Homegrown Nutrition Seminar March 22, 2009 Collegedale Community Church Fellowship Hall
Presenters Daniel Parson & Scott Arrington
The first presenter (i believe it was Mr. Arrington) is a Seventh-day Adventist, and quite a “big business is bad” incoherent speaker. The following man is not SDA, and was very calm and collected, and gave the impression that you do not have to be a little crazy to be interested in organic farming.
Following are some pointers picked up at this seminar i attended.
Most consumers will go up to 10 miles extra to buy fresh produce.
You can net 50% of gross.
You need land that is irrigated and deer-proof.
For example, in one project they worked on near Atlanta, they did something called “Community Supported Agriculture”. The basic idea, as far as i could gather, is that a developer will intentionally leave a parcel of land open for farming, and the people who buy into that community will have to pay a certain fee each month for the privilege of having that farm land near them. In return, they get first chance to buy the produce, and can walk their dogs or just relax or whatever in the “community space”.
Their income sources and yearly amounts in USD:
1. One acre Community Supported Agriculture 26,000
2. Once per week Farmer’s Market 13,500
3. Workshops 2,000
4. Farm tours 2,000
Gross Total 43,500
Don’t just throw stuff on soil to make it good, but think about what microbes need.
Throwing nitrogen on the soil makes the crops grow well, but increases nitrates in food.
Insects don’t eat healthy plants (really now?!)
Charles Walters wrote “Eco Farm”
We don’t like vegetarian bugs.
Be careful that your fertilizer doesn’t kill good bugs and fungus etc.
Don’t irrigate the whole field – just where you plant.
For a winter cover crop, buy a “deerfeed mix”.
The less you till the soil – the better.
Weed early and often. Weed shallow. Use a very long hoe with your thumbs pointing up, so you don’t have to bend your back.
If you must buy fertilizer for organic gardens, look for “OMRI” on the bag.
Cut and plow and mulch when the crop starts blooming (cover crops).
Avoid wood chips and straw for mulch because they take up nitrogen.
Mix green and brown matter together to make a good compost. Use leaves for carbon, grass clippings for nitrogen. A good mix is around 80% brown and 20% green.
You don’t need much lime, but if you do use it, get high-calcium lime.
Take soil tests every 2 years.
Have a map of your garden and measure it for crop rotation purposes.
Plant sequence-style. Instead of 100 heads of lettuce now, plant 10 now, 10 the next week etc.
Think of plant families when rotating.
Think of fertilizer, heavy and light feeders.
One of the most interesting things i got out of this seminar, is that we should think of ths soil as being alive, because it is the microscopic bacteria in it that really determines if you have good or bad soil. So instead of just putting something on the soil to make the crops grow fast or big, think first of what the microbes in the soil need to be healthy. When the microbes are healthy, the soil will be good, and you can grow good crops.