results of a standard soil test that gives them the % saturation of the four major cations Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium presently in the soil, as well as the total CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) of the soil. Here are some examples of the results of a standard soil test: http://www.soilminerals.com/samplereportI.htm
What we (ideally) want to end up with are the following cation saturation ratios:
Calcium 60%-70%
Magnesium 10%-20%
Potassium 2%-5%
Sodium 1%-4%
H+ Hydrogen 5%-10%
This will give us a well-balanced mineral base to start off with, and, with the anion ratios listed below, a pH of ~6.5 to 6.7.
The major anions are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Chlorine. Here is how they should fit together with the cations above:
Phosphorus should be equal to Potassium (actual P=actual K), which means phosphate (P2O5) should be 2x potash (K2O).
Sulfur should be 1/2 of Phosphorus, up to around 400 lbs per acre. More is usually not needed except in soils that start out alkaline, i.e. pH greater than 7.
Chlorine should be equal to Sodium, and not more than 2x Sodium.
Nitrogen will generally take care of itself for most crops if the soil organic matter content is 4% or above. Some N loving crops like corn (maize) or onions may need some supplemental Nitrogen.
I realize this is all a bit much at first glance. Please read it over a few times and I think it will begin to make sense. This is the only sure method that I know of to balance the soil minerals and grow those high-Brix nutrient dense crops. Just a few more minerals to look at today:
Boron: 1/1000th of Calcium, but not more than 4ppm (parts per million) or 8 lbs per acre.
Iron: 100-200 ppm (200-400 lbs/acre)
Manganese: 1/2 of Iron, but more than 50ppm is not necessary.
Zinc: 1/10 of Phosphorus
Copper: 1/2 of Zinc
That's it. Get the above list of minerals into the soil in the amounts suggested and most of the work is done. Nature will gladly take over from there, Please note, though, that these last five minor minerals must be in the soil in the right quantity; if not, if all of the majors are there without the minors, one is likely to have great yield but poor nutrition. The human body needs a lot more Calcium than it does Iron, and a lot more Iron than it does Copper, but all of them are equally essential.
The other twenty or so essential minerals are only needed in very small amounts, usually 1 ppm or less. Standard soil tests don't check for them. They can be supplied with any or all of the following:
Sea Salt
Seaweed (Kelp meal is pretty commonly available)
Various mineral deposits from ancient lakes, seas, or volcanoes
Rock dust from quarries or rock crushing operations.
(these would all be applied at a rate of about 400lbs/acre or 10 lbs per 1000 sq ft))
All of the above is explained at some length in my book The Ideal Soil, along with how to calculate amounts to apply and which organic-approved mineral sources contain how much of what. Those interested can check it out here: http://www.soilminerals.com/Ideal_Soil_Main_Page.htm There are a number of books about WHY to mineralize the soil, but so far The Ideal Soil is the only book that shows the reader HOW to mineralize their soil. (If anyone knows of any other how-to books on soil mineral balancing, let me know and I will gladly list them.)
Quite a bit to take in at once, but what we have covered here will work for almost any food crop in any climate. There is no need for special formulas for special crops, no need to worry about pH. This mineral balance, combined with a biologically active soil with around 4% humus, along with sunshine, warmth, and water, will provide all that is needed to achieve good to excellent Brix readings, great flavor and keeping qualities, and a high degree of resistance to insects and disease. We are also working on the assumption that it will provide excellent mineral nutrition, as all of the essential minerals are available to the plants, but that has yet to be proven. Our proposed project will be to prove the concept, correlating high Brix with high minerals, in order to establish the world's first nutritional standards for food
It doesn't seem that I have room left in this not-so-short post to cover everything else I mentioned at the end of Part II, so I will just give a brief mention to the other school of mineral balancing, the Reams school, and wait to talk about the economics and ecology of these ideas in part IV.
Carey Reams (1904-1987) was a somewhat eccentric scientist, agronomist, and Christian mystic who worked mostly in Florida USA. The rule mentioned above that actual Phosphorus should equal actual Potassium, or phosphate should be 2x potash, originated with Reams. Reams is also who we have to thank for bringing the refractometer into use in general agriculture. The Brix chart he devised is still considered the gold standard for food crops. Here it is again: http://www.soilminerals.com/BrixChart_Reams
Reams did extensive work with energy flow in soils, and came up with some ideas on the roles of energy and minerals that haven't always translated well into modern scientific terminology. Nonetheless he achieved great results and some of his students have gone on to teach and practice his methods very successfully. Unlike the standard soil test mentioned above and used by Albrecht and most mainstream soil testing laboratories, Reams preferred the LaMotte test, which uses a weak extracting solution, closer to that which plant roots themselves employ in the soil. The Reams system is not based on the BCSR, but on the measurement of readily soluble major nutrients in the soil. The mineral ratios that Reams called for, however, are essentially identical to the CEC saturation ratios of the BCSR. Here are Reams' ideal soil mineral amounts, as available nutrients per acre, based on the Lamotte soil test:
Calcium: 2,000-4,000 lbs
Magnesium: 285-570 lbs
Phosphate: 400 lbs
Potash: 200 lbs
Nitrate Nitrogen: 40 lbs
Ammonium Nitrogen: 40 lbs
Sulfate: 200 lbs
Sodium: 20-70 ppm
The major difference in practice between the Reams school and what is loosely called the Albrecht school is that Reams emphasized frequent soil testing, as often as once a week, and applying needed minerals throughout the growing season as often as variations in the soil test results called for. The BCSR ratios that this author uses only require testing once or twice a year, spring and/or fall, and it has been my experience that once the major minerals are in place and balanced these one or two tests per year (or perhaps only when a problem arises) are sufficient to grow healthy high-Brix crops. More frequent testing may be justified for larger fields of high-value crops, but I have had a hard enough time convincing growers to test their soil at all. Enough said.
In Part IV we will take a closer look at energy flow in the soil, at the economics and ecology of mineral balanced agriculture, and discuss its potential impact on human, animal, and planetary health.
Michael Astera
http://www.soilminerals.com
Assuming that it is possible to grow crops with great flavor, high levels of nutrition, excellent keeping qualities, and a high resistance to disease and insect attack, how does one go about doing it? Obviously it starts with the soil.
Astera's Hypothesis v1.0: Food of high nutritional quality can only be grown in a fully mineralized, biologically active soil in which energy is flowing or being released.
Biology, i.e. living organisms and their remains, has been the focus of "organic" growers since the 1920s, more especially since the 1950s, and is the only aspect that most "organic" growers have any knowledge of or experience with so far. For most of the this time, the emphasis was on adding more organic matter to the soil in the form of compost and manure; only in the last fifteen years or so has the emphasis shifted more towards the living soil microorganisms, what the popular buzzword calls the SoilFoodWeb.
Energy as used here means energy flow or movement from higher to lower potential. The flow of electric battery current through a light bulb filament is a simple example; as the current flows the resistance to that flow in the filament causes it to give off heat and photons of light. Chemical potentials in the battery are trying to come into balance, taking the path through the light bulb filament. When the chemical balance is achieved, the battery is dead. There are three main schools of thought on energy in plant growth: the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization or RBTI based on the work of Carey Reams, the science of Paramagnetics based on the work of Phil Callahan, and the Biodynamics approach that originated with Rudolph Steiner. All valuable, but none of them well known or accepted by "mainstream" agriculture, chemical or organic. We'll get back to these.
One does not need to know all that much to add biologically active organic matter to the soil. If one does that, and soil moisture is present, there will be an energy release and flow that will result in the growth of soil organisms and plants. Given light, moisture, and warmth, growth is pretty much guaranteed. Nutritional value is not; all that can be counted on is that the plants will produce some quantity of carbohydrates and proteins from the combination of the air and water elements Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen. To achieve high nutritional value, however, the crops must also contain the soil minerals that our body needs; the essential mineral nutrients.
96% of the human body is made up of the four air and water elements Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen. Much the same goes for plants. Here is a short list of the major mineral elements our body needs to maintain good health, in descending order of amount required: Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium, and Iron. Minor and trace essential minerals include Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Selenium, Chromium, Tin, Vanadium, Silicon, Boron, Iodine, Fluorine, Cadmium, Arsenic, Nickel, and Lead. If any of these are absent from your diet, out of balance with each other, or not available in sufficient amounts, the body will be unable to grow, repair itself, or reproduce. All of 25 of these and possibly another 30 or so are essential for human health and reproduction. They are NOT all essential for plant health. Plants have no known need for Lead, Cobalt, or even Sodium for that matter, so just because a plant looks perfectly healthy is no guarantee that it will provide the minerals that a human or animal needs.
It is unfortunate that planet Earth's crust does not have these minerals equally distributed, nor does it have them in the quantities needed in many places for robust plant or animal health. Grazing animals make up for this unequal distribution by covering a lot of territory. Predators eat those grazing animals and get their minerals by doing so. Hunter-gatherer humans also cover a lot of territory, as do pastoral nomads who follow their herds. Humans dependent on local agriculture are stuck with the minerals naturally found in their area.
Because rivers get all of the minerals washed into their drainage systems and deposit those minerals at their banks and mouths, river-bottom soil and river deltas contain the richest mix of essential mineral nutrients. The Nile river is our poster child for this phenomenon. The annual Nile floods carried minerals washed down from millions of square miles of Africa, each year flooding and depositing those nutrients along the shores of Eqypt. The lower Nile valley was the breadbasket of North Africa from the Pharaohs' times until the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s. Now much of Egypt goes hungry while it imports food and fertilizer and the Nile's fertility silts up the area behind the dam. One has to laugh or cry.
Worldwide, the valleys of the great rivers were the cradles of civilization, simply because of the wide assortment of essential minerals in their soils. A few other places approached or matched that level of fertility, such as the Great Plains of North America, the Chernozem soils of the Ukraine, and the Loess areas of China and the Mississippi Valley. All were the result of either a fortunate combination of rocks from which the soil formed, or windblown dust from large areas, or both.
Of course ancient and even modern people knew nothing about the mineral makeup of their soils; they only knew that some areas grew crops that brought health to people and livestock, some areas didn't. The knowledge of mineral elements and chemistry as a science didn't exist until the late 1700s; the first chemical assays of crops and soils weren't done until the 1830s, and the Periodic Table of the Elements wasn't put together until the late 1800s. Furthermore, despite over two centuries of advances in the fields of chemistry and nutrition, very little knowledge of the mineral basis of soil fertility or nutrition has filtered down to agriculture.
Our goal should be to match or exceed the fertility and mineral balance and availability of the great breadbaskets of the world, so let's get to it.
I'm going to start here with how I grow high-brix nutrient dense crops. There is at least one other method that deserves mention and we will touch on that.
The method I use is largely based on the work of William Albrecht and Firman Bear in the 1930s and '40s in the USA. The essence of it is the Basic Cation Saturation Ratio or BCSR. Note first off that this BCSR idea is neither appreciated nor recognized by mainstream chemical or organic agriculture. That need not concern us overmuch as long as it works, right? The Basic Cations that we are talking about are Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium. They are called 'basic" because adding them to a water solution makes the solution more alkaline or "basic". They are cations because they have a positive charge, a + charge. Ca and Mg have a double plus charge ++, K (Potassium) and Na (Sodium) have a single plus + charge. Those elements with a negative - charge are called anions.
Important notice: Anyone who wishes to follow the rest of this, unless they already have a good understanding of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), needs to do a few pages of outside reading here: http://www.soilminerals.com/Cation_E...Simplified.htm. I promise that it will be almost painless and possibly even enlightening. I'll wait.
Done? Good. Now that everyone is familiar with CEC, we can talk about the BCSR and how to mineralize or re-mineralize our soils. First of all one needs to have the results of a standard soil test that gives them the % saturation of the four major cations Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium presently in the soil, as well as the total CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) of the soil. Here are some examples of the results of a standard soil test: http://www.soilminerals.com/samplereportI.htm
What we (ideally) want to end up with are the following cation saturation ratios:
Calcium 60%-70%
Magnesium 10%-20%
Potassium 2%-5%
Sodium 1%-4%
H+ Hydrogen 5%-10%
This will give us a well-balanced mineral base to start off with, and, with the anion ratios listed below, a pH of ~6.5 to 6.7.
The major anions are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Chlorine. Here is how they should fit together with the cations above:
Phosphorus should be equal to Potassium (actual P=actual K), which means phosphate (P2O5) should be 2x potash (K2O).
Sulfur should be 1/2 of Phosphorus, up to around 400 lbs per acre. More is usually not needed except in soils that start out alkaline, i.e. pH greater than 7.
Chlorine should be equal to Sodium, and not more than 2x Sodium.
Nitrogen will generally take care of itself for most crops if the soil organic matter content is 4% or above. Some N loving crops like corn (maize) or onions may need some supplemental Nitrogen.
I realize this is all a bit much at first glance. Please read it over a few times and I think it will begin to make sense. This is the only sure method that I know of to balance the soil minerals and grow those high-Brix nutrient dense crops. Just a few more minerals to look at today:
Boron: 1/1000th of Calcium, but not more than 4ppm (parts per million) or 8 lbs per acre.
Iron: 100-200 ppm (200-400 lbs/acre)
Manganese: 1/2 of Iron, but more than 50ppm is not necessary.
Zinc: 1/10 of Phosphorus
Copper: 1/2 of Zinc
That's it. Get the above list of minerals into the soil in the amounts suggested and most of the work is done. Nature will gladly take over from there, Please note, though, that these last five minor minerals must be in the soil in the right quantity; if not, if all of the majors are there without the minors, one is likely to have great yield but poor nutrition. The human body needs a lot more Calcium than it does Iron, and a lot more Iron than it does Copper, but all of them are equally essential.
The other twenty or so essential minerals are only needed in very small amounts, usually 1 ppm or less. Standard soil tests don't check for them. They can be supplied with any or all of the following:
Sea Salt
Seaweed (Kelp meal is pretty commonly available)
Various mineral deposits from ancient lakes, seas, or volcanoes
Rock dust from quarries or rock crushing operations.
(these would all be applied at a rate of about 400lbs/acre or 10 lbs per 1000 sq ft))
All of the above is explained at some length in my book The Ideal Soil, along with how to calculate amounts to apply and which organic-approved mineral sources contain how much of what. Those interested can check it out here: http://www.soilminerals.com/Ideal_Soil_Main_Page.htm There are a number of books about WHY to mineralize the soil, but so far The Ideal Soil is the only book that shows the reader HOW to mineralize their soil. (If anyone knows of any other how-to books on soil mineral balancing, let me know and I will gladly list them.)
Quite a bit to take in at once, but what we have covered here will work for almost any food crop in any climate. There is no need for special formulas for special crops, no need to worry about pH. This mineral balance, combined with a biologically active soil with around 4% humus, along with sunshine, warmth, and water, will provide all that is needed to achieve good to excellent Brix readings, great flavor and keeping qualities, and a high degree of resistance to insects and disease. We are also working on the assumption that it will provide excellent mineral nutrition, as all of the essential minerals are available to the plants, but that has yet to be proven. Our proposed project will be to prove the concept, correlating high Brix with high minerals, in order to establish the world's first nutritional standards for food
It doesn't seem that I have room left in this not-so-short post to cover everything else I mentioned at the end of Part II, so I will just give a brief mention to the other school of mineral balancing, the Reams school, and wait to talk about the economics and ecology of these ideas in part IV.
Carey Reams (1904-1987) was a somewhat eccentric scientist, agronomist, and Christian mystic who worked mostly in Florida USA. The rule mentioned above that actual Phosphorus should equal actual Potassium, or phosphate should be 2x potash, originated with Reams. Reams is also who we have to thank for bringing the refractometer into use in general agriculture. The Brix chart he devised is still considered the gold standard for food crops. Here it is again: http://www.soilminerals.com/BrixChart_Reams
Reams did extensive work with energy flow in soils, and came up with some ideas on the roles of energy and minerals that haven't always translated well into modern scientific terminology. Nonetheless he achieved great results and some of his students have gone on to teach and practice his methods very successfully. Unlike the standard soil test mentioned above and used by Albrecht and most mainstream soil testing laboratories, Reams preferred the LaMotte test, which uses a weak extracting solution, closer to that which plant roots themselves employ in the soil. The Reams system is not based on the BCSR, but on the measurement of readily soluble major nutrients in the soil. The mineral ratios that Reams called for, however, are essentially identical to the CEC saturation ratios of the BCSR. Here are Reams' ideal soil mineral amounts, as available nutrients per acre, based on the Lamotte soil test:
Calcium: 2,000-4,000 lbs
Magnesium: 285-570 lbs
Phosphate: 400 lbs
Potash: 200 lbs
Nitrate Nitrogen: 40 lbs
Ammonium Nitrogen: 40 lbs
Sulfate: 200 lbs
Sodium: 20-70 ppm
The major difference in practice between the Reams school and what is loosely called the Albrecht school is that Reams emphasized frequent soil testing, as often as once a week, and applying needed minerals throughout the growing season as often as variations in the soil test results called for. The BCSR ratios that this author uses only require testing once or twice a year, spring and/or fall, and it has been my experience that once the major minerals are in place and balanced these one or two tests per year (or perhaps only when a problem arises) are sufficient to grow healthy high-Brix crops. More frequent testing may be justified for larger fields of high-value crops, but I have had a hard enough time convincing growers to test their soil at all. Enough said.
In Part IV we will take a closer look at energy flow in the soil, at the economics and ecology of mineral balanced agriculture, and discuss its potential impact on human, animal, and planetary health.
Michael Astera
http://www.soilminerals.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Veganic Standards
Veganic Horticultural Standards
Veganic Horticultural Standards
by Davied Israel, O:N:E:
0. Introduction The human mammal, in his rise to ascendancy over nature, has oft exploited the natural world in a cruel and unnecessary way. This exploitation has now reached a harsh crescendo, and whole ecosystems are threatened with extinction. It is high time for wise and rational human beings to rethink their relationship with the natural world, and their deep dependency on it. Veganic Agriculture seeks to define this relationship, and to harmoniously poise humanity both within and above her.
1. Principles Veganic Agriculture is a philosophy of working with and for nature, not against her. Veganic Agriculture does not delegate humanity to a mere passive observer and recipient of nature’s bounty, but as an active, albeit wise, manipulator of her in her most sublime aspects. The interaction of human and plant world is completely natural. It has not always been done with wisdom, but it has always been done and is a necessary component of human survivability on this planet. The wiser this interaction, the greater the benefits for both. It is as natural, needful, and beautiful for humans to build natural shelters as it is for other nest and den creating creatures of our world. As the beaver cuts down trees and builds damns and homes that benefit many, so humans have the responsibility to use wood and stone to control life giving moisture and to erect shelters and shrines as well. As gophers and moles plough through the soil, so may man. As squirrels store nuts, so the fully naturalized human stores up the bounty of the earth for future need. As birds and animals transport seeds to distant locales, so humanity is justified in doing likewise. As bees and insects cross pollinate various plants, so humans share the right to do so in even more thoughtful ways. Humanity has the right to work with and improve nature whenever possible, but she also has the responsibility to do so with great wisdom and foresight into future consequences of all such acts both great and small. Veganic Agriculture does not include the conscious use of farm animals and their manures to create food and fiber. Veganic Agriculture eschews the refuse of the slaughterhouse for fertilizer, and avoids the chemical concoctions of modern industry. It bears a heavy responsibility to adjust, end or innovate any practice that does not contribute to greater overall health and vitality of the farm and its surrounding environments. It seeks to enhance the overall life and vibrance of the locale and is wiling to make temporary and calculated sacrifices that assure this ascendancy.
2. The Veganic Farm Veganic Agriculture seeks to define the relationship of the Veganic farm to nature, and to the non Veganic worlds beyond her borders. It recognizes the interrelationship between vineyard, orchard, field, cultivar, soil, microclimate, seasonal rhythm and a host of other subtle and not so subtle factors. It recognizes necessary imports and exports to that which lies beyond its borders, yet ever seeking greater self sufficiency whenever possible. It sees each factor not as an isolated phenomenon, but as components of a living wholistic system. The synthesis of all these factors creates a unique produce producing environment, To the raw components of this unique environment of local soils, water and weather, are added other factors such as well chosen cultivars, individualistic horticultural practices, specific planting schedules based upon the rhythms of the cosmos. The subtle ambiance of various regions and soils has long been acknowledged in various wine growing regions. Veganic Agriculture seeks to broaden this appreciation of appellations to all food and fiber crops and add to it various inputs of a more esoteric nature, such as the subtle effects of astrological planting and unique combinations of herbal teas and composts to accentuate unique flavors and appearances. As the dominion and horticultural expertise of humanity has broadened, so has her ability to go beyond basic survival and enter thoughtfully the world of higher horticulture. Thoughtful pioneers like Cato, Manihiya, Rudolf Steiner, Masuoba Fukuoka, and others have contributed to this evolutionary process, but much work, experimenting and innovation still needs to be accomplished. The higher horticulture of the future is yet dependent on the thoughtful, watchful and kind innovation of those committed to improving yet further the relationship and beauty that exists between humanity and the natural and supernatural world around us.
3. The 5 Rings The Veganic horticultural environ can be viewed as five leveled. The immediate and fully controlled ecosystem of sheltered, partially shielded and open growing environs, the partially controlled windbreak and compost producing areas of the occupied land, and the surrounding farms and distant places beyond her borders. The proper relationship between each of these five rings is important.
• SHELTERED: greenhouse, shelters and solariums
• SHEILDED: Hoophouses, grow tunnels, cold frames, etc.
• CULTIVATED: Open Field, orchard, vineyard, briar, pond, stream, etc.
• WINDBREAK: Compost, fuel and fiber producing windbreaks, partially influenced borders
• INDIRECT: Neighboring farms and wilds, nearby water bodies, mountains, distant lands.
Veganic horticultural defines what is proper within the working dynamics of the sheltered, shielded, cultivated and windbreak of the individual farm, and also seeks to regulate and apply correct Veganic ethical standards to what is imported or exported beyond this cultivated environment into the local or distant worlds beyond its borders. Thoughtful design in every level of management is necessary to retain the careful balance of nutrients and production within a primarily closed and semi self-sufficient system worked without farm animals or heavy reliance on large machinery. The efficiency of large machinery is outweighed by its inefficiency in light of the overall damage to the ecosystem created by the political, industrial, and financial complex necessary to create, fund, maintain, fuel and recycle its remains. These, and other factors, mandate a more simple approach to farming based more on thoughtful use of hand tools, natural strategies, and no-till farming practices, and less on large, noisy, soil compacting and polluting machinery of modern agribusiness.
4. Farm Size & Establishment Veganic horticulture is firmly based on the premise that small is better. Large modern farms are too complex and too dependent on large machinery and emotionally disconnected employees. Veganic farms, in opposition, need to be of manageable size so that one family, or one extended family or fraternity, can manage them in a thoughtful, caring and constructive manner. Careful consideration and contemplation on various factors and interdependencies during all seasons and phases of farm life is necessary for successful Veganic farming. This mandates direct personal and thoughtful interaction between the human living on a farm, and the farm itself. A small paid off farm is preferred to a larger one where monthly payments might tempt one toward more economic but less wholistic practices. Inasmuch as all successful farming endeavors require extensive labor inputs from time to time, it is all the more better when farming enterprises can be inaugurated or expanded to include several friends or relatives dedicated to working together for the common good of the group and the land itself. As a diverse ecosystem is always preferred to a mono crop, so an extended blood or philosophical family working unitedly the preferred paradigm to the individual, couple, or nuclear family unit.
5. Farm Revenue Whether owned free and clear or mortgages, every Veganic farm should seek to maintain a fivefold revenue producing base. Reliance on only one source of income, as so astutely articulated by the ancient Roman Cato, is not a wise approach. These five areas of overflow should include:
• Produce produced beyond the needs of resident humans: Sold or traded in the form of fresh produce, processed, preserved, or fermented drinks and foods, and fresh baked or cooked foods and prepared beverages. A certain amount of excess produce of any successful operation should also be set aside for the gratis use of the poor and hungry. Also extensively preserved goods such as fermented wines, aged vinegars or other aged products designed for long term storage.
• Production of herbal medicines, tinctures, salves and other natural remedies over and above the present needs of residents. For sale, trade and free distribution to those in dire need.
• The creation of crafts, non food items, and works of beauty, utility and art from various fibers, foods and raw materials available on the land and created above the needs of the residents. Willow baskets, fiber ropes, cotton clothing, reed footwear, natural fiber filled bedding, wood and cane furniture, natural papers, inks, and dyes, and other similar items.
• Extra air layered, grafted, and seedling trees, brambles and vines, vegetable seeds, Veganic composts, compost teas, and other items needed by other Veganic farms and gardens.
• Information, seminars, hands on training, publications, lectures and other forms of dissemination of pertinent information that serves humankind in an uplifting and progressive manner.
As the farm grows more successful, self regulating and self-sufficient, more and more of these revenue producing surpluses can be offered to the needy without charge or required recompense. An ideal of the true Veganic farmer should be to eventually offer their surplus to the world in the same spirit of generosity in which the earth offers its bounty to those who work with it.
6. Initial Improvements When working with arid, marginal, or even semi-fertile land, it is sometimes necessary to kick start the local ecosystem by the careful import of certain raw materials and additives. The use of imports should be minimized as soon as feasible. All things being equal, preference should always be given to local rather than distant imports due to the laws of efficiency of transport. But according to these same natural laws, the most useful and efficient imports for the long range success of the farm should be sought after and acquired.( Major imports are only allowed for the first three stars of Veganic Certification, and most should be accomplished before the second star/year.) These include:
• Soil mineral amendments (Gypsum, sand, clay, perlite, vermiculite, rock phosphate, azomite, etc.)
• Organic amendments (Kelp, organic hay, sustainable peat, forest compost, alfalfa meal, etc.) These, because of their possible dubious origins, should be used in a special area to grow green manures and compost additives that will be directly used on the producing areas of the farm.
• Vegan fertilizers (Molasses, etc.) These too should be used to create the raw materials the farm needs to make its own compost teas and vegan fertilizers and sprays.
• Seeds & plants (These should be acquired from organic sources when feasible, and any non vegan potting soils should be removed from potted plants before planting.) The use of genetically modified seed and propagation material is forbidden.
• Tools necessary to build the structures, work the farm and preserve its produce. Preference toward simple natural tools and containers should be given.
• Raw wood, glass, stone or other natural building materials needed to build homes, reservoirs and growing areas.
7. Annual Imports & Exports Once established, a developing farm should minimize its imports of soil amendments and other commodities as much as is feasible, seeking always after self sufficiency when achievable without the sacrifice of utility, beauty, or quality of life. Allowable annual imports for the first three levels include:
• Raw wood, glass, stone or other natural building materials needed to repair or expand the shelter or greenhouse base.
• Additional naturally occurring soil amendments needed on a temporary basis.
• Seabird and bat guano from non domesticated species, and kelp gathered from the seashore.
• Organic food, clothing and natural medicine, necessary to insure the survival and health of the farm inhabitants.
• Hand tools necessary to work the farm.
Once established, a developing farm should balance its imports and exports so that soil depletion does not occur from heavy export of produce.
8. Creatures The first priority of a vegan farm is to provide for its human inhabitants. First to those who work the farm, and second to those in need beyond its borders. The inadvertent providence to local animals, birds and other creatures should not be directly sought after but is an added blessing of a successful farm. Even though a Veganic farming operation seeks to have a harmonious relationship with the animal world, this does not entail the conscious use of domesticated farm animals or their manures to work the farm. Creating conditions that facilitate the presence of useful creatures near or on the farms edges, such as the planting of certain trees that encourage over wintering of beneficial insects, pollinating bees or rodent eating owls, is permissible. The use of animals as an intricate and necessary component of farm life, as advocated by Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic farming system, is rejected in Veganic horticulture which leans almost exclusively on the human element acting in enlightened harmony with the plant and mineral worlds to make the farm successful. Not only is the use of animals for plowing and other such activities prohibited, but so is the use of their manures and body parts for fertilizer. This frees the farm from dependence on outside sources of energy. Not only does this alleviate the moral and ethical problems associated with use of slaughterhouse residues from the meat, fish, dairy and poultry industries, but it removes the farm from direct dangers of contamination from diseases and toxins known to coexist with these industries. Use of a pet dog to scare away deer, a pet cat to hunt gophers, or a pet monkey trained to pick fruit are all less than perfect situations on a fully veganic farm. Droppings that occur naturally need not be removed from the field or garden, unless they are from a carnivorous animal or human. Carcasses of larger creatures should be removed off site when discovered, or be burned or buried in a non tillage area.
9. Pests & Rodents Veganic horticulture entails protecting the crop and ecosystem from devastation by rodents, foraging wildlife, or destructive insects. This is accomplished without resorting to the slaughter of deer and other large wildlife, and without sterilizing the land so that no insect can survive. Predatory insects are encouraged and natural controls are employed such as the use of molasses to relocate fire ants, or gopher plants to discourage gophers. When these controls fail, compassionate relocation is the second alternative. Elaborate fencing or bird netting can be resorted to when other methods fail. The following methods are acceptable:
• 12’-18” buried wire for gophers
• Deer fencing or garlic for deer
• Wood Ash
• Metal Tree girders for tree borers
• Codling moth gallon jug traps with molasses to 100 parts water
• pyrethrum plant
• Vegan Soap for aphids
• Introduction of predator nematodes, mites, praying mantis, or ladybugs.
10. Fungus, Bacteria, Scabs Veganic horticulture uses natural means to regulate problems associated with crop production. Cultivars with disease resistance are sought out such as scab resistant apples, and very limited spaying with natural substances is allowable when all other measures have failed to secure the survival of the crop. Some crop loss should be expected and accepted before resorting to sprays and other measures that alter the delicate eco-balance of the orchard or plot. Allowable sprays to prevent long term damage to the orchard are acceptable, such as: garlic sprays, hot-pepper-wax, Azomite spray, Vegan Compost Folier Spray, mineral oil, Lime Sulphur, etc.
11. Fertilizers & Ammendments Veganic horticulture uses primarily Veganic fertilizers derived from plant materials or naturally occurring minerals. Limited or temporary use of imported vegan fertilizers, seabird and bat guano, worm castings or vegan humanure is also allowable on the first three levels but ideally should be restricted to the creation of compost crops in a special isolated area of the farm. Allowable fertilizers include:
o (Worm Castings) – temporary
o (Bat Guano) - temporary
o (SeaBird Guano) – temporary
o (Humanure) – temporary, if from resident vegans
o (Human Urine) – temporary, if from resident vegans
o (Outside Organic Produce - composted) – temporary
o (Organic Hay) - temporary
• Colloidal Rock Sulphate
• Greensand
• Azomite & other rocks dusts
• Epson Salts
• Organic Boron
• Organic Zinc
• Granite Meal
• Organic Sulfur
• Lime
• Humic Acid - naturally occurring deposits, water and alkali extracts only
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Vegan Compost
• Molasses
• Kelp
• Alfalfa Meal
12. Weeds Weeds removed from a growing area should be used to create compost teas. They are as valuable as the crops themselves and should be treated accordingly. Through the study of weeds the wise veganic farmer can determine the state of the soil where they grow. Natural means, such as the introduction of barley hay to a overly green pond, or introduction of a more aggressive positive green manure, are preferred over other methods that require manual or machine removal.
13. Greenhouses & Row Covers When possible, a larger repertoire of produce should be sought after by use of greenhouses, hoophouses, and other sheltered environments. Ever more natural greenhouse structural and glazing components should be sought after. Temporary shields over outdoor crops should be used whenever possible to extend the growing season or protect the crop from insects or scalding sun. Ever more natural row covers and cold frame materials should be sought after. Vine arbors, trees, north sides of hills and structures, and other artifices should be used to create mini climates suitable for heat or sun eschewing plants like lettuces or tea. Mulchs and covers should not be made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
14. Water Natural springs should be developed if possible, and deep wells sunk when feasible so as to free up the farm from reliance on possibly tainted outside sources of water. When scarce, rainwater from greenhouses and roofs should be channeled and preserved for later use. Care should be taken to keep any bodies of open water alive and free from toxins or hostile creatures. Ducks, if allowed to roam freely, may be introduced into the ecosystem to maintain ponds and to possibly weed crops and eat insects. Ducks are not acceptable as domesticated pets or sources of feathers or down, however. Existing or created bodies of water should be used to their maximum potential, and should be sewn with wild rice, water chestnuts, or other suitable food or fiber crops. They should be kept beautiful, balanced and alive and have fish, such as koi, introduced into them to control mosquitoes and other bothersome insects. All bodies of water should be made as safe as possible for little children who could be harmed by them.
15. Orchards Orchards should be grown whenever possible and should be interplanted rather than mono-cropped. Careful selection of cultivars should be undertaken so as to insure minimal spraying. Orchard floors should not be left bare, but planted with green manures or others crops. Three or four tiered orchards are the preferred model.
16. Vineyards Grapes, Kiwis and other vines should be grown whenever possible and preference given to open head pruning techniques for grapes as a more natural appearing alternative to wire trellis systems. Vineyard floors should not be left bare, but planted with green manures or others crops.
17. Non Food Plants Plants useful for fertilizer, compost, medicine, fiber, soaps, fuel, building material or other uses should be grown whenever possible. The Veganic farm should seek after self sufficient creation of most if not all of its paper, wood, cloth, fuel and other needs. Plants like bamboo and willow have multitudes of uses, and nitrogen fixing trees like Alders can create wind and sun breaks, enrich the soil, and provide building material and firewood.
18. Soils, Tilth & Crop Rotation Plants should be rotated and intercropped when possible so as to insure proper soil tilth and viability. The veganic farmer, like the borrowing mole, should not fear to disturb the soil because of worms and other creatures that might inadvertently be disturbed or killed. The introduction of air into the soil does more to promote greater life than does the hesitancy to disturb. Potting soils should always be vegan, and any foreign potting soil imported with a purchased plant must be discarded and returned to the world from which it came. Proper soil PH may be adjusted with the introduction of gypsum, lime or other suitable amendment of natural origin. Soil texture may be adjusted with the admixture of sand or clay, preferably from a local source within a hundred mile radius. Soil tilth should be sought after by the introduction of farm produced compost, cover crops, and other sustainable organic carbon sources. Root crops like daikon should be used to loosen hard soils, rather than annual tillage. One time deep ploughing to break up underlining hardpans are permissible. Chemically treated wood and posts are prohibited on veganic farms.
19. Propagation Plants should be propagated by seed, graft, bud, and air layering to replace old stock with more viable or microclimate adapted cultivars, to expand, or to trade, sell or give away for the establishment of other farms. All fully functioning veganic farms should be engaged in developing cultivars uniquely adapted to local conditions and climate. To this end a portion of the farm should be set aside for experimental work in this vital area.
20. Seasonal Crops Crops should be cultivated so as to provide a seasonal variety to the yearly diet and desired varieties are to be planted so that diversity of harvest is realizable. Season extending technologies should be used with wisdom and foresight so that plants are not spending inordinate amounts of energy attempting to grow in hostile conditions. On established farms care should be taken not to lean too much toward perennial bearing crops to the neglect of annuals. Farms should also cultivate beauty as well as produce, planting some flowers and ornamentals as well as food producing plants - preference being given to those flowers that are edible and those ornamentals that have other uses besides beauty.
21. Stellar Planting Crops should be propagated and harvested in auspicious times as determined by experiments which take into account the cosmic and terrestrial rhythms. Root crops and nut bearing trees as the lunar orb passes through the earth signs, leafy and watery fruit bearing vegetables and stone fruits when it passes through a water sign, legumes and pomes in air signs, and grains and citrus in the fire signs. Balance between various types of food should be maintained, with due focus on the creation of carbon crops for sustainable soil fertility, and calorie infused crops for human consumption.
22. 5-fold Conversion & Certification We propose five levels of Veganic Agriculture certification, representing various levels of conversion to full ethical and self sufficient Veganic horticulture.
• 1st Star: This level is meant to represents the first year of active Veganic agriculture and it is characterized by major imports to improve soil and introduce desirable cultivars. All chemical and animal based fertilizers and pesticides are abandoned. All byproducts of the meat, fowl, fish and dairy industry are removed.
• 2nd Star: This level is meant to represents the second year of active Veganic agriculture and the 2nd years growth of any imported trees or vines under Veganic production. Imported organic vegetable seeds are still allowed in this 2nd phase but active seed saving should be in effect. (Imports of non organic trees to the farm proper sets the farm back to the first star.)
• 3rd Star: This level is meant to represents the third year of Veganic growth of trees, & a time when 90% of all seeds, compost and liquid fertilizers are self produced. Active tree propagation should have commenced and there should be no organic tree imported less than two years before, or other tree imported less than 3 years before on the main farm. Organic Molasses and Kelp are still allowed as imports. Guanos and worm castings imports are no longer allowed after this third year. This is the highest rating possible for a farm dependent on the electrically grid to pump its water.(A small section of the farm may be designated as intermediate “1st and 2nd star” areas where imported plants and seeds can be transitioned to full Veganic status without compromising the status of the farm as a whole.)
• 4th Star: On this level the farm should be 80% self-sufficient & no longer importing any significant percentages of soil amendments or plants. Tree and vine propagation should be in full swing and significant non food plant production begun. Kelp is still allowed as an import. This is the highest rating possible for a farm completely dependent on importing solar components to pump water. Lunar Planting should be fully operational.
• 5th Star: Fully functional 95% self-sufficient Veganic Farm serving as a teaching center and example of pure Veganic lifestyles. No significant imports that determine farm viability are allowed on this final level. Although some clothing and construction materials are allowed as imports, farm grown alternatives to them should be manifesting. High Technology items, such as solar, electronics, and well pumps, are allowed as imports if it is determined that life could continue on the farm without them if need be. It must be possible for life to continue on the farm without any imports at all for a farm to abide on this 5 star rating.
Certification Goals
[NOTE: A certification board has yet to be established.]
[When seeking certification: Satisfaction must be rendered that all components of the farm have been maintained in accordance with all the above standards. Certification must be reviewed and renewed annually.]
Veganic Horticultural Standards
by Davied Israel, O:N:E:
0. Introduction The human mammal, in his rise to ascendancy over nature, has oft exploited the natural world in a cruel and unnecessary way. This exploitation has now reached a harsh crescendo, and whole ecosystems are threatened with extinction. It is high time for wise and rational human beings to rethink their relationship with the natural world, and their deep dependency on it. Veganic Agriculture seeks to define this relationship, and to harmoniously poise humanity both within and above her.
1. Principles Veganic Agriculture is a philosophy of working with and for nature, not against her. Veganic Agriculture does not delegate humanity to a mere passive observer and recipient of nature’s bounty, but as an active, albeit wise, manipulator of her in her most sublime aspects. The interaction of human and plant world is completely natural. It has not always been done with wisdom, but it has always been done and is a necessary component of human survivability on this planet. The wiser this interaction, the greater the benefits for both. It is as natural, needful, and beautiful for humans to build natural shelters as it is for other nest and den creating creatures of our world. As the beaver cuts down trees and builds damns and homes that benefit many, so humans have the responsibility to use wood and stone to control life giving moisture and to erect shelters and shrines as well. As gophers and moles plough through the soil, so may man. As squirrels store nuts, so the fully naturalized human stores up the bounty of the earth for future need. As birds and animals transport seeds to distant locales, so humanity is justified in doing likewise. As bees and insects cross pollinate various plants, so humans share the right to do so in even more thoughtful ways. Humanity has the right to work with and improve nature whenever possible, but she also has the responsibility to do so with great wisdom and foresight into future consequences of all such acts both great and small. Veganic Agriculture does not include the conscious use of farm animals and their manures to create food and fiber. Veganic Agriculture eschews the refuse of the slaughterhouse for fertilizer, and avoids the chemical concoctions of modern industry. It bears a heavy responsibility to adjust, end or innovate any practice that does not contribute to greater overall health and vitality of the farm and its surrounding environments. It seeks to enhance the overall life and vibrance of the locale and is wiling to make temporary and calculated sacrifices that assure this ascendancy.
2. The Veganic Farm Veganic Agriculture seeks to define the relationship of the Veganic farm to nature, and to the non Veganic worlds beyond her borders. It recognizes the interrelationship between vineyard, orchard, field, cultivar, soil, microclimate, seasonal rhythm and a host of other subtle and not so subtle factors. It recognizes necessary imports and exports to that which lies beyond its borders, yet ever seeking greater self sufficiency whenever possible. It sees each factor not as an isolated phenomenon, but as components of a living wholistic system. The synthesis of all these factors creates a unique produce producing environment, To the raw components of this unique environment of local soils, water and weather, are added other factors such as well chosen cultivars, individualistic horticultural practices, specific planting schedules based upon the rhythms of the cosmos. The subtle ambiance of various regions and soils has long been acknowledged in various wine growing regions. Veganic Agriculture seeks to broaden this appreciation of appellations to all food and fiber crops and add to it various inputs of a more esoteric nature, such as the subtle effects of astrological planting and unique combinations of herbal teas and composts to accentuate unique flavors and appearances. As the dominion and horticultural expertise of humanity has broadened, so has her ability to go beyond basic survival and enter thoughtfully the world of higher horticulture. Thoughtful pioneers like Cato, Manihiya, Rudolf Steiner, Masuoba Fukuoka, and others have contributed to this evolutionary process, but much work, experimenting and innovation still needs to be accomplished. The higher horticulture of the future is yet dependent on the thoughtful, watchful and kind innovation of those committed to improving yet further the relationship and beauty that exists between humanity and the natural and supernatural world around us.
3. The 5 Rings The Veganic horticultural environ can be viewed as five leveled. The immediate and fully controlled ecosystem of sheltered, partially shielded and open growing environs, the partially controlled windbreak and compost producing areas of the occupied land, and the surrounding farms and distant places beyond her borders. The proper relationship between each of these five rings is important.
• SHELTERED: greenhouse, shelters and solariums
• SHEILDED: Hoophouses, grow tunnels, cold frames, etc.
• CULTIVATED: Open Field, orchard, vineyard, briar, pond, stream, etc.
• WINDBREAK: Compost, fuel and fiber producing windbreaks, partially influenced borders
• INDIRECT: Neighboring farms and wilds, nearby water bodies, mountains, distant lands.
Veganic horticultural defines what is proper within the working dynamics of the sheltered, shielded, cultivated and windbreak of the individual farm, and also seeks to regulate and apply correct Veganic ethical standards to what is imported or exported beyond this cultivated environment into the local or distant worlds beyond its borders. Thoughtful design in every level of management is necessary to retain the careful balance of nutrients and production within a primarily closed and semi self-sufficient system worked without farm animals or heavy reliance on large machinery. The efficiency of large machinery is outweighed by its inefficiency in light of the overall damage to the ecosystem created by the political, industrial, and financial complex necessary to create, fund, maintain, fuel and recycle its remains. These, and other factors, mandate a more simple approach to farming based more on thoughtful use of hand tools, natural strategies, and no-till farming practices, and less on large, noisy, soil compacting and polluting machinery of modern agribusiness.
4. Farm Size & Establishment Veganic horticulture is firmly based on the premise that small is better. Large modern farms are too complex and too dependent on large machinery and emotionally disconnected employees. Veganic farms, in opposition, need to be of manageable size so that one family, or one extended family or fraternity, can manage them in a thoughtful, caring and constructive manner. Careful consideration and contemplation on various factors and interdependencies during all seasons and phases of farm life is necessary for successful Veganic farming. This mandates direct personal and thoughtful interaction between the human living on a farm, and the farm itself. A small paid off farm is preferred to a larger one where monthly payments might tempt one toward more economic but less wholistic practices. Inasmuch as all successful farming endeavors require extensive labor inputs from time to time, it is all the more better when farming enterprises can be inaugurated or expanded to include several friends or relatives dedicated to working together for the common good of the group and the land itself. As a diverse ecosystem is always preferred to a mono crop, so an extended blood or philosophical family working unitedly the preferred paradigm to the individual, couple, or nuclear family unit.
5. Farm Revenue Whether owned free and clear or mortgages, every Veganic farm should seek to maintain a fivefold revenue producing base. Reliance on only one source of income, as so astutely articulated by the ancient Roman Cato, is not a wise approach. These five areas of overflow should include:
• Produce produced beyond the needs of resident humans: Sold or traded in the form of fresh produce, processed, preserved, or fermented drinks and foods, and fresh baked or cooked foods and prepared beverages. A certain amount of excess produce of any successful operation should also be set aside for the gratis use of the poor and hungry. Also extensively preserved goods such as fermented wines, aged vinegars or other aged products designed for long term storage.
• Production of herbal medicines, tinctures, salves and other natural remedies over and above the present needs of residents. For sale, trade and free distribution to those in dire need.
• The creation of crafts, non food items, and works of beauty, utility and art from various fibers, foods and raw materials available on the land and created above the needs of the residents. Willow baskets, fiber ropes, cotton clothing, reed footwear, natural fiber filled bedding, wood and cane furniture, natural papers, inks, and dyes, and other similar items.
• Extra air layered, grafted, and seedling trees, brambles and vines, vegetable seeds, Veganic composts, compost teas, and other items needed by other Veganic farms and gardens.
• Information, seminars, hands on training, publications, lectures and other forms of dissemination of pertinent information that serves humankind in an uplifting and progressive manner.
As the farm grows more successful, self regulating and self-sufficient, more and more of these revenue producing surpluses can be offered to the needy without charge or required recompense. An ideal of the true Veganic farmer should be to eventually offer their surplus to the world in the same spirit of generosity in which the earth offers its bounty to those who work with it.
6. Initial Improvements When working with arid, marginal, or even semi-fertile land, it is sometimes necessary to kick start the local ecosystem by the careful import of certain raw materials and additives. The use of imports should be minimized as soon as feasible. All things being equal, preference should always be given to local rather than distant imports due to the laws of efficiency of transport. But according to these same natural laws, the most useful and efficient imports for the long range success of the farm should be sought after and acquired.( Major imports are only allowed for the first three stars of Veganic Certification, and most should be accomplished before the second star/year.) These include:
• Soil mineral amendments (Gypsum, sand, clay, perlite, vermiculite, rock phosphate, azomite, etc.)
• Organic amendments (Kelp, organic hay, sustainable peat, forest compost, alfalfa meal, etc.) These, because of their possible dubious origins, should be used in a special area to grow green manures and compost additives that will be directly used on the producing areas of the farm.
• Vegan fertilizers (Molasses, etc.) These too should be used to create the raw materials the farm needs to make its own compost teas and vegan fertilizers and sprays.
• Seeds & plants (These should be acquired from organic sources when feasible, and any non vegan potting soils should be removed from potted plants before planting.) The use of genetically modified seed and propagation material is forbidden.
• Tools necessary to build the structures, work the farm and preserve its produce. Preference toward simple natural tools and containers should be given.
• Raw wood, glass, stone or other natural building materials needed to build homes, reservoirs and growing areas.
7. Annual Imports & Exports Once established, a developing farm should minimize its imports of soil amendments and other commodities as much as is feasible, seeking always after self sufficiency when achievable without the sacrifice of utility, beauty, or quality of life. Allowable annual imports for the first three levels include:
• Raw wood, glass, stone or other natural building materials needed to repair or expand the shelter or greenhouse base.
• Additional naturally occurring soil amendments needed on a temporary basis.
• Seabird and bat guano from non domesticated species, and kelp gathered from the seashore.
• Organic food, clothing and natural medicine, necessary to insure the survival and health of the farm inhabitants.
• Hand tools necessary to work the farm.
Once established, a developing farm should balance its imports and exports so that soil depletion does not occur from heavy export of produce.
8. Creatures The first priority of a vegan farm is to provide for its human inhabitants. First to those who work the farm, and second to those in need beyond its borders. The inadvertent providence to local animals, birds and other creatures should not be directly sought after but is an added blessing of a successful farm. Even though a Veganic farming operation seeks to have a harmonious relationship with the animal world, this does not entail the conscious use of domesticated farm animals or their manures to work the farm. Creating conditions that facilitate the presence of useful creatures near or on the farms edges, such as the planting of certain trees that encourage over wintering of beneficial insects, pollinating bees or rodent eating owls, is permissible. The use of animals as an intricate and necessary component of farm life, as advocated by Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic farming system, is rejected in Veganic horticulture which leans almost exclusively on the human element acting in enlightened harmony with the plant and mineral worlds to make the farm successful. Not only is the use of animals for plowing and other such activities prohibited, but so is the use of their manures and body parts for fertilizer. This frees the farm from dependence on outside sources of energy. Not only does this alleviate the moral and ethical problems associated with use of slaughterhouse residues from the meat, fish, dairy and poultry industries, but it removes the farm from direct dangers of contamination from diseases and toxins known to coexist with these industries. Use of a pet dog to scare away deer, a pet cat to hunt gophers, or a pet monkey trained to pick fruit are all less than perfect situations on a fully veganic farm. Droppings that occur naturally need not be removed from the field or garden, unless they are from a carnivorous animal or human. Carcasses of larger creatures should be removed off site when discovered, or be burned or buried in a non tillage area.
9. Pests & Rodents Veganic horticulture entails protecting the crop and ecosystem from devastation by rodents, foraging wildlife, or destructive insects. This is accomplished without resorting to the slaughter of deer and other large wildlife, and without sterilizing the land so that no insect can survive. Predatory insects are encouraged and natural controls are employed such as the use of molasses to relocate fire ants, or gopher plants to discourage gophers. When these controls fail, compassionate relocation is the second alternative. Elaborate fencing or bird netting can be resorted to when other methods fail. The following methods are acceptable:
• 12’-18” buried wire for gophers
• Deer fencing or garlic for deer
• Wood Ash
• Metal Tree girders for tree borers
• Codling moth gallon jug traps with molasses to 100 parts water
• pyrethrum plant
• Vegan Soap for aphids
• Introduction of predator nematodes, mites, praying mantis, or ladybugs.
10. Fungus, Bacteria, Scabs Veganic horticulture uses natural means to regulate problems associated with crop production. Cultivars with disease resistance are sought out such as scab resistant apples, and very limited spaying with natural substances is allowable when all other measures have failed to secure the survival of the crop. Some crop loss should be expected and accepted before resorting to sprays and other measures that alter the delicate eco-balance of the orchard or plot. Allowable sprays to prevent long term damage to the orchard are acceptable, such as: garlic sprays, hot-pepper-wax, Azomite spray, Vegan Compost Folier Spray, mineral oil, Lime Sulphur, etc.
11. Fertilizers & Ammendments Veganic horticulture uses primarily Veganic fertilizers derived from plant materials or naturally occurring minerals. Limited or temporary use of imported vegan fertilizers, seabird and bat guano, worm castings or vegan humanure is also allowable on the first three levels but ideally should be restricted to the creation of compost crops in a special isolated area of the farm. Allowable fertilizers include:
o (Worm Castings) – temporary
o (Bat Guano) - temporary
o (SeaBird Guano) – temporary
o (Humanure) – temporary, if from resident vegans
o (Human Urine) – temporary, if from resident vegans
o (Outside Organic Produce - composted) – temporary
o (Organic Hay) - temporary
• Colloidal Rock Sulphate
• Greensand
• Azomite & other rocks dusts
• Epson Salts
• Organic Boron
• Organic Zinc
• Granite Meal
• Organic Sulfur
• Lime
• Humic Acid - naturally occurring deposits, water and alkali extracts only
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Vegan Compost
• Molasses
• Kelp
• Alfalfa Meal
12. Weeds Weeds removed from a growing area should be used to create compost teas. They are as valuable as the crops themselves and should be treated accordingly. Through the study of weeds the wise veganic farmer can determine the state of the soil where they grow. Natural means, such as the introduction of barley hay to a overly green pond, or introduction of a more aggressive positive green manure, are preferred over other methods that require manual or machine removal.
13. Greenhouses & Row Covers When possible, a larger repertoire of produce should be sought after by use of greenhouses, hoophouses, and other sheltered environments. Ever more natural greenhouse structural and glazing components should be sought after. Temporary shields over outdoor crops should be used whenever possible to extend the growing season or protect the crop from insects or scalding sun. Ever more natural row covers and cold frame materials should be sought after. Vine arbors, trees, north sides of hills and structures, and other artifices should be used to create mini climates suitable for heat or sun eschewing plants like lettuces or tea. Mulchs and covers should not be made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
14. Water Natural springs should be developed if possible, and deep wells sunk when feasible so as to free up the farm from reliance on possibly tainted outside sources of water. When scarce, rainwater from greenhouses and roofs should be channeled and preserved for later use. Care should be taken to keep any bodies of open water alive and free from toxins or hostile creatures. Ducks, if allowed to roam freely, may be introduced into the ecosystem to maintain ponds and to possibly weed crops and eat insects. Ducks are not acceptable as domesticated pets or sources of feathers or down, however. Existing or created bodies of water should be used to their maximum potential, and should be sewn with wild rice, water chestnuts, or other suitable food or fiber crops. They should be kept beautiful, balanced and alive and have fish, such as koi, introduced into them to control mosquitoes and other bothersome insects. All bodies of water should be made as safe as possible for little children who could be harmed by them.
15. Orchards Orchards should be grown whenever possible and should be interplanted rather than mono-cropped. Careful selection of cultivars should be undertaken so as to insure minimal spraying. Orchard floors should not be left bare, but planted with green manures or others crops. Three or four tiered orchards are the preferred model.
16. Vineyards Grapes, Kiwis and other vines should be grown whenever possible and preference given to open head pruning techniques for grapes as a more natural appearing alternative to wire trellis systems. Vineyard floors should not be left bare, but planted with green manures or others crops.
17. Non Food Plants Plants useful for fertilizer, compost, medicine, fiber, soaps, fuel, building material or other uses should be grown whenever possible. The Veganic farm should seek after self sufficient creation of most if not all of its paper, wood, cloth, fuel and other needs. Plants like bamboo and willow have multitudes of uses, and nitrogen fixing trees like Alders can create wind and sun breaks, enrich the soil, and provide building material and firewood.
18. Soils, Tilth & Crop Rotation Plants should be rotated and intercropped when possible so as to insure proper soil tilth and viability. The veganic farmer, like the borrowing mole, should not fear to disturb the soil because of worms and other creatures that might inadvertently be disturbed or killed. The introduction of air into the soil does more to promote greater life than does the hesitancy to disturb. Potting soils should always be vegan, and any foreign potting soil imported with a purchased plant must be discarded and returned to the world from which it came. Proper soil PH may be adjusted with the introduction of gypsum, lime or other suitable amendment of natural origin. Soil texture may be adjusted with the admixture of sand or clay, preferably from a local source within a hundred mile radius. Soil tilth should be sought after by the introduction of farm produced compost, cover crops, and other sustainable organic carbon sources. Root crops like daikon should be used to loosen hard soils, rather than annual tillage. One time deep ploughing to break up underlining hardpans are permissible. Chemically treated wood and posts are prohibited on veganic farms.
19. Propagation Plants should be propagated by seed, graft, bud, and air layering to replace old stock with more viable or microclimate adapted cultivars, to expand, or to trade, sell or give away for the establishment of other farms. All fully functioning veganic farms should be engaged in developing cultivars uniquely adapted to local conditions and climate. To this end a portion of the farm should be set aside for experimental work in this vital area.
20. Seasonal Crops Crops should be cultivated so as to provide a seasonal variety to the yearly diet and desired varieties are to be planted so that diversity of harvest is realizable. Season extending technologies should be used with wisdom and foresight so that plants are not spending inordinate amounts of energy attempting to grow in hostile conditions. On established farms care should be taken not to lean too much toward perennial bearing crops to the neglect of annuals. Farms should also cultivate beauty as well as produce, planting some flowers and ornamentals as well as food producing plants - preference being given to those flowers that are edible and those ornamentals that have other uses besides beauty.
21. Stellar Planting Crops should be propagated and harvested in auspicious times as determined by experiments which take into account the cosmic and terrestrial rhythms. Root crops and nut bearing trees as the lunar orb passes through the earth signs, leafy and watery fruit bearing vegetables and stone fruits when it passes through a water sign, legumes and pomes in air signs, and grains and citrus in the fire signs. Balance between various types of food should be maintained, with due focus on the creation of carbon crops for sustainable soil fertility, and calorie infused crops for human consumption.
22. 5-fold Conversion & Certification We propose five levels of Veganic Agriculture certification, representing various levels of conversion to full ethical and self sufficient Veganic horticulture.
• 1st Star: This level is meant to represents the first year of active Veganic agriculture and it is characterized by major imports to improve soil and introduce desirable cultivars. All chemical and animal based fertilizers and pesticides are abandoned. All byproducts of the meat, fowl, fish and dairy industry are removed.
• 2nd Star: This level is meant to represents the second year of active Veganic agriculture and the 2nd years growth of any imported trees or vines under Veganic production. Imported organic vegetable seeds are still allowed in this 2nd phase but active seed saving should be in effect. (Imports of non organic trees to the farm proper sets the farm back to the first star.)
• 3rd Star: This level is meant to represents the third year of Veganic growth of trees, & a time when 90% of all seeds, compost and liquid fertilizers are self produced. Active tree propagation should have commenced and there should be no organic tree imported less than two years before, or other tree imported less than 3 years before on the main farm. Organic Molasses and Kelp are still allowed as imports. Guanos and worm castings imports are no longer allowed after this third year. This is the highest rating possible for a farm dependent on the electrically grid to pump its water.(A small section of the farm may be designated as intermediate “1st and 2nd star” areas where imported plants and seeds can be transitioned to full Veganic status without compromising the status of the farm as a whole.)
• 4th Star: On this level the farm should be 80% self-sufficient & no longer importing any significant percentages of soil amendments or plants. Tree and vine propagation should be in full swing and significant non food plant production begun. Kelp is still allowed as an import. This is the highest rating possible for a farm completely dependent on importing solar components to pump water. Lunar Planting should be fully operational.
• 5th Star: Fully functional 95% self-sufficient Veganic Farm serving as a teaching center and example of pure Veganic lifestyles. No significant imports that determine farm viability are allowed on this final level. Although some clothing and construction materials are allowed as imports, farm grown alternatives to them should be manifesting. High Technology items, such as solar, electronics, and well pumps, are allowed as imports if it is determined that life could continue on the farm without them if need be. It must be possible for life to continue on the farm without any imports at all for a farm to abide on this 5 star rating.
Certification Goals
[NOTE: A certification board has yet to be established.]
[When seeking certification: Satisfaction must be rendered that all components of the farm have been maintained in accordance with all the above standards. Certification must be reviewed and renewed annually.]
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Best Open Pollenated garden varieties for Miryai Mt. and the pnw in general, based on yield, taste and adaptation to cool nights:
Slicing Tomato: Legend, Siletz, Stupice, Annas Noir
Determinant Paste Tomato: Saucey, Oroma
Indeterminant Paste: San Marzano Gigante 3
Cabbage: Primax, Red Acre, Perfection Savoy
Pepper: Golden Bell, Hero, Red Bull Horn, Corona, Cinderella Purple, Relleno Anaheim, Bulgarian Carrot, Italian Sweet
Carrot: Scarlet Nantes
Collard: Champion, Flash
Celery: Ventura
Lettuce: Outreduous, Midnight Ruffles, Red Velvet, Red Cross, Capistrano Romano
Onion: Nebula, Cipolini, Red Weatherfield
Pea: Oregon Pioneer, Oregon Trail, Oregon Giant
Kale: Wild (all op varieties)
Broccoli: Rosiland, Spero 2009
Radichio: Palla Rosa
Potato: Butte, Kenebec, Purple Peruvian, Russian Banana (symphylan remedy)
Cuke: Sweet Marketmore, Clinton, Tasty Jade, Northern Pickling, Mideast Prolific
Summer Squash: Sucess Yellow
Squash: Hokaido Stellar Blue, Delicata, Sweet Reba Acorn
Parsnip: Cohban Improved
Spinach: Butterfly
Melon: Verona
Arugua: Sputnik
Endive: Perfect
Radish: French Breakfast
All these varieties scored high in the Oregon University trials from 2000-2010 or in other trials. They tend to be available from Fedco, Terretorial, West Coast and other seed companies.
Slicing Tomato: Legend, Siletz, Stupice, Annas Noir
Determinant Paste Tomato: Saucey, Oroma
Indeterminant Paste: San Marzano Gigante 3
Cabbage: Primax, Red Acre, Perfection Savoy
Pepper: Golden Bell, Hero, Red Bull Horn, Corona, Cinderella Purple, Relleno Anaheim, Bulgarian Carrot, Italian Sweet
Carrot: Scarlet Nantes
Collard: Champion, Flash
Celery: Ventura
Lettuce: Outreduous, Midnight Ruffles, Red Velvet, Red Cross, Capistrano Romano
Onion: Nebula, Cipolini, Red Weatherfield
Pea: Oregon Pioneer, Oregon Trail, Oregon Giant
Kale: Wild (all op varieties)
Broccoli: Rosiland, Spero 2009
Radichio: Palla Rosa
Potato: Butte, Kenebec, Purple Peruvian, Russian Banana (symphylan remedy)
Cuke: Sweet Marketmore, Clinton, Tasty Jade, Northern Pickling, Mideast Prolific
Summer Squash: Sucess Yellow
Squash: Hokaido Stellar Blue, Delicata, Sweet Reba Acorn
Parsnip: Cohban Improved
Spinach: Butterfly
Melon: Verona
Arugua: Sputnik
Endive: Perfect
Radish: French Breakfast
All these varieties scored high in the Oregon University trials from 2000-2010 or in other trials. They tend to be available from Fedco, Terretorial, West Coast and other seed companies.
Yesai's Organic Fertilzer Mix(for 100 sf):
6 cups 12-12-2 guano,
4 cups alfalfa,
2 cups Ca lime,
2 cups kelp,
2 cups azomite
6 cups worm castings
(plus 8 gallons of worm castings or 15 gallons of compost)
This is my complete organic fertilizer free of blood, bone and other residues of the slaughter industry. It is meant to replace the yearly depletions in the garden soil from winter rains and from various crops. It is appropriate for gardens in the Pacific Northwest and works best after an initial soil remineralization based upon a soil test that brings the Ca levels up to 4000 lbs per acre and the magnesium up to 1/7 of that. Once properly remineralized, use of this organic mix should keep the soil in good health for several years without additional testing and remineralization.
For a 4'x20' bed, each year initially apply .5 gallon Mix & 12.5 gallons compost*. This should be sufficient for low demand crops like beans, carrots kale. Add side dressings (every 3-4 weeks) for medium demand crops like tomato and corn until .5 gallon have been added. Add another .5 (1 gallon in total) side dressings for high demand crops like celery.
*or 1/2 as much worm
6 cups 12-12-2 guano,
4 cups alfalfa,
2 cups Ca lime,
2 cups kelp,
2 cups azomite
6 cups worm castings
(plus 8 gallons of worm castings or 15 gallons of compost)
This is my complete organic fertilizer free of blood, bone and other residues of the slaughter industry. It is meant to replace the yearly depletions in the garden soil from winter rains and from various crops. It is appropriate for gardens in the Pacific Northwest and works best after an initial soil remineralization based upon a soil test that brings the Ca levels up to 4000 lbs per acre and the magnesium up to 1/7 of that. Once properly remineralized, use of this organic mix should keep the soil in good health for several years without additional testing and remineralization.
For a 4'x20' bed, each year initially apply .5 gallon Mix & 12.5 gallons compost*. This should be sufficient for low demand crops like beans, carrots kale. Add side dressings (every 3-4 weeks) for medium demand crops like tomato and corn until .5 gallon have been added. Add another .5 (1 gallon in total) side dressings for high demand crops like celery.
*or 1/2 as much worm
Thursday, December 15, 2011
PNW Planting Schedule
Planting Chart for Coastal British Columbia
January
Nothing mentioned.
February
Start Celery, Leeks,artichoke and Sweet Onions indoors.
Plant(feb 1st to early April) broad beans directly in soil.
Plant radishes directly into the soil under a cover. After March 1st, no cover necessary.
Feb 15th start fennel and Parsley indoors.
Feb 15th plant peas outdoors now.
March
Start Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, lettuce and pepper seeds indoors.
Plant arugula directly into outdoor soil.Make subsequent plantings directly in soil untilearly Sept.
Plant cilantro and spinach directly into soil under a cover.
Plant Kale and Collards directly into soil. Continue doing so until early July.
Plant oriental greens and radishes directly into soil for the next 2-3 months.
March 15th, start tomato seeds indoors.
April
Plant turnips and carrots directly in outdoor soil
Transplant cabbage,fennel, leeks,lettuce and broccoli earlier started indoors or direct seed now outdoors.
Uncover earlier started (March 1st) cilantro or direct seed now.
Direct sow Endive/Radicchio,kohlrabi, storage onions,scallions and turnips now.
Uncover spinach planted earlier (march 1st) and make new sowings directly into outdoor soil.
April 15th, sow swiss chard and beet seeds directly outdoors.
April 15th Transplant cauliflower started on March 1st outdoors.
April 15th Start all melon varieties indoors now.
Continue sowing Argula,brocolli, cabbage, carrots, endive/radicchio, fennel,kohlrabi, leeks lettuce, onions, scallions, parsnips, radishes, peas and turnips throughout the whole month.
May
Transplant artichoke, celery, sweet onions (started Feb 1st) outdoors.
Direct sow celery now.
Direct sow parsley now and transplant parsley started indoors(Feb 15th) outside now.
Start pumpkin and squash seeds indoors now or just direct sow on May 15th.
Transplant tomatoes (started March 15th) outside now, but undercover.
Start bush and pole beans direct sown on May 15th.
May 15th start brussel sprout seeds indoors.
May 15th Direct sow corn until June 15th.
May 1st start cucumber seeds indoors.
Continue to direct plant artichoke, beets, broccoli,cabbage, carrots, celery,cilantro, fennel,kale, collards, leeks, lettuce, onions, oriental greens, parsley, parsnips, peas, spinach swiss chard and turnips throughout the whole month of May
June
Direct sow overwintering varieties of broccoli now.
Direct sow cucumbers now or transplant plants started indoors on May 1st.
Transplant eggplants (outside but undercover) that were started indoors on April 1st.
Transplant melons outside now that were started indoors on April 15th.
Transplant pepper plants (started indoors on March 1st) outside now, however, put them undercover until July 1st.
June 15th direct sow Rutabaga seeds outside.
Continue to direct sow Arugula, Beans, Brocolli, cabbage , cilantro, endive/raddichio, lettuce, onions, scallions, fennel, kale, collards, parsnips, peas, swiss chard and turnips throughout the whole month of june.
Direct plant corn, leeks, pumpkins, squash and cucumber up until June 15th
June 1st, uncover tomatoes now as it should be warm enough for them.
July
Plant overwintering varieties cabbage now.
Start indoor seeds overwintering cauliflower now and later transplant it last two weeks in august.
Plant 2nd crops of Oriental greens now.
Continue planting pole/bush beans until July 7th
Continue planting beets until July 15th
Start 2nd crops of Kohlrabi on July 15th
Plant Rutabagas up until July 15th
Continue direct seeding more crops of Arugula, broccoli, overwintering broccoli, Overwintering varieties of cabbage, cilantro, endive/raddichio, lettuce, onions, scallions, oriental greens, spinach and turnips throughout the month of July.
August
Plant 2nd crops of corn salad now until Sept 15th
Start 2nd crops of carrots between August 7th to the 21st
Direct plant overwinter onion varieties August 1st until the 15th
Continue planting peas until August 15th.
Continue planting Swiss Chard until 1st week of August.
August 1st to 15th,Transplant brussel sprout plants that were started indoors on May 15th to June 15th
August 15th to Aug 30th, transplant overwinter cauliflower plants that were started on July 7th to July 21st.
Continue to direct sow Kohlrabi until August 15th
Continue to direct sow Arugula, Corn salad, lettuce, oriental greens, spinach and turnips throughout the month of August.
September
Time to put cilantro and lettuce crops undercover if weather gets colder.
Apparently certain varieties of garlic can be planted now up until the end of October.
Direct Sow 2nd crops of radishes now.
Direct sow, Arugula and corn salad up until Sept 7th and Sept 15th.
Continue to direct sow spinach all month
October
Plant winter crops of broad beans now until the end of November.
Continue to direct sow garlic, radishes and spinach for the whole month of October, however, put the spinach under a protective cover commencing Sept 15th.
November
Continue to sow broad beans until the end of the month.
Sow radishes, however undercover until the end of November
Sow spinach under cover until November 15th.
December
Nothing mentioned
January
Nothing mentioned.
February
Start Celery, Leeks,artichoke and Sweet Onions indoors.
Plant(feb 1st to early April) broad beans directly in soil.
Plant radishes directly into the soil under a cover. After March 1st, no cover necessary.
Feb 15th start fennel and Parsley indoors.
Feb 15th plant peas outdoors now.
March
Start Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, lettuce and pepper seeds indoors.
Plant arugula directly into outdoor soil.Make subsequent plantings directly in soil untilearly Sept.
Plant cilantro and spinach directly into soil under a cover.
Plant Kale and Collards directly into soil. Continue doing so until early July.
Plant oriental greens and radishes directly into soil for the next 2-3 months.
March 15th, start tomato seeds indoors.
April
Plant turnips and carrots directly in outdoor soil
Transplant cabbage,fennel, leeks,lettuce and broccoli earlier started indoors or direct seed now outdoors.
Uncover earlier started (March 1st) cilantro or direct seed now.
Direct sow Endive/Radicchio,kohlrabi, storage onions,scallions and turnips now.
Uncover spinach planted earlier (march 1st) and make new sowings directly into outdoor soil.
April 15th, sow swiss chard and beet seeds directly outdoors.
April 15th Transplant cauliflower started on March 1st outdoors.
April 15th Start all melon varieties indoors now.
Continue sowing Argula,brocolli, cabbage, carrots, endive/radicchio, fennel,kohlrabi, leeks lettuce, onions, scallions, parsnips, radishes, peas and turnips throughout the whole month.
May
Transplant artichoke, celery, sweet onions (started Feb 1st) outdoors.
Direct sow celery now.
Direct sow parsley now and transplant parsley started indoors(Feb 15th) outside now.
Start pumpkin and squash seeds indoors now or just direct sow on May 15th.
Transplant tomatoes (started March 15th) outside now, but undercover.
Start bush and pole beans direct sown on May 15th.
May 15th start brussel sprout seeds indoors.
May 15th Direct sow corn until June 15th.
May 1st start cucumber seeds indoors.
Continue to direct plant artichoke, beets, broccoli,cabbage, carrots, celery,cilantro, fennel,kale, collards, leeks, lettuce, onions, oriental greens, parsley, parsnips, peas, spinach swiss chard and turnips throughout the whole month of May
June
Direct sow overwintering varieties of broccoli now.
Direct sow cucumbers now or transplant plants started indoors on May 1st.
Transplant eggplants (outside but undercover) that were started indoors on April 1st.
Transplant melons outside now that were started indoors on April 15th.
Transplant pepper plants (started indoors on March 1st) outside now, however, put them undercover until July 1st.
June 15th direct sow Rutabaga seeds outside.
Continue to direct sow Arugula, Beans, Brocolli, cabbage , cilantro, endive/raddichio, lettuce, onions, scallions, fennel, kale, collards, parsnips, peas, swiss chard and turnips throughout the whole month of june.
Direct plant corn, leeks, pumpkins, squash and cucumber up until June 15th
June 1st, uncover tomatoes now as it should be warm enough for them.
July
Plant overwintering varieties cabbage now.
Start indoor seeds overwintering cauliflower now and later transplant it last two weeks in august.
Plant 2nd crops of Oriental greens now.
Continue planting pole/bush beans until July 7th
Continue planting beets until July 15th
Start 2nd crops of Kohlrabi on July 15th
Plant Rutabagas up until July 15th
Continue direct seeding more crops of Arugula, broccoli, overwintering broccoli, Overwintering varieties of cabbage, cilantro, endive/raddichio, lettuce, onions, scallions, oriental greens, spinach and turnips throughout the month of July.
August
Plant 2nd crops of corn salad now until Sept 15th
Start 2nd crops of carrots between August 7th to the 21st
Direct plant overwinter onion varieties August 1st until the 15th
Continue planting peas until August 15th.
Continue planting Swiss Chard until 1st week of August.
August 1st to 15th,Transplant brussel sprout plants that were started indoors on May 15th to June 15th
August 15th to Aug 30th, transplant overwinter cauliflower plants that were started on July 7th to July 21st.
Continue to direct sow Kohlrabi until August 15th
Continue to direct sow Arugula, Corn salad, lettuce, oriental greens, spinach and turnips throughout the month of August.
September
Time to put cilantro and lettuce crops undercover if weather gets colder.
Apparently certain varieties of garlic can be planted now up until the end of October.
Direct Sow 2nd crops of radishes now.
Direct sow, Arugula and corn salad up until Sept 7th and Sept 15th.
Continue to direct sow spinach all month
October
Plant winter crops of broad beans now until the end of November.
Continue to direct sow garlic, radishes and spinach for the whole month of October, however, put the spinach under a protective cover commencing Sept 15th.
November
Continue to sow broad beans until the end of the month.
Sow radishes, however undercover until the end of November
Sow spinach under cover until November 15th.
December
Nothing mentioned
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sepp Holzer permakulture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw7mQZHfFVE
Farming With Nature - Permaculture with Sepp Holzer
BUY THIS FILM AT www.ecofilm.de! FILM MADE BY MALCOLM ST.JULIAN BOWN - CRYSTAL LAKE VIDEO. It is part of the DVD "Sepp Holzer´s Permaculture ...
Varietal Trials from Oregon
| EM 8777-03-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials--2003 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-04-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials--2004 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-05-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials--2005 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-06-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials--2006 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-08-E | Vegetable Variety Trial Results--2008 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-10-E | Vegetable Variety Trials 2010 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-00-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials--2000 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-01-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials: 2001 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
| EM 8777-02-E | Results of Vegetable Variety Trials: 2002 (Available only online) (View it now) | $0.00 |
Planting Schedule
timing veggies in the Pacific Northwest-http://www.westsidegardener.com/quick/timetable.html.
Seed Saving Guide
Seed Saving Zine 4 hand out (3.8 MB PDF) This handout formated version is your best choice for printing and reading if you do not have one of those fancy zine staplers.
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