ISSUE 4, JANUARY 2013.
M AGA ZI N E
DREAM of
STARTING aFARM
PLAN THE
PERFECT
HOMESTEAD
WHERE TO START? FINDING YOUR PLACE HOME BUILDING AND BEYOND RENEWABLE ENERGY 10 EASY GARDEN CROPS
Homestead Water Sources and Options Types of Wells Sanitizing and Maintaining a Clean Well Get Clean Drinking Water
SOIL
WATER
TIME TO WAKE UP. Soil Tests Plant Nutrients Natural Fertilizers Grass Clippings
Organic News / Switch ON Publisher: AgroMunch s.r.o. Editing: Krešimir Hranjec
kresimir@organicnews.eu
Marketing: marketing@organicnews.eu
Info: info@organicnews.eu
Issue: 4 / January 2013 Address: Agromunch s.r.o. Bancíkovej 1/a, SK-821 03, Bratislava, Slovakia i: info@agromunch.eu web: http:www.agromunch.eu
CONTENT
24 STARTING DREAM of
aFARM
34 Homestead Water Sources and Options
43 Plant Nutrients
35 Types of Wells
46 Natural Fertilizers
39 Get Clean Drinking Water
47
36 Sanitizing and Maintaining a Clean Well
58 Grass Clippings
Soil Tests
Switch ON Magazine Dear reader, Here we are with the new issue of Organic News e-magazine. As you can see, we changed the whole concept around Organic News. Organic News website is where we publish our articles, forward major news from whole world and bring you interesting content divided in few categories. We invite you to join conversation about actual topics on our website, to rate articles and commentators, to join our growing community. We invite you to become our member and to collaborate with us. We are in process of making organic food industry database, so join us - it is good for all of us. We will make organic market world smaller so we all can connect more easily and help each other to grow business and to live in more natural and healthier way. We will persist to promote organic food production and more natural way of living until we all switch back to what should be normal. Finally, we find the right name for our monthly magazine - Switch ON. In magazine you can find bonus content, more topics than on our website, wider themes, we will present different companies, associations and projects from organic world. We will also present some of our members in Switch ON magazine every month - that is one of reasons to become our member. We invite young journalists, bloggers, activists to write for us. We will help you to present and to promote you to worldwide audience - your ideas, opinions and thoughts. In this issue of Switch ON magazine we bring you interesting topic about starting a farm. If you ever dreamed about having your own farm, you will find this texts very interesting. If you never though about having a farm, maybe you change your mind after reading this new issue. Once again, we are inviting you to join our Facebook and other social pages. Post comments and share with others. Talk about your experiences, know how, create interesting topics, and discuss them with others. If you have any suggestion, question, comment or proposal, please write it to our project coordinator Kresimir Hranjec at kresimir@organicnews.eu.
Let’s get connected. Let’s work together, let’s help each other, let’s get united.
Join Us on Facebook We started with Organic News Facebook page. Please, join our community on Facebook and fell free to post anything interesting or useful. Post, tell us your story, your difficulties or problems, as well as your successes. Help us and we will return the favour. Organic News facebook page 4
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
TransTeamLogistic Group was founded in 2010 and is based in Bratislava, Slovakia. We are specialized in GMP bulk transport and trading of organic grain.
TransTeamLogistic Group represents synergy of three companies and our group effort maximizes our offer potential, services and meeting our customer needs. Our services include bulk GMP+ material transport and organic grain trading. We also offer e-commerce marketing, web design and development of IT solutions.
Great business partnering, strong controllership, and hard work, associated with enhanced system implementation and integration, we helped our company accomplish many of its goals. We evolved and made great progress and we continue to strive and maintain high level of performance, which in turn is the key value for getting great results.
Advice about the feasibility of bulk material transportation. Organization of loading and unloading of bulk material goods. Storage of bulk material goods. Execution of customs related matters. Agricultural trade.
WE MOVE GRAIN WITH NO LIMITS www.ttlogistic.eu ISSUE 4
5
PUSH A PEDAL FOR THE PLANET SUPPORTED BY ORGANIC NEWS 6
PLAN THE PERFECT HOMESTEAD Millions of people throughout whole world still dream of going “back to the land” to learn to grow their own food, build their own homes, generate electricity from renewable sources and live a self-reliant lifestyle. Often, people ask “What should I do first? How can I learn what I need to know?” To answer these questions, we’ve gathered advice from people with decades of experience with different kinds of homestead living.
Where to Start?
A
lthough many people dream of buying several acres in the country, you can start homesteading wherever you are. We asked Mary Hunt, our colleague who frequently talks to readers who are considering buying land in the country. Hunt homesteaded on a farm in southwestern New England, where she built a cabin, gardened and spent many hours chopping wood. She says she always recommends learning as many
8
homesteading skills as possible before moving. “Planting, harvesting and preserving food are skills that can be practiced almost anywhere,” Hunt says.
I
n fact, many aspects of homesteading work as well in the city or suburbs as in the country. Solar panels, straw bale building, wood heat and collecting rainwater are all possible in the city or suburbs, and even raising chickens is allowed
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
in many cities. Just be careful to check all relevant reason why it’s a good idea to start with smaller zoning and local ordinances before you get started. projects, such as learning to garden before buy-
W
hatever your homesteading plans, Hunt says it’s important to focus on your priorities. Decide which parts of the dream are most important to you. “Then, do your research,” she says. “Learn the skills and find out what’s involved. Each new homesteading activity requires new tools and skills, as well as a certain amount of money and energy.”
ing farmland, or doing some basic home repairs before deciding to build your own home. If you pursue larger projects, there are many ways to learn more about your interests. For potential farmers, apprenticeships and volunteer opportunities on organic farms can be invaluable. Renewable energy workshops around the country help people learn about small-scale solar or wind power. To learn about building, options range from volunteering
S
ome of these activities require more with Habitat for Humanity to attending straw bale money and time than others — another building parties and natural building workshops.
ISSUE 4
9
Making Ends Meet
F
or many people, the homesteading dream is to buy a few acres and earn a living from their land. There are hundreds of ways to generate income: conventional or organic farming, market gardening, raising seed crops, operating a bed and breakfast, and selling homemade products ranging from goat cheese to hand-crafted furniture. The challenge is to create a stable market for your products or services. Earning a living can be a challenge, no matter how much you economize. Many farm families make it work by having at least one partner hold a traditional job with benefits.
E
d Smith lives in Marshfield, Vt., where he has worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, taught college and written a book, The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. “We grow a lot of our food, cut our own firewood, built all of our buildings ourselves and maintain most of our machines,” he says. “And there is no way we could have done this without some semi-steady outside income.”
ther physical or intellectual — that can be easily exported to places where the money exists, then go to it,” Maxwell says. He earns much of his income by writing for woodworking magazines, but he says the possibilities are endless.
A
nother good example of this homesteading strategy is the business run by David Schafer and Alice Dobbs, who sell grass-fed meat from their farm in northern Missouri. “We had an Internet presence with our meats from the start, and about 25 percent of our business was mailorder,” Schafer says.
C
omputers and the Internet are making it much easier to work at a traditional job from home, or to market the products your homestead produces oberta Bailey of Vassalboro, Maine, says online. “In my experience, you need to serve more another good farming strategy is to sell than the local market if you want to thrive in the a variety of products. She earns a large part of her country,” says Steve Maxwell, who lives in a stone income by working for Fedco Seeds, but she has a house he and his wife built by hand on Manitoulin variety of profitable homestead enterprises includIsland in Ontario, Canada. ing selling organic fruit and juice from her farm’s orchard; raising seed crops; and selling meat, yarn, axwell says most rural markets already felt and high-quality fleece from her flock of sheep. are saturated with all the goods and “If one market or crop fails, it is balanced out by services they need, but you can reach larger markets another’s success,” Bailey says. “Plus it keeps life inwith a Web site, e-mail, phone and fax machine. teresting.” “Identify some highly valued commodity — ei-
R
M
10
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Finding Your Place
W
hen purchasing a house and land, committing to a specific piece of land. ask all the usual questions you would ou may live in a community three or when buying any house. But homesteading may infour years before you know enough troduce other considerations, such as: about the town, the land and your own habits to be sure which location is best,” says Bryan Welch. Welch lives on a 50-acre farm outside of Lawrence, • How rich is the soil, and how long is the Kan., with his wife, Carolyn. When looking for growing season? land, they knew they needed a large pasture because • Does the property provide adequate they were interested in grass-fed livestock, but everyone’s needs are different. pasture and water for livestock? Will you
need to build a barn? • Will you be able to harvest firewood from your land? • Is there a nearby farmer’s market? Do the roads near the house get enough traffic to sell products from home?
“Y
“W
e’ve lived in nine states, so we’ve looked at this puzzle from a number of different angles,” Welch says. “I’ve witnessed the disillusionment that occurs when a family that planned to raise vegetables as a cash crop discovers they’ve chosen a mountain town with an 80-day growing season.
“O
bviously, homesteaders should pick a efining your priorities before buying place they like. But they also need to land is crucial to homesteading success. make sure that their planned crops and animals will And even if you have a clear idea of what you want be compatible with the local environment.” and where you plan to settle, take your time before
D
ISSUE 4
11
SWITCH ON
STOP
12
EARTH VIRUS.
SPREAD
www.organicnews.eu
The Good News
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
W
hen deciding how much land you need, keep an open mind, says George DeVault, a farmer in Emmaus, Pa. “Forget about absolutely having to have a certain number of acres,” DeVault says. “There was once a book called Ten Acres Enough by Edmund Morris. A few years later, R.B. Roosevelt wrote a book called Five Acres Too Much.”
W
ith today’s intensive cultivation methods such as raised beds and greenhouses, many homesteaders are able to grow most of their own food on less than an acre. That can work in an urban area, and even better, in a small town where property values are lower. Find an inexpensive house on a double lot, and you may be in business. Another strategy is to purchase land, but avoid a big mortgage by building and living in a simple cabin until you’re ready to build a house. ISSUE 4
“I bought my first piece of land — 28 acres for $350 an acre — about an hour into the countryside from Portland, Maine, where I lived,” says Scott Vlaun, a writer and photographer, who still lives on the property with his wife, Zizi. “I built a small cabin there from fir poles, green hemlock and recycled windows for $500.” Steve Maxwell followed a similar strategy in Ontario, where he and his wife, Mary, built and lived in a small cabin while building their house.
I
f you do want several acres in the country and cannot afford to buy land outright, consider renting. Many farmers rent at least part of the land they farm, and if you are fortunate enough to find an older farm that someone wants to see revived, you may be able to negotiate a longer lease at a lower rate.
13
Home Building and Beyond
O
ne of the biggest decisions for homesteaders is selecting the home itself. For those interested in green building, this can be a difficult decision: Is it better to build a new, energy-efficient home or to renovate an older house?
B
oth choices have their advantages, but as far as David Schafer is concerned, building a new, greener home was the only option. “If resources allow it, I would strongly recommend starting from scratch and avoiding the temptation of leaving bad designs in place,” he says. Schafer and Dobbs moved out of a drafty, century-old farmhouse and built a new house using the latest green-building techniques. “We built our own home based on what the farmhouse was not,” David says. “Our new home is tightly insulated and almost maintenance-free. It does not require lots of energy to heat and cool.”
14
T
he couple’s new house uses a combination of straw bales and exterior stone to create a well-insulated home. It also has many passive-solar design features, plus solar-electric panels, a rainwater harvesting system to collect cistern water and a bicyclepowered pump to pressurize water in the house.
H
arvey Ussery in Hume, Va., made the opposite decision, falling in love with a 200-year-old farmhouse. Although most older homes are not as tightly built or well insulated as newer ones, Ussery says, the house is better than you might expect. “Our 10 inches of solid wood and chinking is actually pretty green — that’s a lot of insulating power,” he says.
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
F
or Ussery, part of the farmhouse’s appeal is the sense of history it gives him. “I came to love this house in March ’93,” he says. “A raging winter storm blew in. The electric power went down immediately.” As he sat next to the woodstove, Ussery says he felt a strong connection to all those who had braved winter storms in the house before him.
Y
ou can’t turn an older farmhouse into the home of your dreams without a sizeable investment of time, money and energy. Ussery says he and his wife have redone every single room over the past two decades and completed a major addition on the second level. He says he’s not a skilled handyman, but he’s been able to do quite a bit of the work himself. “In many cases I’ve hired out the more skilled work, and finished up
ISSUE 4
with things like sanding and painting,” Ussery says.
W
hether you choose to renovate an older home or start from scratch, Ussery says you’ll be happier if you stay involved in the process. “It is crucial that you be in charge of the planning and design, and that you oversee every step in the execution,” Ussery says. “No outsider will know your habits and living patterns like you do.”
H
e also advises against building cheap; if you take on a project, be ready to spend what you must for good-quality materials and workmanship. “When we did the addition, we took the opportunity to re-side the entire house,” Ussery says. “It was a huge additional expense, but when the wind blows, I know it was money well spent.”
15
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
ISSUE 4
18
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Renewable Energy
F
or many people, the ideal self-sufficient life includes generating all their electricity from renewable resources. “We wanted to sever our fossil-fuel dependency and adopt renewable energy to meet 100 percent of the homestead’s energy needs,” says John Ivanko of Browntown, Wis. Ivanko and his wife, Lisa Kivirist, live in a century-old farmhouse. They use an EPA-certified woodstove as their primary heat source and get their electricity from a home-scale wind turbine.
I
vanko explains that their first step was to reduce their energy use, so that a smaller, less expensive wind energy system would meet their electricity needs. To do that, they replaced all the light bulbs in their house with compact fluorescent bulbs and switched to EnergyStar-rated appliances, which use significantly less energy. In 2003, they installed a 10 kW Bergey wind turbine.
H
ome-scale wind power can easily provide enough power for users to be completely independent of fossil fuel-produced electricity, but it requires a large upfront investment. Such systems can take as long as 15 to 20 years to pay off the initial costs, but it can take much less time depending on the energy incentives that are available in each state. A complete list of state incentives is at www.dsireusa.org. For those seeking a quicker return on their investment, Ivanko and Kivirist recommend solar water-heating systems. Such systems can provide all the hot water a household needs, and in states such as Wisconsin, which offer renewable energy incentives, they can pay for themselves in as little as three years.
E
d Smith, who lives in northern Vermont, says he considered wind for electricity, but ultimately decided on solar energy (more than 25 years ago). He installed 20 35-watt panels to power his house and has been happy with his choice. “The panels still put out their rated amps. The only expense has been batteries every five or so years,” Smith says.
K
eeping the system working hasn’t been difficult, Smith says; he learned most of what he needed to know from catalogs and the rest from books. Although his solar panels produce enough electricity to supply power to his home, he does use an old gas generator to provide supplemental electricity for the tools in his woodworking shop, and he has a backup propane generator for the house. He also heats with wood in a masonry furnace.
ISSUE 4
19
M
any homesteaders heat with wood, a renewable resource that is readily available in most parts of the United States and Canada. Wood-burning stoves have become cleaner and more efficient in the past few years, so if you are purchasing a new woodstove, be sure to look for a recent, EPA-certified model. Any woodstove can heat a home, provided the stove is an appropriate size for the building and the house has an open design and good insulation.
“I
t can be zero outside, yet we heat our entire house with just the woodstove in our living room,” says DeVault. His stove is a large Consolidated Dutchwest airtight with a catalytic converter. “One of my greatest joys after working outside for a few hours in winter is to stretch out on the floor in front of the blazing stove and take a nice, long nap,” he says.
Making Connections
N
o matter how extensive the plans for your homestead, the most important thing to remember is that it doesn’t need to happen all at once. Start with a small garden, a few chickens or a small home-repair or building project, and let your plans evolve based on those experiences.
building community. Experienced homesteaders always come back to the importance of being part of a community of like-minded people they can turn to for advice and support. The homesteading life is simply much richer and more rewarding with a strong community of friends and neighbours. Among those who share a passion nd don’t neglect one of the most im- for gardening, renewable energy, green building portant aspects of your homestead — and the like, those connections are easily forged.
A 20
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
10 Easy Garden Crops
I
f you’re planting your first garden, consider these 10 crops. All are easy to grow, and this combination offers lots of possibilities for cooking. Some of these plants can be started from seeds, but most are easier to grow if you start by purchasing seedlings. Radishes. Radishes do well even in not-so-great garden soil and are ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Plant the seeds in spring and fall. Salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula or corn salad). Pick your favourite, or try a mix — many seed companies sell mixed packets for summer and winter gardening. Plant the seeds in spring and fall, and you can pick salads almost year-round. Green beans. Easy to grow and prolific. If you get a big crop, they freeze well, and they’re also delicious when pickled as “dilly beans.” Start with seeds after danger of frost has passed. O nions . Start with small plants, and if they do well, you can harvest bulb onions. If not, you can always eat the greens. S trawberries . Perfectly ripe strawberries are unbelievably sweet, and the plants are surprisingly hardy. Just be sure to put this perennial in a sunny spot and keep it well weeded. Peppers. Both hot peppers and bell peppers are easy to grow. Start with plants and let peppers from the same plant ripen for different lengths of time to get a range of colours and flavours. Bush zucchini. This squash won’t take up as much room in your garden as many other types, and it’s very prolific. It’s easiest to start from plants, and you won’t need more than a few. T omatoes . There’s just no substitute for a perfectly ripe tomato, and it’s hard to go wrong when you start from plants. If you get a big crop, consider canning or freezing. Basil. Many herbs are easy to grow, but basil is a good choice because it’s a nice complement to tomatoes. Basil is easy to grow from seeds or from transplants. Potatoes. An easy-to-grow staple that stores well when kept cool. A simple and low-maintenance approach is to plant potatoes in straw rather than soil.
ISSUE 4
21
GUIDE TO WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK AND WHERE TO FIND RELIABLE ANSWERS
Dream Of Starting A Farm For those of us who were born to farm but, alas, not born on a farm, the ache to have your own land can be so intense you feel it in your belly. Almost anyone can find and buy farmland by doing four things:
1. Be clear and realistic about the budget you’ll need to support yourself and your farm, and about how you’ll get the income you need. 2. Do your homework on the neighbourhood and the land you’re looking at to make sure it suits you and the type of farming you want to do. 3. Think outside the box: Be open to different options and timetables for buying land. 4. If you apply for a loan, find out what mortgage lenders require from borrowers and get those requirements in order
24
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Where to Start Looking for Land
T
he United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reports that, by far, the majority of new farmers rely on offfarm income to support themselves. If your plan includes off-farm income that requires commuting to a job, finding the job first and looking for the land second may be the best plan.
N
ext, if you plan to sell some of what you raise, you’ll need to figure out where there are enough potential customers (usually in a city) and how you might sell to them — farmers markets, community supported agriculture programs, etc.
Y
ou’ll need to narrow your search area by considering which counties have off-farm employment options, markets for your farm products and necessary farm support services. It’s helpful to get an old-fashioned paper road map and draw two circles: one with the off-farm job in the centre and a radius as long as the distance you are willing to commute, the other with your customer base in the middle and a radius as long as the distance you’re willing to travel to market. Where the circles overlap is where you should look for land (see an illustration).
ISSUE 4
25
Creating a Farm Marketing Plan
A
good marketing plan is a cornerstone of any successful farm enterprise. Two solid resources on this topic are Growing for Market, a trade publication for local food producers available both in print and online, and the book Market Farming Success by Lynn Byczynski. The amazing National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (NSAIS) offers a wealth of information to help you decide what to raise and how to sell it. Look through the Master Publication List
Y
ou’ll need to seek other sources to find out whether necessary support services, such as veterinarians or organic feed suppliers, are available in your search area. Find these by talking
of more than 300 titles for those that are relevant to the type of farm enterprise you’re thinking of, as well as the more general titles such as Direct Marketing and Planning for Profit in Sustainable Farming. (Also be sure to click on Other Resources, which will guide you to a plethora of related websites.) These publications will give you a handle on marketing options, farm business planning, and what different farm products need in terms of acreage, soil quality, labour and farm support services.
with other farmers — start with the vendors at the local farmers market — and by picking up a copy of the local Yellow Pages at the phone company (or accessing the Yellow Pages online).
Evaluating Farmland
N
ow that you know where you’re looking, it’s time to start checking out property listings (see “Rural Property Listings,” at the end of this article). Not every property is online — even in this electronic age, plenty of rural land changes hands without being advertised. Contact a local realtor and do some asking around at local cafes or farm-oriented businesses to find out who might be thinking of selling.
26
W
hen you start walking properties, be sure to ask these questions — and don’t rely solely on answers from realtors or the sellers: • Is the water clean and sufficient for the needs of both the family and the farm? • Is the soil farmable? • Are the buildings, fences and utilities in working condition? If not, how much time and money will infrastructure improvements require?
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Agro-Servistrade
quality grain All our grains are selected and inspected by our trained staff, which guarantees satisfaction of all our costumer’s needs. We are constantly developing in-depth tools to help better understand our customers’ environment and issues. agro-servis trade d.o.o. skolska 48 hr-40324, gorican croatia
local goods Our mission is to bring quality grains from Croatia markets to EU and abroad. The company is dealing with agricultural commodities such as oil seeds, milling and feed wheat, malting and feed barley, corn, wheat bran, feeds, etc.
quick access Company headquarter is in Goričan, Croatia. We are close to Hungarian and Slovenian border and also to the fifth highway corridor, which allows our customers a fast tranpsport of cereals in the EU and abroad.
tel: +385 99 2122 571
Water Water T
o learn about water quality as well as standards for the correct construction and siting of water delivery systems (whether a well, spring, pond or cistern), visit the state’s Department of Health or Department of Natural Re-
28
sources website (whichever handles private drinking water matters). Excellent information is also available at the Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water website, at the American Groundwater Trust website and further in this article.
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
www.organicnews.eu ISSUE 4
29
T
he state website will also guide you to water-testing labs, which will tell you how to take a water sample, what you should get it tested for, and where to send it for testing. If the water source is a well, then also get the well driller’s report from the county clerk, which will tell you the type, depth and age of the well, and how many gallons per minute it delivered when first put in.
I
f you have any doubts about the quality, quantity or reliability of the water supply, consult with a well driller or other professional. If you don’t have enough clean water, you can’t farm.
chase enough water rights with the property.
W
ater is an essential production factor in agriculture, both for crops and for livestock. Climate change will have a significant impact on agriculture in terms of water quantity and quality. This will be exacerbated by the increasing demand for food worldwide as population and real incomes increase.
E
uropean agriculture is already dealing with the consequences of extreme events such as floods, storms and drought, which might astly, if you’re in a state where water imply excess water or scarce water availability, that and mineral rights are separate from are likely to become more frequent as a result of cliproperty ownership — generally west of the Mis- mate change. European farmers, who manage more sissippi River — you need to get local, qualified than 50% of land in the EU 27, are essential playlegal advice to ensure that you’ll be able to pur- ers in ensuring that water resources are sustainably
L
30
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
managed. They have and will continue to adapt water into “green” water captured in the biomass. their practices to manage water more efficiently. Soils covered with plants have higher infiltration and soil moisture rates, and thus reduced runor centuries, farmers have controlled off. On abandoned land, especially if desertificathe water cycle locally, either through tion occurs, the capacity to retain water is much irrigation or drainage. As an integral part of the lower and completely lost once the soil is sealed. climate system, the hydrological cycle can be positively influenced by using adapted agriculgriculture depends on the climate and tural practices. Solutions allowing greater proon natural conditions. Changing cliduction using less water are a critical future primatic conditions lead to imbalances between rainority. If European agriculture is to continue to fall and crop needs during vegetation and have a deliver social, environmental and economic benstrong impact on yields and the quality of agriefits, access to adequate water supplies is essential. cultural products. The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions will inater is an essential production factor in agriculture. The production of crease the vulnerability of the European farming biomass is inextricably linked to the need for fresh sector. Irrigation is a vital means by which prowater, and livestock depends on water to drink. duction can be sustained in various areas. WithPlants capture water in their biomass and put it out irrigation we risk land abandonment and back to the atmosphere by means of transpiration severe economic hardship, not to mention the - a process which positively influences micro-cli- potential relocation of agricultural production. matic conditions. Plants are able to convert “blue”
F
A
W
ISSUE 4
31
I
mproved irrigation technologies and water saving practices will become essential to safeguard agricultural production in certain regions. 9.8% of European agricultural land is irrigated, and agriculture under irrigation is very productive. The majority of irrigated land is concentrated in the Mediterranean region. France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain account for 9.15 million ha, corresponding to 84% of the total area equipped for irrigation in the EU 27 (see figure 3). In those countries, a large share of the water abstracted is used for agricultural purposes. In Spain, for example, the 14% of agricultural land
32
under irrigation yields more than 60% of the total value of agricultural products. In Italy, 50% of agricultural production and 60% of the total value of agricultural products come from the 21% of agricultural land that is under irrigation.
T
hese regions provide healthy, nutritious and readily-available fruit and vegetables. In the northern EU Member States, irrigation is used to complement natural precipitation. For example, in 2007 in the Netherlands, 19% of the total number of agricultural holdings used irrigation on their crops at least once a year.
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
J
ust 3% of the earth’s water resources is fresh water and only 1 % of this is available for human activity, including agriculture. The amount of water necessary for crop production varies depending on soil conditions, crop variety and temperature. Imbalances between water availability and demand will most likely be exacerbated by climate change, and, like access to energy, water management is becoming one of the main geostrategic challenges of the 21st century.
tion typically occurs in the summer when water is least available. Hotter, drier summers will therefore enhance pressure on resources. Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions will increase the vulnerability of the European farming sector. Water stress situations or drought as a result of hotter, drier summers will have a serious impact on European soils, and the impact on both crop quality and variability will lead to a higher need for water in European agriculture. Equally, waterlogged soils on which excess water needs to be frequently griculture accounts for 24 % of water drained may not only lead to crop losses, but can abstraction in Europe but peak abstrac- impact severely upon crop quality and variability
A ISSUE 4
33
Homestead Water Sources and Options There are several homestead water sources you can consider, including digging a well, accessing groundwater supplies and collecting rainwater.
W
ater is an essential commodity no matter where you live, and for those who live in the country, developing a homestead water source and keeping it flowing is usually a personal responsibility. While the process may seem daunting at first, the details behind success are simple.
and how deep is it? How far from the surface is the water, and how much reserve water does the well actually hold? In addition to asking neighbours and your local health department and extension office agents, you can go to the Water Systems Council website to find your state’s well-construction codes. ater in the country can be found efore you call a piece of land your own, in three main locations, and wells you need to ask the right people the right are only one of them. Surface sources (springs, questions. Less-than-honest folks can hide issues lakes, rivers, etc.) are often options, as is rainwasuch as insufficient, bad-tasting or contaminated ter collection (learn more in A Better Rainwawater until your name is on the deed. Asking ques- ter Harvesting System). Of all these possibilities, tions beyond the real estate agent or the seller may wells are by far the most important. According be the most important water-related skill you exer- to the National Groundwater Association, more cise. How deep do wells have to go to find abun- than 13 million year-round households in the dant water in the area? Will sulphur water, natural United States rely on groundwater exclusively, gas or other facets of the local geology cause prob- with 500,000 new residential water wells crelems with water quality? If you’re looking at a prop- ated annually using one of four main techniques. erty with an existing well, what kind of well is it
B
34
W
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
HOMESTEAD WATER SOURCES
Types of Wells W
ells can be deep or shallow, drilled, dug, bored or driven. Drilled wells are typically at least 8 meters deep, small in diameter (10 - 20 cm), and the only option for getting water from bedrock. Drilled wells include a metal tube (called a “casing”) pushed partway down into the hole and extending several feet above the surface to keep out surface water and dirt.
T
raditionally, dug wells were made by hand and lined with stones, but today the work of digging a well is usually done by a backhoe or excavator. Dug wells can only be created in soil — they’re typically 60 to 90 centimetres in diameter and usually less than 10 meters deep. Tubular concrete well tiles keep soil and surface water out of the hole. ored wells are similar to dug wells, except they’re created by specialized equipment that augers a round hole into the soil. This lets bored wells extend from 10 all the way to 30 meters deep, and the boring operation is less disruptive to the surrounding landscape. Bored wells also use concrete well tiles to keep surface water, dirt and critters out of the hole.
B
D
riven wells are made by fitting a sharp, rigid, screened attachment (called a “sand point”) onto the end of rigid steel pipe. The sand point allows a pipe to be pounded into the ground for extracting groundwater from abundant, shallow sources in coarse and sandy soils. Sand points are usually the simplest and cheapest option for creating a well, but they work only if hydro geological conditions are ideal, in which case a driven well can extend to depths of 10 (hand-driven) or even 20 meters or more (driven by weighted hammers).
ISSUE 4
35
Get Clean Drinking Water A
s the manager of your own private water system, you’re responsible for safety testing to ensure you have clean drinking water. Experts recommend lab analysis of water samples twice a year — in spring and fall — with additional tests whenever you notice changes in appearance or smell. Regardless of the tests available where you live, collecting water samples properly is key. Start with an approved bottle containing a stabilizing agent in pellet or powder form. Remove any screen, hose or filter from the collection tap, and then let the water run for two minutes before filling the bottle. Don’t let anything touch the inside of the bottle cap by holding the cap facedown while the bottle is filling. Refrigerate your sample right away, and have it analysed within two days.
Y
ou must also ensure your well doesn’t introduce contamination into underground aquifers. In its natural state, groundwater is usually pure. The continued purity of groundwater depends on the time surface water spends percolating down through the earth. That’s why any situation that lets surface water drain immediately into the aquifer, either around or through existing wells, leads to trouble. This danger is the reason responsible governments police allowable methods of well construction. Created properly,
36
wells are the only source of nonmunicipal water with the potential to be safe without the need for ongoing sterilization via chlorination or UV treatment.
A
s good as wells are, they’re not always the best option. Wells can be expensive to create, and sometimes, in penetrating down to usable amounts of water, wells encounter naturally occurring minerals that cause unpleasant water taste, odour or appearance. Those are a few of the reasons why some people choose to develop surface water sources such as lakes, rivers and springs.
S
urface water sources are often abundant, but they’re also vulnerable to contamination, which is why water authorities everywhere consider it essential to treat water from surface sources even if it tests safe. You’ll also typically have to invest in filters to remove coarse sediments that aren’t present in well water. In cold climates, tapping into surface water sources year-round can also pose a challenge when it comes to keeping water intake lines from freezing. Even if your property includes a productive well, developing any surface water resources you have for less exacting uses — such as irrigation, livestock or washing vehicles — makes sense.
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Making Homestead Water Sources Flow S
T
he depth of water below the surface is crucial, because it determines the kind of pump you can use to bring running water to your home and the way that pump is configured. The farther the level of water is below the surface of the ground, the more suction is required inside the pipe to pull that water upward against gravity. When a water-draw situation requires an overall vertical lift of about 7 meters or more, the vacuum inside the pipe becomes so great that the water will boil. You won’t notice this boiling, but it’s happening within the intake pipe just the same. All you’ll see is that your riming involves filling intake pipes pump isn’t able to pull water up from these depths, and pump casings with water be- because pumps can’t move the vaporized water. fore operation, and it can be one of the most iston pumps make a pleasant “thumpa challenging parts of getting a water system to thumpa” sound as they operate, and work. As you’ll see later, the need for prim- most include a couple of visible rubber drive ing can also influence the pump you choose. belts connected to an electric motor by exposed pulleys. Shallow-well piston pumps are great
ubmersible water pumps, jet pumps and piston pumps are the three most common options for making water flow, and each has unique strengths and weaknesses. To understand these, you first need to understand two crucial facts about the physics of water. The first is that the maximum practical depth for drawing water up by suction ranges from about 5 to 7 meters, depending on your elevation. The second is that water pumps can’t move air, which is why some pumps require a process called “priming.”
P
ISSUE 4
P
37
if you have situations in which you are raising ly supply. Shallow-water models are inexpensive, the water no more than about 20 vertical feet, widely available and easy to install. Deep-water with no more than 300 feet of horizontal draw. hand pumps are more complicated because they have a pumping cylinder that sits below the waet pumps are a popular choice because ter surface in the well. To protect deep-well hand they’re inexpensive and can work in both pumps from freezing, drill a quarter-inch-diameter shallow and deep wells. A jet pump makes a kind hole in the intake pipe 4 or 5 feet below ground of whooshing, turbine type of sound — most mod- level before installing the system. This will alels are rather loud. Jet pumps need to be primed low water to drain back below the frost level afbefore they’ll work, and even a small amount ter a pumping session. Traditional water-pumping of air in the lines will stop them from working. windmills transmit the rotation of spinning blades to rods and shafts that operate the same kind of ubmersible water pumps aren’t cheap, but they are my favourite. They move more pumping mechanism used in hand pumps — it’s water than other pumps of a given horsepower, and just that the wind does the work and not your arm.
J
S
they never need priming because the pump itself eveloping the understanding and sits below water level. With a submersible water skills to install and maintain your pump, there’s no pump to be seen anywhere — water simply flows from an incoming pipe, noiselessly. own homestead water sources offers more than the usual benefits. That’s because when it comes and pumps are an option for any to water, self-reliance skills can often get your homestead, although most families water flowing long before a professional would need more water than hand pumps can practical- ever arrive — plus you’ll save a lot of money.
D
H
38
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Sanitizing and Maintaining a Clean Well
S
afe well management includes sanitization by adding household chlorine bleach directly to the well as a short-term disinfectant. Although harmful microorganisms can’t live for long in un-
derground aquifers, they can enter a well from outside sources. That’s why disinfection should occur immediately after a new well is drilled, and after every time your pump or intake piping is disturbed. The amount of bleach you need to safely sanitize your well is based on your well’s diameter and the depth of water inside the well. Read How to Disinfect a Private Water Well to access a handy chart to help you figure out how much bleach your well needs. Pour the bleach down the well at night, let it work until morning, and then run a small amount of chlorinated water through all indoor fixtures. Turn on an outdoor hose until the bleach smell in the water disappears before you use any water, anywhere.
ISSUE 4
39
Imagine giving THIS to your baby?
4KIDS 500 WILL
DIE TODAY FROM WATER RELATED DISEASES
HELP.
www.organicnews.eu
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
ISSUE 4
Soil Soil W
hether land can be farmed is determined primarily by soil type, as described in the USDA and Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) National Cooperative Soil Survey. You can download a map of the soil types on any property using this website, or, if you’re lowtech like I am, you can get a map and soil-type descriptions from the county extension agent’s office.
R
ead the descriptions of the soil types, because these will tell you the depth of topsoil and subsoil, drainage, degree of slope, and which crops and farming activities that soil is suitable for.
I
f everything looks good so far, do an online search to find a soil-testing lab in the area (or ask an extension agent), follow the lab’s instructions for taking a soil sample, and have it tested for the basic nutrients. If the test reveals some major deficiencies, talk with a soil fertility specialist — such as an extension soil expert — about what bringing the soil to its full potential may cost.
T
here is three basic soil types -- clay, sand and silt. All three are made up of rock particles. Clay consists of fine particles that turn brick hard when dry and that cling to a shovel when wet. Sand is coarse, gritty, and porous, whether dry or wet. Silt lies halfway between clay and sand. When wet, it sticks together but doesn’t stick to a shovel.
L
oam contains a mixture of clay, sand, silt, and humus. Since clay, sand, and silt are made up of rock minerals, they comprise the inorganic component of loam. Humus, by contrast, is decomposed plant matter and is therefore the organic component. Good garden loam contains at least 5% humus, and humus improves sandy soil by increasing its ability to absorb and
42
retain moisture. It also improves clay soil by loosening it, making the soil easier to work, and preventing surface crusting so that sprouting plants don’t have to struggle so hard to pop through. This is just what my clay soil needed.
A
n obvious source of humus is used barn bedding, worked directly into the soil. But it was spring and I was ready to plant. I didn’t have time to wait for “hot” manure to decompose. Fall is the time to work manure-soaked bedding into the soil, in anticipation of spring planting. Another obvious source of humus is
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
compost, but I had just moved and didn’t yet have a compost pile. I remedied that right away by nailing some planks into a series of four-foot-square corrals and tossing in all the kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and other organic matter. Kept slightly moist and aerated by occasional turning, the “pile” would one day provide all the compost garden needed.
easier to work. Compost also adds nutrients and encourages the growth of beneficial soil-borne microorganisms that dissolve those nutrients, so they can be readily absorbed by plant roots. But my compost pile was growing slowly and decomposing even more slowly. I needed lots of humus in a hurry. So I called a local saw mill and had them deliver several truckloads of well rotted sawdust to till into my garike any other source of humus, compost den. Voilà! I had loam. But it wasn’t yet fertile loam. improves soil texture and makes the soil
L
Plant Nutrients C
lay, sand, silt, and humus all contribute certain nutrients that plants need in order to grow and thrive. Just what kind of nutrients loam contains, and how much of each, depends on three things: the sources of the mineral and organic matter making up the soil, the degree to which the soil has been weathered and eroded, and the amount of nutrients used up by plants previously grown in the soil.
ISSUE 4
T
he major plant nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium or “potash” (K)-are the most likely nutrients to be deficient in garden soil. Bagged fertilizers have three numbers on the label (5-10-5, for example), representing the percentage of each nutrient that the fertilizer contains. Chemical fertilizers contain only those elements. Fertilizers derived from natural sources contain, in addition, a variety of micro nutrients, or trace elements, that plants use in lesser
43
amounts. While chemical fertilizers can be manufactured to precise specifications, natural fertilizers vary somewhat in NPK values, depending on the source. Any good garden book lists various sources and their average NPK values. If you buy a bagged natural fertilizer, such as bone meal or blood meal, the label will tell you the NPK value for that particular lot. Compared to natural fertilizers, chemical fertilizers appear to be less expensive. They also dissolve more readily in water, giving plants a quicker boost. But because they dissolve so readily, chemical fertilizers also quickly leach out of the soil. Natural fertilizers, on the other hand, release
44
nutrients over a longer period of time. In the long run, therefore, natural fertilizers are a better buy.
N
atural fertilizers are a good deal for other reasons as well. Compared to chemical fertilizers, they don’t burn the delicate roots of seedlings, they don’t destroy beneficial microorganisms in the soil, and they increase a plant’s resistance to disease. Chemical fertilizers do just the opposite, which works out nicely for the manufacturers of chemical products, since they sell more insecticides, fungicides, and other chemical poisons.
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
ISSUE 4
45
Natural Fertilizers W
hen you add lots of compost to keep up the humus level of your garden, you don’t have to worry much about NPK. Good compost provides most of the nutrients plants need. But if you’re in the process of building up soil fertility, like I am, your garden plants need an occasional NPK boost. Furthermore, applying a little fertilizer at strategic times helps any plant reach its fullest potential. Strategic times to fertilize are: when a plant develops true leaves, when it begins to bloom, and again when it starts setting fruit.
your stove-about 50 pounds of ashes for every cord you burn. In addition to supplying potassium, wood ashes also sweeten acidic soil. Soil acidity (pH) is measured on a scale of 0 to 14; 7 is neutral. Soil that’s be low 7 is acidic; soil that’s above 7 is alkaline. Extremes in pH tie up nutri-
I
f you have access to manure, you can provide a quick nitrogen pickme-up for any plant that’s about to bloom by giving it a shot of manure tea. Cover manure in water and let it steep for about a month, strain out the solids (toss them into your compost heap), and dilute the liquid to the colour of weak tea.
A
nother good source of nitrogen is dried blood meal, a slaughter-house by product. A good source of phosphorus is bone meal, a slaughter-house product made of steamed, ground-up bones. Heating it with wood gives you a ready source of potassium in the ashes from
46
ents, and most vegetables do best in neutral soil.
T
he ashes of dense hardwoods like oak and hickory are best for sweetening soil. Apply no more than 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet per year. If your soil is on the alkaline side,
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
you can lower the pH by working in sawdust, leaf mold, or peat moss. Because I used lots of sawdust to improve my soil’s humus level, I also added ashes to balance its pH. Now that I’ve got plenty of
compost, my soil’s acidity takes care of itself, since compost tends to neutralize pH. Despite all the sawdust, ashes, and compost I’ve added, my garden’s soil still isn’t perfect-but it is well on its way.
Soil Tests T
o find out what’s in the soil in your garden, fill a quart jar one-third full with soil and two-thirds full with water. Shake the jar and set it aside until the soil settles into layers: The bottom layer will be sand; above the sand will be a layer of silt; then comes a layer of day; and on top of the water will float undecomposed organic matter. A good mix contains about 20 percent clay, 40 percent silt, and 20 percent sand
plus organic matter. Another way to find out what kind of soil you have is to squeeze a moist sample in your hand. If the soil forms a tight, sticky ball, it contains too much clay. If it feels grainy and crumbles no matter how hard you squeeze, it has too much sand. If it forms a loose mound when you squeeze gently, but crumbles when you squeeze harder, you’ve got good garden loam.
JAR TESTING FOR SOIL TYPE
ISSUE 4
SAND
LOAM
0 - 10% CLAY 0 - 10% SILT 80 - 100% SAND
10 - 30% CLAY 30 - 50% SILT 25 - 50% SAND
CLAY
50 - 100% CLAY 0 - 45% SILT 0 - 45% SAND
47
Acid Test
O
ld-time gardeners used to taste their ear. If it fizzes, your soil is alkaline. If the fizzing soil to find out whether it was acidic is weak, or you hear nothing at all, clean the jar
or alkaline. If the soil tasted sour, it was acidic; if
and put in another tablespoon of soil. Add a few
bitter, it was alkaline. If it tasted sweet, it was just
drops of ammonia and fill the jar two-thirds full
right. You don’t have to eat dirt to test your soil’s with distilled water (you can use rain water if you’re pH. You can buy a pH test kit, or you can shake
sure it isn’t acid rain). Set the jar aside for a couple
a tablespoon of dry soil and a tablespoon of white
of hours. If the water turns dark, your soil is acidic.
vinegar together in a jar small. Put the jar to your
Build Better Soil With Free Organic Fertilizer
You can build better garden soil by applying the right types and amounts of organic fertilizers.
A
s more and more people recognize the many benefits of organic gardening methods, a fresh crop of organic fertilizers are sprouting on store shelves. Many are overpriced, and some are stunning rip-offs that reputable stores and catalogues should be ashamed to sell. The really amazing thing is that two of the best organic fertiliz-
ers are easily available to most of us absolutely free! (See below) It’s definitely a buyer-beware world out there. If you’re not careful, you could pay five, 10 or 4,000 times more than necessary to get the nitrogen and other nutrients you need. Here’s what we found when we evaluated the pricing for 21 fertilizers:
When to Add Extra
A
survey of soil testing labs across the United States revealed that garden soils have too much fertilizer more often than too little. Adding too much can be just as bad for your crops as not applying enough. (A soil test every few years is a good idea.) If you apply grass clippings and/ or compost according to the guidelines above, you will only need to use more concentrated — and costly — organic fertilizers in a few special circumstances. When you start with a balanced soil (a soil test will tell you this) and apply grass clippings, compost and mulches regularly, necessary nutrients usually will be replenished in the correct proportions.
most likely to be depleted as you harvest your crops each season. Plants need the right amount of nitrogen to grow new stems, leaves and other parts. If they don’t get enough, they stay small and spindly, and never come close to their productive potential. If they get too much, they grow into huge plants that produce way behind schedule.
T
o complicate matters, if your soil doesn’t get regular additions of compost or organic mulches, it will have trouble holding on to the nitrogen you add. Nitrogen is a slippery nutrient, prone to volatilizing into thin air or washing away (that’s one of the reasons f fertilizers sold in bags or bottles are eas- organic matter that holds nitrogen is so helpier for you to use than grass clippings or ful). For most crops, you should replenish nicompost, nitrogen is the nutrient to use to guide trogen to the tune of about one-third pound per your application rate, because it is the nutrient 100 square feet of growing space each season.
I
50
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
T
here are also some situations when even gardeners with high levels of soil organic matter may want to apply supplemental fertilizers. Usually the reasons have to do with time and temperature.
used up food reserves provided by the seed, yet they are not free to forage for nutrients beyond the confines of their containers. A half ration of fish-based fertilizer, mixed into room temperature water, helps satisfy their nutrient needs until they are ready to be transplanted outdoors. You can n spring and fall, when soil temperatures also use a drenching of fish fertilizer to help wake are low, the biological processes that re- up overwintered spinach, which usually is ready lease nutrients from organic matter slow to a to produce a fine flush of leaves before the soil is crawl. A fertilizer that quickly releases nitrogen warm enough to release its precious nutrients. (such as fish emulsion or blood meal) helps supweet corn is famous for its need for niport strong, early growth of hungry cool-weather trogen, and one crop can take a big bite crops. Before planting big brassicas such as broccoli, cabbage and kale, and to help spring peas from your soil’s nitrogen supply. To be sure your get off to a strong start, mix a half ration of one plants don’t run short of nitrogen, you have three of these products into the soil before planting. options: 1) You could mix in a concentrated organic fertilizer before you plant, and then side dress omatoes, peppers and other crops that with more as the plants grow. 2) You could precede stay in the ground all summer sometimes the corn with a winter cover crop of hairy vetch, exhaust the soil’s supply of available nutrients by alfalfa or another nitrogen-fixing legume. When midsummer, just when they need it most. When the the plants are chopped down in late spring, just plants load up with fruit, you can prevent temporary as they begin to bloom, the roots left behind in shortfalls by mixing a light application of fertilizer the soil will release enough nitrogen to get sweet into the top inch of soil over the plants’ root zones, corn off to a good start. More will become availtopped off by a fresh helping of grass clippings for able as the surface mulch decomposes into organic mulch. This “side dressing” of fertilizer and mulch matter. 3) Your best bet, if you can manage it, is work together to keep the plants productive longer. to apply compost annually. In a three year study done at the Connecticut Agricultural Experieedlings started indoors often benefit ment Station, a 1-inch layer of leaf compost apfrom light feeding starting two to three plied to soil only once a year made it possible to weeks after the seeds sprout. By then, they have reduce the fertilizer sweet corn needed by half.
I
S
T
S
ISSUE 4
51
How to Compare Fertilizer Prices
N
itrogen is a major nutrient that is likely to become deficient in garden soils, so we used it to compare prices. The prices for blended organic fertilizers sold in garden stores and home improvement centres tend to cost more than a bag of soy or alfalfa meal at a farm supply store. Also, dry fertilizers are almost always a much better buy per pound of nitrogen than liquid products.
FREE Fertilizers Grass clippings, 2 to 5% nitrogen Yard waste compost, 1 to 4% nitrogen
Meal-based Fertilizers, price per pound of nitrogen Cottonseed meal (6-1-1) $7.25 Pro-Gro (5-3-4) $11.10 Alfalfa meal (3-1-2) $6.60 Soybean meal (7-2-1) $4.00 Espoma Garden-Tone (4-6-6) $32.40 Peace of Mind All Purpose (5-5-5) $39.75
Manure-based Fertilizers, price per pound of nitrogen Fertrell Lawn & Garden (3-2-3) $12.15 Black Hen (2-3-2) $16.00 Miracle Gro (3-2-3) $24.15 Bat Guano (10-3-1) $30.00 Bradfield Tomato & Vegetable (3-3-3) $33.25
52
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Liquid Organic Fertilizers, price per pound of nitrogen Age Old Organics Grow (12-6-6) $46.50 Maxicrop (5-1-1) $63.60 Ferti-lome Fish (5-1-1) $63.60 FoxFarm Grow Big (6-4-4) $79.70 Earth Juice (2-1-1) $239.00 TerraCycle Plant Food (.03-.002-.02) $16,987.00
Non-organic Liquid Fertilizer Pennington’s Plant Food (.02-.02-.02)
$4,067.00
You can put various products to the test using this simple equation: 1. Multiply the retail price, let’s say $8.95, by 100, which gives you 895. 2. Multiply the weight of the package, say 10 pounds, by the percentage of nitrogen (often about 5 percent), which gives you 50. The percentage of nitrogen is the first number in the product’s “guaranteed analysis.” For example, the “5” in “5-3-2.” 3. Divide the first number (price X 100 = 895) by the second one (weight X nitrogen content = 50). This is the cost per pound — $17.90 — of the nitrogen in the fertilizer.
ISSUE 4
53
THE FUTURE WAS UNCERTAIN UNTIL WE DECIDED TO UNITE.
UNITE FOR BETTER, HEALTHIER AND MORE NATURAL FUTURE FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN.
B
E
N AT UR A
L
E
ORGANI
C
B
FINALLY, OUR FUTURE LOOKS GREEN.
UNITE FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE
www.organicnews.eu
8
Certified grower of fresh, seasonal, organic vegetables and fruits established in 2004. We run a farm that have a low impact on natural resources and is in strict accordance with EC regulations on organic farming (EC Reg. No.834/2007 and No.889/2008). This means that all our produces bear the “Bio� seal. Our produces are available at well-known markets throughout Bulgaria, sold wholesale to restaurant chains nationwide and also exported to organic produce distributors throughout Europe. EuroOrganics OOD Breshlan-Silistra Road 33rd km. Ruse Bulgaria Telephone:+35986352255 E-mail: info@euroorganics.com www.euroorganics.com
The Best Free Fertilizers All products labelled as “fertilizer” must be labelled with their content of the three major plant nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K). Most organic fertilizers are bulkier than synthetic chemical products, so their N-P-K percentages are typically lower than synthetic products, and their application rates are higher.
A
lso, because organic products are biologically active, their N-P-K numbers may change somewhat from batch to batch and over time. Because of this, it can be hard for producers to comply with the labelling laws. As a result, some excellent organic fertilizer options, such as compost, often are not even labelled as a “fertilizer.” One of the best free fertilizers, grass clippings, break down so quickly that they can’t be bagged and sold.
posed to do: They enrich the soil with nutrients that plants and microscopic soil life-forms are eager to use. In most areas, you can easily collect grass clippings from your neighbourhood, bagged and set out ready to bring home. And many communities make yard waste compost (made mainly from grass clippings and leaves) available for free.
S
o, if you can get free clippings or compost, how much should you use? Here ut make no mistake, compost and grass are guidelines prepared with help from soil sciclippings do what fertilizers are sup- entists at Woods End Laboratory in Maine.
B
56
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
ISSUE 4
57
Grass Clippings: Just Half an Inch Will Do!
G
rass clippings are one of the best organic fertilizers. Not only because it’s easy to find free local sources, but also because the clippings do double duty preventing weeds and conserving soil moisture when used as mulch — two things other fertilizers cannot do. Nitrogen content of clippings will vary, with fresh grass collected in spring from fertilized lawns topping 5 percent nitrogen, while clippings from later in the year or from unfertilized lawns will likely contain around 2 percent nitro-
gen. (Be sure to avoid clippings from those “perfect” lawns that have been treated with herbicides.)
I
n most regions just a half-inch of fresh clippings each spring — that’s about six 5-gallon buckets per 100 square feet — mixed into the soil, or a 1- to 2-inch layer used as a surface mulch, will provide all the nutrients most crops need for a full season of growth.
Get Compost: The More, The Better
Y
ou can make compost from your yard, garden and kitchen wastes, but if you have a large garden, you’ll probably want more compost than you can make from your own yard. Many communities offer free yard waste compost, or you can look for compost made by local farmers at Local Harvest.
or months. All the while, many strains of fungi and bacteria introduced to the soil from the compost form partnerships with plant roots, helping them to absorb or actually manufacture more nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients. Compost also helps soil hold more moisture.
E
ach time a crop is finished, spread a ompost is a bulky fertilizer that typihalf-inch layer of compost over the soil. cally contains about 1 percent nitrogen Twice that much is better, but even a scant quarter(composted manure is closer to 3 percent nitrogen), inch blanket of compost will help maintain your but one of its advantages is that it releases nutrients soil’s fertility. very slowly, over a period of years rather than weeks
C
58
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
SUPPORTED BY ORGANIC NEWS
ISSUE 4
Use Mulches and Plant Cover Crops
T
he soil’s ability to hold onto nutrients increases as your soil’s organic matter content increases. Organic matter also plays a role in suppressing soilborne diseases while helping to retain soil moisture. Using mulches of shredded leaves, old hay and grass clippings will help boost your soil’s organic matter content as the mulches slowly decompose into compost. Cover crops planted during periods when you are not growing food crops also help increase the soil’s fertility.
62
A
fter three years of regularly adding compost and mulches, the soil’s organic matter content will increase by several percent. Just 3 percent organic matter translates to a nitrogen-holding capacity of more than 3 pounds of nitrogen per 100 square feet. About 15 percent of that nitrogen (about 0.4 pounds) is available to plants in any given year, because it is released slowly, as the organic matter decomposes. Use nitrogen-rich grass clippings as mulch, and you’ll have plenty of available nitrogen and other nutrients to meet the needs of most garden crops!
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Weigh Your Options
I
f you decide to buy an organic fertilizer, use the chart on below to estimate how much nitrogen you are getting for your money, keeping in mind that the best deals come in big packages.
M
anure-based products are usually composted or processed to reduce odours, and you often can find high-quality manure-based fertilizers produced in your area that don’t carry environmental baggage from longdistance shipping.
Y
ou can fertilize your garden with alfalfa, soy, cottonseed or another plant meal by itself, or use a blended meal-based product. Meal-based fertilizers often include 12 or more ingredients to balance fast-release nitrogen sources such as meat, fish, alfalfa or cottonseed meal with
ISSUE 4
other minerals and micro nutrients. These fertilizers often are less bulky compared to manurebased products, and most provide a broad array of nutrients.
F
inally, we must mention products that have been dressed up with microbes, enzymes, humic acids and other substances. These extras might be helpful if you are trying to bring dead soil to life, but in a garden that is well-nourished with compost and organic mulches, they are a waste of time and money. Microbes come along for free in compost, and earthworms never charge a cent for producing enzymes and humic acids. The diverse soil life beneath your feet produces everything your crops need; all you need to do is feed it what it wants — a steady diet of organic matter.
Neighbourhood B
efore making an offer on a property, check out the neighbourhood. Vacation there for a week if it’s not local to you, subscribe to the local papers, talk to people, drive around, and certainly boot up Google Earth and do a virtual flyover of the area. This free download, featuring regularly updated satellite photos of the entire world, is an excellent tool for spotting bad things about a neighbourhood that may be hidden, such as large mining operations, active landfills, or residential development that’s eating up farmland. Be sure to ask potential neighbours of any recent or pending land use changes.
S
econd, visit the county offices or website for information on land use ordinances (including zoning) and current land uses. Land use ordinances at both the township and county levels may either limit or protect the types of farming and marketing you can do, and they will certainly impact the types and pace of future development. Landowner maps (sometimes called “plat maps”) — also available at the county offices — show the property lines and identify the owner of every parcel of land in the county (except for small residential lots). They are well worth the purchase price if you’re serious about buying land in that county.
64
WWW.ORGANICNEWS.EU
ISSUE 4
YOUR IGNORANCE IS THEIR POWER. WAKE UP.
A company with tradition and future
As the BAGeno Raiffeisen eG company we offer you Raiffeisen market - In our six BAGeno Raiffeisen markets you can get everything for hobby, home and garden and advice from real experts Agriculture - In agricultural products, farmers can rely on us! Technology - we sale machines for professional use! Building materials - selling professional building materials, disposal and recycling and our rental fleet Petroleum refuelling - Mineral oil (refuel), heating oil and diesel R+V Insurance Agency - our insurance experts offers from health and life insurance to industrial and commercial insurance. Energy - Heating with wood pellets - heat from the natural.
Organic products are gaining in popularity. BAGeno is strong supporter of organic farming. Our marketer bears fruit and grain from organic cultivation or Demeter, the organic seal of approval and is supervised by the BCS Ă–kogarantie GmbH.
Organic farming and BAGeno fit together easily! www.bageno.de
Bio and Business is a trading company, based in Poland. Its mission is to bring quality grains from Poland markets to EU and abroad. The company is dealing with agricultural commodities such as oil seeds, milling and feed wheat, malting and feed barley, corn, wheat bran, feeds, etc. All of these grains are selected and inspected by our trained staff, which guarantees satisfaction of all our costumer’s needs. We are constantly developing in-depth tools to help better understand our customers’ environment and issues.
ABOUT US Registered in 2011 Trading with goods from Poland Specialized for bulk transport in Poland Offering bulk services and logistics
WHY US We care for your quality Our grains are selected and inspected by ourselves Satisfaction guaranteed
RENTING We are interested in hiring your trucks or repurchase your leasing contracts. You provide us with the price estimate for hiring your truck and we take care of the rest.
STORAGE We are looking for storage services for grains also suitable for storage or organic products.
TRANSPORT
PRODUCERS We buy your products at competitive prices, collect the goods at your premises, and offer timely payment.
We are looking for transport companies with walking floor and kipper trailers. We offer attractive rate per km (full/empty), short payment periods and constant loads.
http://www.biobusiness.com.pl/
RECOMMENDED MOVIE
WATCH THE FULL MOVIE ONLINE www.ORGANICNEWS.EU
Leave Your Feedback At Organic News we take your feedback very seriously. We hope you can take a few moments to share your opinions with us on how we’re doing. We’re constantly working to improve the quality of service and support our clients receive. The feedback we receive from you is vital. Tell us what’s on your mind and how we can serve you better. We’d love to hear from you ! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Please leave Your feedback here: info@organicnews.eu
WHAT IS ORGANIC NEWS? Organic News is website that gathers professional food buyers, wholesale producers, distributors, industry suppliers and farmers. It is a revolutionary way to connect with and get useful information about the organic business community in whole world. On Organic News website we publish interesting articles, important news, studies, interviews and exhaustive listings of all the companies in Europe, who work in the field of the organic industry; from the smallest farmers in Romania to well-known producers in Italy. WHY JOIN ORGANIC NEWS? • • •
Because you want to spend 5 minutes, and not 10 hours finding the perfect shipment of grains Because when your next potential customer searches for a product, you want your name and goods to stand out Because there has never been more interest in buying and selling organic food.
WHAT IS SWITCH ON MAGAZINE? In Switch ON magazine you can find bonus content, more topics than on our website, wider themes, we will present different companies, associations and projects from organic world. We will also present some of our members in Switch ON magazine every month - that is one of reasons to become our member. HOW IS E-MAGAZINE FINANCED? E-magazine uses donation and sponsorship based financing. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP? Your company will be a part of large online community, which in turn will help you get noticed. All along rural towns of Romania to coastal vistas of France. WHO CAN JOIN? Organic News gathers professional food buyers, wholesale producers, distributors, industry suppliers and farmers. We also invite journalists, bloggers and activists to join us so we can publish their texts - to spread knowledge and conscience about topics we are writing on. ON WHICH DEVICES CAN I READ THE E-NEWSPAPER? You can read the e-newspaper on computers and almost all mobile devices.
The Organic News team is committed to making this site useful and relevant to you. For additional assistance please email info@organicnews.eu or call +421-911-013-775 for assistance: Monday – Friday, 8 am – 6 pm. We will get back to you as soon as possible or in one business day.