Permaculture emergency Help needed

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by PeterFD, Mar 8, 2010.

  1. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    In October 2004 our family (husband, wife and two young boys) reprieved a goat farm in the foothills of the Alpes in the South of France. The goats produce milk for a local Dairy to transform into a speciality cheese.

    Although we have started the process of converting to an organic and therefore sustainable method of production we had a heavy dependence upon our tractor, roundbailer, lucerne (alfalfa) cutting and turning equipment, etc., to provide the winter forage for the 200 goats.

    In April 2009 (almost a year ago) a large wooden building we rent fell down, trapping and damaging all our agricultural equipment and all the stocks for the goats.

    This tragic event has left our exploitation without revenue since last April and to be quite honest we are coming to the end of our financial resources needed to support both our family and exploitation. Our Insurance company, and the insurance company of the proprietor of the building have declared that the proprietor failed to maintain the structure of the building properly and so we have to sue the proprietor directly for compensation. The process could take years!

    Fortunately we came across permaculture towards the end of last year and have since acquired both Geof Lawtons DVD’s, “Introduction to Permaculture Design” and “Harvesting Water the permaculture way”. I also got hold of a copy of Bill Mollisons “Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual – which is a bit of a heavy read. This week I also got hold of a copy of Ross Mars’s “The Basics of Permaculture Design”, which is a much shorter and easier book to read.

    We have an almost constant source of water form a local spring, which I have channelled into a swale (almost on contour), which is the highest point above a sloping panel of old pastureland, previously grazed by the goats. It’s about two hectares.

    If I can get enough money together to repair the tractor it has a small “bucket” digging attachment on a hydraulic loader on the front. This would allow me to dig a second swale on an old sloping luzerne (alfalfa) field, (about another 2 hectares). However, traditionally this field gets very dry in the long hot summers so it would really need the swale to make it viable.

    Essentially I need some fast-startup advice to allow me to grow enough feed to cover for about 120 days of late autumn-winter-early spring feed for our goats. We would be prepared to reduce the herd size to about 100 to save the exploitation.

    We had thought of Sunflowers (possibly multihead), corn (on the first 2 hectare patch), turnips, and possibly some form of cover crop that could be grazed by the goats throughout the year and especially within the winter months.

    We simply don’t have the money to buy and plant lots of trees although we could possibly start a tree nursery for future years. We will be stretched to provide enough seeds to cover for the sunflowers, corn and turnips.

    The soil seems to be a heavy clay with some sand and lots of small rocks (ranging from about half an inch to several feet in diameter). The following species seem to be dominant in the area; Pine, Juniper, Oak, Walnut, Mulberry, Fig, Broom, Sunflowers, Laurel, Blackberry, Pear, Plum, Crab apple, Willow, Quince, Elderberry, Lucerne (cultivated), Clover.

    Although this represents a good selection, individual plants can be fairly sparse and not in “prime” condition.

    At the end of last year I managed to acquire some clumping bamboo seeds along with seeds for dwarf fig and banana (yes they do grow here but mainly for the large leaves rather than the fruit). I also took some Mulberry tree and fig cuttings a couple of weeks ago which are now in bud but cannot be put out because we currently have snow and sub zero night-time temperatures.

    Can anyone advise on a “quick fix” permaculture guild that will provide the necessary food whilst we get the trees and a more permanent design underway. We estimate that we would need about three years to get a proper system.

    Currently I have a building with one hundred square metres of a goat manure/straw mix, about a metre deep that hasn’t been touched for over two years. I also have a 500 square metre building with about half a metre deep with a “fresher mix”. Getting access would, however, be dependent on getting the tractor fixed.

    Any “emergency” help would be much appreciated, however, please remember our “shoe-string budget”.

    Many thanks, Peter
     
  2. alfamick

    alfamick Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Messages:
    64
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Peter,

    That sounds like a really tough predicament - sorry to hear about it!

    You don't seem to have mentioned leguminous trees - generally fast-growing trees from seed that can fix nitrogen in the soil and also provide good animal fodder (by lopping the branches); something like tagasaste ("tree lucerne")? Not sure what is available or would grow in your climate? Most permaculture solutions include such trees as "pioneers" - I use crotalaria, pigeon pea and other warm-climate species.

    Cheers,
    Mick
     
  3. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2008
    Messages:
    1,573
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Its a little too far for a daily commute from Tassie (but i would if i could), but i do hope and expect you will find help soon.
     
  4. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    Do a search for Hardworkinghippy. She posts here and has a blog, they are in France and may be able to offer local advice and networking.

    Also try the UK permaculture forum.

    Do you have woofers to help?
     
  5. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2005
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Read everything you can by Sepp Holzer, who does permaculture in the Austrian mountains. He builds animal shelters into the earth with boulder foundations, log/pond liner/earth roofs, gravel floors. He builds ponds and does aquaculture.

    check out YouTube for videos on what he does.

    If you have enough animal manure and soil, plant matter, you can compost and possibly sell it. Make "liquors" out of stinging nettles or Russian comfrey to add to it to have a special kick to it.

    What about chickens and eggs?
     
  6. thepoolroom

    thepoolroom Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2008
    Messages:
    204
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Also read up on Joel Salatin and his Polyface Farm. He has published several books, but there are also various videos, podcasts and articles by and about him all over the net for free.
     
  7. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi everyone, many thanks for your help.

    I had thought about the Tree Lucerne, however, I haven’t managed to find any seeds in France or the UK. (I did find a google reference to Ebay UK but it seems to not exist).

    Alfamick, do you know how long Tree Lucerne takes to grow from seed? Would we get enough growth from planting seeds in April to cut a few branches by the end of the year?

    Milifestyle, thanks for the offer of help however I appreciate the distance involved!

    Pebble, sorry I don’t know what a “woofer” is. Hardworking hippy lives on the other side of France, in the Dordogne, which has a very different climate.

    Sweetpea – thanks for the reference to Sepp Holzer. I did quite a lot of research at the end of last year, however, most of his more technical references are in German and therefore way beyond my comprehension.

    Come on Permaculture Forum – there must be someone who can offer some quick-fix help on plant guilds that would provide food for a herd of about 100 goats.

    I know that sunflowers and corn grow well together and I appreciate Alfamicks suggestion regarding Tree Lucerne.

    I’ve listened to Geoff Lawton talking about ecology working at break-neck speed, and this is certainly what I need.

    I’m not asking for money or a whole army of volunteers, just some basic information that would put together the basics of a permaculture system that can then develop over the years into something we can be very proud of.

    Thanks for listening.
     
  8. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2005
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Zed, The YouTube pieces on Sepp Holzer are in English, the user is permascience, there's part 1,2,3 and 4.

    So you want a high protein grain for the goats that's quick? What about quinoa (keen-wa), amaranth (not the flower variety, but the grain variety, https://www.homegrownharvest.com/amaranth.html). or spelt.

    Millet grows in poor soil: " As one of the most important grains in the world today, millet grows well in hot, dry climates and does not need good fertilization or particularly rich soil. It does, however, require good drainage as it thrives in low moisture and is ideal for growing in areas where rice or wheat do not do well. A tall grass, the plants grow up 15 feet high with leaves measuring one inch wide and up to 6 feet long. From a long spike comes the seed heads, which yield the tiny yellow beads of grain once they are hulled. Because the germ of the seed remains intact after hulling, the process does nothing to alter its nutritional value."

    I have clay soil, too, and I love its ability to hold water, so you shouldn't have much trouble getting a grain crop going.

    This one has me interested, think of the biomass for mulching and composting.

    wow, Mother Nature has never worked at break-neck speed where I am, maybe you could contact Geoff Laughton directly?

    I thought you wanted to make money to fix the tractor which is why I suggested a couple of quick money makers.
     
  9. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2005
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
  10. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Sweetpea

    Many thanks for your suggestions. Certainly the small amaranth “weed” grows in this region so the large seed-baring variety should do well. (also confirmed in Geoff Laughtons dvd!).

    Is it really possible to contact Geoff Laughton directly?

    As always, acquiring seeds (without having to pay enormous shipping costs from Australia or New Zealand) represents a major problem.

    I remember reading somewhere that there is a permaculture seed-bank that can be used but at the moment I cannot remember where.

    Thanks for the Sepp Holzer YouTube references. It’s certainly a different approach to have Sepp reminiscing in a bar, and having his anecdotes translated sentence by sentence into English.

    Currently we are Mediterranean base-alpes, so we should have a slightly easier time of it!

    Despite the clay soil, water is lost very easily here because of the slopes of the land and the fact that liquid simply runs across the surface of the soil into ravines that have formed over thousands of years. However, I’m hoping that a swale or two will help hold-up the process.

    Essentially, I need urgent advice on plant guilds that would survive well together in our climatic environment and feed 100 goats for about 120 days from about December to about April.

    Come-on all you permi experts, help-out a fellow permi!
     
  11. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    In my experience, there isn't alot of ready made information on guilds, and it seems to me like you are asking for quite specialised information. There are people on this forum with incredible depth of knowledge, but it's possible that the people who know your climate and land and goats and feed aren't here. It's still a small forum, and most permies are out doing stuff, not online. It may take some time for the right person to answer your questions.

    I was thinking that Hardworking Hippy might help you network with people in France/Europe that could answer some of your questions. Many of the people on this forum are in Oz and the US. I'm in NZ. That's why I suggested also networking closer to home. If I was in your situation I would certainly post on this forum, but I'd be out looking for the locals who know too.

    Woofing is a worldwide scheme that matches up farmers with travelling workers. Working On Organic Farms. The workers get accommodation and meals and work for up to 4 hours a day for no wage. Generally they are wanting to learn from the work. It doesn't work for everyone, but for many people it is a great way to get cheap labour from people that are really into organics/permaculture etc https://www.wwoof.fr/


    Is the feed you need for the winter something that has to be harvested and stored? Can you still afford to do this processing? Are you wanting something for the next winter i.e you need to be sowing soon?

    It seems like the short term solutions are different from the medium and long term ones. Are you working on the medium and long term too at the moment, or are you completely focussed on surviving this year?

    Have you considered looking for local solutions eg who in your area has excess of plant material/weeds? How much choice do you have in what you feed the goats eg is it about keeping them alive and healthy or do you need to take milking into consideration for that time?

    Are you able to move the goats around eg if someone in your area has land that is overgrown, can the goats go there for a time?

    Does some plant material grow through the winter, or do you have snow on the ground continuously? More information about your land and situation would be useful.

    Just trying to think out of the box.
     
  12. permasculptor

    permasculptor Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2007
    Messages:
    727
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    pebble wrote
    this may be an avenue worth investigating,I have heard about one fellow who used a goat heard to undercut machinery based land clearer's.
     
  13. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2007
    Messages:
    2,721
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    inland Otago, NZ
    Climate:
    Inland maritime/hot/dry/frosty
    Goats eat a wide range of plants too, often plants no-one else wants. Not sure about milking goats though, as the plant will affect the milk.
     
  14. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Sweetpea

    Thanks for the advice re: amaranth

    I've found a couple of good offers that I'd like your advice on.

    - 200 seeds (1.50 $ + postage from USA to France)

    AMARANTH Amaranthus caudatus Amaranto Coime - 1000 organic seeds (3.95 $ + postage from Bolivia to France)

    Certainly the giants look interesting, however, anyone tried to grow them?
     
  15. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Pebble

    I'm currently working on both long-term and immeadiate requirements. If we cannot feed the goats this year and through the coming winter, we wont have an exploiation to further develope.

    Hence the emergency aspect of my posting.

    Sometimes we get a mild, wet winter, however, as per this year, we seem to have suffered almost continuous snow and prolonged sub-zero temperatures.

    Thanks, Peter
     
  16. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: using goats to clear land. This is an idea that has been used in other regions, however, we are surounded by grape vines and would need some means of transportation, and portable fencing/water unit, which all adds to the cost considerably.

    It would appear that trying to cultivate, permaculture style, the area around the goat shed may give us the best chance of survival. We do have a number of tall silo's for storage of dried seeds/materials.

    Some years ago I agained a degree in Ecology so I have already made some changes and, prior to the colapse of our building last April, we had all the paperwork to start the registration process for organic farming in France.

    However, on a positive note, this forced delay has allowed us to discover permaculture and its amazing potential!

    As Bill Mollison states in his Designers' Manual, a problem can oftern be a solution!

    Thanks again
     
  17. PeterFD

    PeterFD Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hi Sweetpea

    I just noticed that part of my posting concerning Amaranth Chinese Orange Giant - 200 seeds got cut off.

    These giants look very interesting in terms of bulk food production for the goats, however, anyone actually grown them or could offer an opinion?

    Thanks, Peter
     
  18. Jana

    Jana Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2006
    Messages:
    393
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Sounds like the soil is depleted...it would be good to make some compost tea from your goat dodo. This could be sieved and put into an irrigation or spray system. If you are by the ocean use kelp, if there is a local quarry collect rockdust, collect local resources for fungi and bacteria.

    Alfalfa is deep rooted...you could use it and clover under corn.
    Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a food, feed and fodder crop.
    Legume hays- alfalfa, clover, lespedeza- tend to be higher in protein; this also depends on which cutting it is.
    Some of the best pastures for goats are Bahiagrass, millet, sorghum, sudan grass and a mixture of a grain, grass and clover. During the early part of grazing season, browse tends to be higher in protein than ordinary pasture. Goats are natural browsers and select plants at their most nutritious state.
    Grain is very high in fat, and, therefore, we do not recommend its use on a regular basis.
    Pasture - The best goat pastures include clovers and mixed grasses, in addition to plenty of twigs, saplings, brush, and trees. Goats do not like (and it is not good for them) to ingest lush grasses alone. If necessary, supplement their pasture with plenty of browsing materials. Goats particularly relish fruit tree prunings and wild grape vines.
    Alfalfa hay is very high-protein hay and should only be used for sick or debilitated animals. Adult goats need two to four pounds of hay per day.

    MORINGA—(Moringa Oleifera) The Miracle Tree has over 90 naturally occurring nutritional compounds and is the most nutritious plant so far discovered. Except for the bark, which can be toxic, all parts of the tree are edible. The dried-powdered leaves of Moringa Oleifera provide 7x the vitamin C of oranges, 4x the calcium of milk, 4x the vitamin A of carrots, 3x the iron of spinach, 3x the potassium of bananas, and 2x the protein of yogurt. Moringa is considered to have the highest protein ratio of any plant so far identified; the cake left after oil extraction contains 58.9% crude protein. When Moringa seeds are crushed and added to dirty, bacteria laden water, they purify the water. Moringa seed oil won’t spoil or turn rancid and is used in cooking and cosmetics; it is also used as a preservative. Moringa oliefera Seed Oil Seeds yield 38–40% of a non-drying oil, known as Ben Oil, contains 65.7% oleic acids among the fatty acids. Due to its high quantities of Oleic Acids (Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acid) is good for sautéing and deep frying. Moringa Oil has a natural antioxidant that many consider to be the source of its remarkable oxidative stability. Oil is clear, sweet and odorless to mild nutty flavor, never becoming rancid; consequently it is edible and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressings. Omega-3, along with Omega-6 and Omega-9, are among the many nutrients abundantly found in Moringa.
    Purchase Moringa: https://marikosfamilyfarm.com/orderonline.htm
    Moringa, Nature's Medicine Cabinet, Sanford Holst, Sierra Sunrise Books, Oct. 2000

    COMPOST TEA

    To make an ultra life giving fertilizer fill a large container with non-chlorinated water (rain or spring), add liquid seaweed, clay, molasses or raw honey, Buckwheat goop, Effective Microbes, compost, wild leaf mold or peat, all kinds of cured animal manures. Tie a quartz crystal, magnet or rock onto the end of your aquarium aerator bubbler tube to weigh it down, and aerate the elixir for 8-12 hours. Filter prior to dispersal and put the solids on the compost heap. Adding some Paul Stamet's Mychorrhiza prior to dispersal would increase plant nutrient uptake many fold.

    You might consider growing mushrooms as a method of using your goat straw/compost and processing it for dispersal on the land.

    MUNICIPAL COMPOST TEA
    www.eminfo.info and www.antioxbrew.com.
    I had the idea of using aerated compost tea to municipal scale processing of waste. A cities waste could be composted for humus using compost tea in the composting of the waste, then the humus could then be used to make more compost tea. The tea could be used to fertilize city vegetation and be sold via the tank-truck load to local farmers. Other components of the tea include Molasses to be used for the sugar needed by the bacteria, plus kelp, azomite clay, ground eggshell in as well.

    In a large scale municipal compost tea system it would be good to incorporate a spiraling motion with magnets, and sound frequencies "The Sound of the Sun" as well as the aeration...
    In a large scale municipal compost tea system it would be good to incorporate a spiraling motion with magnets, as well as the aeration...As Schauberger mentions…In Barvaria farmers tone ascending notes as they stir a bucket of clay and water in a clockwise direction, and descending notes as they stir it in an anticlockwise direction. In the morning they sprinkle the contents over their crops. 178 Earthmind, Paul Devereux.

    MYCORRHIZA
    Mychorrhiza hold water in the soil and transmit nutrients to the plants. Fungi/mushrooms may actually do the urban remineralization alchemy for us. Say if we used “transition group elements” rich soil amendments, ocean concentrates, kelp, shale, peatmoss, forest mulch etc...for growing the fungi. Mycorrhiza extends the soil nutrient scavenging capacity of plants up to 4 times more than its roots alone. www.fungi.com/
    video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2276683453801912113 —Paul Stamets at the 10th LOHAS conference


    EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISMS
    EM•1® Agricultural helps maintain plant health by generating a fermentative pathway, rather than a putrefactive pathway that encourages the growth of other resident beneficials.
    https://www.scdworld.com/ —Efficient Microbes •
    www.emamerica.com/ —EM•1® Multi-use Size (12 ounce) $14.95

    Grass-leguminous silages: barley-lupin, oat-vetch had 0.86 F.U., 10.33 MJ of metabolizable energy and 91.6 g of digestible protein per 1 kg DM.
    In general, growth and feed utilization efficiencies of fish fed diets containing fermented seed meal were superior to those fed diets containing raw seed meal.

    I recommend buckwheat as a composting green crop for creating humus for the potting mix...you get the greens, then if you harvest the seeds and husk them, and sprout them they give off the goop mucopolysaccharides which is the best soil binder, moisture holder, root-hair nutrient transfer medium there is. This goop can be added to compost tea or irrigation water. The husks can be used as mulch. The buckwheat could be grown right there on the river flats and processed where it is needed via traveling trucks with processing units on them.

    Algae Production—The increase in biomass in the soil along the river would act as a sewage treatment plant for the transformation of pollutants, in a similar way to healthy bacteria in the intestines keeping pathological putrefying forms of microbe life at bay…and create necessary nutrients for the health of the whole. Algae could be included in the greenhouse reforestation-desalination along the river bank by growing algae in the manmade water channels diverted off the main river that cut through the greenhouses which provide the water for distillation/condensation. The Algae could be harvested for biodiesel, stock food, or fertilizer.
    You can use human/animal sewage to grow algae to use on the land. If there is kelp in the ocean this would add trace minerals. Rock dust is the great mother of soil building.
    Algoculture: Spirulina, Hope for a Hungry World; and Spirulina, Production and Potential —Denise Fox
    www.spirulinasource.com/earthfoodch9a.html —Microalgae’s role in restoring earth

    Truffle Business—Truffles and medical mushrooms could be a bonus crop giving incentive for the planting of oaks etc… Australia is rich in mycorrhizal fungi, in general, and field evidence suggests that the Australian truffle-like fungi form mycorrhizae with major forest trees such as Eucalyptus, Allocasuarina, Leptospermum, Acacia and Nothofagus.
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5284886.stm
    https://www.trufflegrowers.com.au/
    https://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/truffle-like.html
    https://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/

    Fungi soil water holding—mychorizae compost activator also increases water holding capacity. Geoff Lawton found that mychorizae of a particular fungi in Jordan was complexing with the salt in the soil and allowing trees to grow on a salt plane that he was establishing in permaculture. Greening the Desert—They laughed and said it couldn't be done......Permaculture organic gardening, Geoff Lawton
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk

    Harvesting Water the Permaculture Way DVD with Geoff Lawton
    https://www.permaculture.org.au/harvesting_water/HarvestingWater.html

    Email me if you want my earth regeneration files. [email protected]
     
  19. Jana

    Jana Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2006
    Messages:
    393
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Sounds like the soil is depleted...it would be good to make some compost tea from your goat dodo. This could be sieved and put into an irrigation or spray system. If you are by the ocean use kelp, if there is a local quarry collect rockdust, collect local resources for fungi and bacteria.

    PASTURE: Some of the best pastures for goats are Bahiagrass, millet, sorghum, sudan grass and a mixture of a grain, grass and clover. During the early part of grazing season, browse tends to be higher in protein than ordinary pasture. Goats are natural browsers and select plants at their most nutritious state.
    Grain is very high in fat, and, therefore, we do not recommend its use on a regular basis.
    The best goat pastures include clovers and mixed grasses, in addition to plenty of twigs, saplings, brush, and trees. Goats do not like (and it is not good for them) to ingest lush grasses alone. If necessary, supplement their pasture with plenty of browsing materials. Goats particularly relish fruit tree prunings and wild grape vines. Adult goats need two to four pounds of hay per day.
    Alfalfa is deep rooted...you could use it and clover under corn. Alfalfa hay is very high-protein hay and should only be used for sick or debilitated animals.
    Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a food, feed and fodder crop.
    Legume hays- alfalfa, clover, lespedeza- tend to be higher in protein; this also depends on which cutting it is.
    The highest total number of microorganisms and number of ammonifiers were registered in the soil under the grass-leguminous mixture consisting of red clover, orchard grass, red fescue and timothy grass.

    Buffalograss requires almost zero maintenance? Buffalograss conserves water, and requires almost no watering or mowing. It makes a great lawn for the dryer areas of the Great Plains! www.stockseed.com/ — Prairie and Turf Grasses

    SILAGE: (Grass-leguminous) barley-lupin, oat-vetch had 0.86 F.U., 10.33 MJ of metabolizable energy and 91.6 g of digestible protein per 1 kg DM. In general, growth and feed utilization efficiencies of fish fed diets containing fermented seed meal were superior to those fed diets containing raw seed meal.

    MORINGA—(Moringa Oleifera) The Miracle Tree has over 90 naturally occurring nutritional compounds and is the most nutritious plant so far discovered. Except for the bark, which can be toxic, all parts of the tree are edible. The dried-powdered leaves of Moringa Oleifera provide 7x the vitamin C of oranges, 4x the calcium of milk, 4x the vitamin A of carrots, 3x the iron of spinach, 3x the potassium of bananas, and 2x the protein of yogurt. Moringa is considered to have the highest protein ratio of any plant so far identified; the cake left after oil extraction contains 58.9% crude protein. When Moringa seeds are crushed and added to dirty, bacteria laden water, they purify the water. Moringa seed oil won’t spoil or turn rancid and is used in cooking and cosmetics; it is also used as a preservative. Moringa oliefera Seed Oil Seeds yield 38–40% of a non-drying oil, known as Ben Oil, contains 65.7% oleic acids among the fatty acids. Due to its high quantities of Oleic Acids (Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acid) is good for sautéing and deep frying. Moringa Oil has a natural antioxidant that many consider to be the source of its remarkable oxidative stability. Oil is clear, sweet and odorless to mild nutty flavor, never becoming rancid; consequently it is edible and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressings. Omega-3, along with Omega-6 and Omega-9, are among the many nutrients abundantly found in Moringa.
    Purchase Moringa: https://marikosfamilyfarm.com/orderonline.htm
    Moringa, Nature's Medicine Cabinet, Sanford Holst, Sierra Sunrise Books, Oct. 2000

    COMPOST TEA

    To make an ultra life giving fertilizer fill a large container with non-chlorinated water (rain or spring), add liquid seaweed, clay, molasses or raw honey, Buckwheat goop, Effective Microbes, compost, wild leaf mold or peat, all kinds of cured animal manures. Tie a quartz crystal, magnet or rock onto the end of your aquarium aerator bubbler tube to weigh it down, and aerate the elixir for 8-12 hours. Filter prior to dispersal and put the solids on the compost heap. Adding some Paul Stamet's Mychorrhiza prior to dispersal would increase plant nutrient uptake many fold.

    You might consider growing mushrooms as a method of using your goat straw/compost and processing it for dispersal on the land.

    MUNICIPAL COMPOST TEA
    www.eminfo.info and www.antioxbrew.com.
    I had the idea of using aerated compost tea to municipal scale processing of waste. A cities waste could be composted for humus using compost tea in the composting of the waste, then the humus could then be used to make more compost tea. The tea could be used to fertilize city vegetation and be sold via the tank-truck load to local farmers. Other components of the tea include Molasses to be used for the sugar needed by the bacteria, plus kelp, azomite clay, ground eggshell in as well.

    In a large scale municipal compost tea system it would be good to incorporate a spiraling motion with magnets, and sound frequencies "The Sound of the Sun" as well as the aeration...
    In a large scale municipal compost tea system it would be good to incorporate a spiraling motion with magnets, as well as the aeration...As Schauberger mentions…In Barvaria farmers tone ascending notes as they stir a bucket of clay and water in a clockwise direction, and descending notes as they stir it in an anticlockwise direction. In the morning they sprinkle the contents over their crops. 178 Earthmind, Paul Devereux.

    MYCORRHIZA
    Mychorrhiza hold water in the soil and transmit nutrients to the plants. Fungi/mushrooms may actually do the urban remineralization alchemy for us. Say if we used “transition group elements” rich soil amendments, ocean concentrates, kelp, shale, peatmoss, forest mulch etc...for growing the fungi. Mycorrhiza extends the soil nutrient scavenging capacity of plants up to 4 times more than its roots alone. www.fungi.com/
    video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2276683453801912113 —Paul Stamets at the 10th LOHAS conference


    EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISMS
    EM•1® Agricultural helps maintain plant health by generating a fermentative pathway, rather than a putrefactive pathway that encourages the growth of other resident beneficials.
    https://www.scdworld.com/ —Efficient Microbes •
    www.emamerica.com/ —EM•1® Multi-use Size (12 ounce) $14.95

    BUCKWHEAT
    I recommend buckwheat as a composting green crop for creating humus for the potting mix...you get the greens, then if you harvest the seeds and husk them, and sprout them they give off the goop mucopolysaccharides which is the best soil binder, moisture holder, root-hair nutrient transfer medium there is. This goop can be added to compost tea or irrigation water. The husks can be used as mulch. The buckwheat could be grown right there on the river flats and processed where it is needed via traveling trucks with processing units on them.

    Algae Production—The increase in biomass in the soil along the river would act as a sewage treatment plant for the transformation of pollutants, in a similar way to healthy bacteria in the intestines keeping pathological putrefying forms of microbe life at bay…and create necessary nutrients for the health of the whole. Algae could be included in the greenhouse reforestation-desalination along the river bank by growing algae in the manmade water channels diverted off the main river that cut through the greenhouses which provide the water for distillation/condensation. The Algae could be harvested for biodiesel, stock food, or fertilizer.
    You can use human/animal sewage to grow algae to use on the land. If there is kelp in the ocean this would add trace minerals. Rock dust is the great mother of soil building.
    Algoculture: Spirulina, Hope for a Hungry World; and Spirulina, Production and Potential —Denise Fox
    www.spirulinasource.com/earthfoodch9a.html —Microalgae’s role in restoring earth

    Truffle Business—Truffles and medical mushrooms could be a bonus crop giving incentive for the planting of oaks etc… Australia is rich in mycorrhizal fungi, in general, and field evidence suggests that the Australian truffle-like fungi form mycorrhizae with major forest trees such as Eucalyptus, Allocasuarina, Leptospermum, Acacia and Nothofagus.
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5284886.stm
    https://www.trufflegrowers.com.au/
    https://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/truffle-like.html
    https://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/

    Fungi soil water holding—mychorizae compost activator also increases water holding capacity. Geoff Lawton found that mychorizae of a particular fungi in Jordan was complexing with the salt in the soil and allowing trees to grow on a salt plane that he was establishing in permaculture. Greening the Desert—They laughed and said it couldn't be done......Permaculture organic gardening, Geoff Lawton
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk

    Harvesting Water the Permaculture Way DVD with Geoff Lawton
    https://www.permaculture.org.au/harvesting_water/HarvestingWater.html

    Email me if you want my earth regeneration files. [email protected]
     
  20. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2005
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Caudatus is Love Lies Bleeding, and that's the flowering kind.

    Amaranthus hypochondriacus is the high protein grain type of amaranth. Plainsman, is usually 5 to 6 feet tall in Missouri. Plainsman has a single unbranched stem, with a large mass of tiny maroon flowers clustered in an inflorescence at the top of the plant. Grain heads of Plainsman can range from 4 to 12 inches long, and from 2 to 8 inches wide. Seeds are small, about 1/25 inch. While amaranth is regarded to be drought tolerant, the mechanism of its drought tolerance is not well understood. One trait that helps it in extremely dry conditions is an ability to wilt temporarily, then bounce back after a rainfall occurs.

    Chinese giant sounds great...was this a description that you saw:

    Amaranth, Golden Giant (Amaranthus cruentus) seeds, organic:

    Family: Amaranth (Amaranthaceae)

    Self-seeding annual native to South America. 100 days to maturity. This is probably the most highly productive food grain that can easily be grown by home gardeners in the temperate north. Golden giant is an epic plant, giving a pound of grain per 10 row feet. The seeds, embryonic capsules of goodness, readily shake free of the dry flower heads. After the plants reach maturity, when the heads yield mature seeds when rubbed, then cut the tops and dry them by hanging in the shade or on screens (generally takes a couple of weeks) then whack them (we put down a sheet, put a table screen over that, then whack the heads with flails, e.g. willow whips) and the seed falls down onto the sheet. After that, separate chaff from seed by screening (use our set of seed cleaning screens or improvise) and winnow the seed in the wind. Winnow onto a sheet. Chaff and light (unviable) seed will fly away, while the good seed will hit the sheet. Do this several times, and the seed will be clean enough to use for food or for saving to replant. Our favorite way of cooking this grain is as a high-protein oatmeal—add sufficient water and simmer until done. Incredible, and a little bit goes a long way. Extremely concentrated food source. Plant prefers full sun and regular garden soil. Direct seed in spring to summer and thin to 1 foot apart.

    I have a friend who grows flowers professionally, he says once you plant amaranth, they reseed easily, but they are worth it. :)k

    I'm also considering millet, so I'll plant some and see what happens.
     

Share This Page

-->