Bio-Organic Farming & Gardening: GROW Your Own FOOD

WELCOME TO BIO-ORGANIC FARMING!

PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR REGULAR UPDATES, as more videos and resources are plowed into the earth of this ancient body of knowledge. AND PLEASE GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE CONTENT BEFORE YOU FARM, IF THIS IS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR YOU.

YOU are hereby applauded and lauded, as a sincere seeker of furtherance to your own life's quality, and your life's enjoyment! Make no mistake, YOU are a rarity (you ARE sincere in this, right...) in this human world-
in a time when the vast majority of the planet's humans are running AWAY from farming, indeed from any form of hu-manual work,
many more farmers are desparately needed to feed those who will not or can not grow the planet's holistically-produced, organic food...

The majority of this course is set in the magnificent splendour of himalayan Ladakh- however, this is coming to you from 25+ years of Environmental Engineering & Organic Farming experience, and details, tips and tricks gathered from around the planet. This farming story thus becomes something of a travellogue, in the telling.

THIS COURSE IS A PERENNIAL WORK-IN-PROGRESS

We therefore humbly beseech you to suggest any farming details or areas we may have overlooked by contacting us, and you will be either directly answered or this course will be augmented, in the earliest means possible....

PLEASE be aware that Ladakh and many of the SimPL farmsites do NOT have regular INTERNET! Your good patience, therefore, is implored, for replies and updates.

We look forward to seeing you on the dashboard, and in discussion.
Let's work on this primal key to human life-excellence &
this vital link to living well and SimPLy, together!

Enjoy in the very best of Spirit and Health

A basic description of the physical aim of this course.

Consider please this concept, Bio-Farmer, this discussion as ongoing. YOU are ever invited to attempt verbal capture and modification of this definition at anytime (start a discussion!)- bring it! this is welcomed.

At this time, SimPL sense suggests that it is the DOING of a farm which plies the intrigue, thus feels the experienced Truth of farming.

We may all approach this sensing of farm-knowledge as we continue, as we dig deeper into the substrate of our farmplay-

and perhaps YOU have had it all along, and merely await the rest of us to catch up.

on with the show.

A little note on our Curious Little Reality, April 2020.

YOU, as ORGANIC FARMER, now stand in FoodWorld Center Ring.

That is to say,
the people are with you,
demand is with you,
the FUTURE certainly is with you.

Because aspects of this artificially-processed decaffeinated Life we've all been putting up with,
this unnatural chem-world which has so craftily insinuated
itself up society's backside,
is now in appreciable danger of imploding.

Curious sometimes, isn't it, when the best-laid plans come around to bite those who've laid them.......

never mind, just venting.

enjoy The Accidental Paradigm!

im

The drastic differences between the two main forms of practiced farming in the world, as it pertains to the life of a modern human.

whatever does ORGANIC mean, anyway?

this is one abused & overused word in the English language nowadays. and mostly it gets,well, lost in translation.

poor 'organic' our friend, is at once a buzzword, a branch of chemistry, delineator of certain behaviours, and the flagship of a global cultural movement.

and i wonder how many folks really have the right word, when they use this tired & over-wrought label.

then again, in this human world how much that is going on, is going on correctly?

AN OFFERING on changing the heavily-controlled "organic" label, to put responsible, high-quality food production back in the hands of farmers.

(something quite valuable that i learned, is brought to mind here- NEVER wail and complain UNLESS you can offer a way out, a solution or something which HELPS the situation.)

HERE IS an info-bank on several subjects, that you can peruse and use as your
personal resource or info-bank.

HOPING that these files may find usefulness with any of yous who are needing specifics......

DON'T SEE WHAT YOU NEED?  Guys, that's what the Q&A is for, right. Just message your ol

pal im (hi,thats me) and i'll see if i can scare up the info.

Be well, BE productive! - im

Knowing what you have for soil is valuable- or invaluable- for a continued good produce throughout the growing season, year after year. Here is a way to observe your surrounding environment, to understand what content of minerals, calcium, silica, and organics your soil is likely to have, without having to use a paid, laboratory soil analysis for this.

We're wanting to keep it all simpl, after all.

In general, light-coloured soils will lack organics- so you might want to add your manures or compost to this. Darker soils will generally be more organically infused, but pay attention to the MINERAL GENERATORS, the rocks present in your soil. With little presence of rocks, one may want to add rocks or rock dust, either right awaay or later when your production and flaccid plants start alerting you to deficiencies.

As always, one observes, makes the notes that are apparent, and looks for RESULT in the final product, or your veggies which come from all your hard work.

another food for thought- and on with the farm build!

Got trench dug, got players got soil got water.

Throw it all together in 2 minutes- no more- and we got

composting, the way it oughta be. SimPL.

Almost as many ways to get bacteria together, as there are to skin a cat.

here a few common composting arrangements. do it fast do it right, but...

to do it.

Soil treats must be processed PRIOR to the farm rising up in existence, as the good stuff must go into the soil before the seeds.

HONOUR and NURTURE thy workstaff (the subsoil gang), and thou shalt be thrival......

Therefore, soil treats, compost & BD preps become the first key area of physical activity in the BioFarmer's repertoire.

This reference doc is a SimPL spin-through of what soil preps we are likely to be seeing in this course, and why some are used & others not, in the SimPLife toolbox. Descriptions, guidelines & recipes.

keepin it all quik & simpl, folks. enjoy that.

SWITCHING gears in order to give you some biodiverse exampling, we insert a visit to Saipan island, where we see a windrow - or wild pile- in a clearing for a new bio-org farm effort there.

Tropical, effusive with vines and all kinds of green resource which is growing rampantly and out of control, Saipan is a severe contrast to the Ladakhi hi-dry desert environment- and is one way to expand the farming perspective here -

while we're at it, a little info on what's planned on John McGuire's sprawling Saipan property is explained, to present this composting process in the larger context.

let's try a few questions, to see if you're getting the ideas right......

strange or not, i am such a composting maniac, that i will do it in every place i am, whenever i get half the chance.

healthy, fully fed and structured soil to me is your real calling card as a farmer. (ok, 'gardener' if you are uncomfortable with the grandiose myth, that the term 'farm' has.)

good soil is good food, there is no avoiding it, almost no matter how badly you botch up the growth process.....

Filmed in BaanKai, on the island of Koh Pha-Ngan, Thailand, early 2015. This island is where tropical application to the Ladakhi Method was carried out, from 2013 to 2015.

In this lecture, we review the basics of any farmwork - what you might wear,

and tools very recommended for you to use.

This is an example how-to, so just sit back and take it in, prior to doing your own plannage...

...from using the hoe, to clearing the field, to creating those first cells and canal in your Ladakhi-style farm.

it's a lot of fun to just creatively combine seeds, and change ideas and conditions from cell to cell, just to see what'll happen. so why not

MAKE A RECORD OF EVERYTHING

remember every little detail, to avoid or ensure same next season?

here's a simpl quik suggestion to diagram & record this year's

spectacular events out there.

ROW FARMING- 

ahh, REALLY, Folks? am i the only one who is aghast at the chem-soup we've made of our waterways, or the crap soil which gets left behind, or the washed-out veg we get at commercial markets around the world?

I HOPE NOT. this is a huge topic- and gets me all wound up- but we are
starting slow here, just bits at a time. it's for MY sanity, gang,
please bear with me on this....

im

WHEN i first heard of this- and everyone thought it was the coolest
thing since sliced bread-
i admit, i was somewhat enraged. sorry.

BUTT- the ins and outs are discussed, and well, let me know what
YOU think, please...

im

SO, WHAT TO DO.......
watch and give me YOUR solutions, if that's alright.

AS SAID, we're just brushing the tip here on the nature-abuse which
threatens all of us, though many may not agree.

your farm, your choices.

All about the Ladakhi clay soil & its properties, and how to lay down & maintain that planting surface within the cell.

To augment previous cell structure demonstrations, here is a chat on a simpl-small farm layout, from Ladakh in 2019.

Most of the work has been completed, so here we're describing a scenario and how the irrigation flows to it - as well as what mistakes were done in the adjacent plot.

FUNNY how mistakes are so often the greatest teacher

NOT HERE the latest videos are necessarily presenting the freshest material, in the case of farming (seeing as how this is all ancient, sensible practice)....

BUT HERE we have the full-monty small farm example, of how even 5 Ladakhi-style cells can be major producers, in a one or two-day digging effort.

ONCE AGAIN, the principle of UP FRONT FIRST is exampled- do all your heavy grunting in the beginning, gang- then cruise it workwise, more or less, for the remainder of the season.....

NOTICE especially, how the water canals have been utilized here- so the new cells can enjoy the downhill benefit of the existing irrigation scenario here.

How does the Ladakhi Method handle large-volume production?

Here, a few examples of afterseason Ladakhi grainfields, shown empty in order to see the complete field layout.

Shown here, prime canals (main supply), the feeder canals which channel water through large sections of the field, and the artery canals & berms which supply each of the long cells which contain the grainplants or produce.

entrance is gated with a rock, and usually a bit of old cloth- or even

rubber- underneath, to prevent water from seeping into cells whilst the

gates are closed. (see the attached photo)

Here, a huge jug of icky urine is actually sloshed upon the cells, during the soil treatment process.

DO try to maintain a scientific curiosity.

Also, we get into using the SimPLife HOT planting mix, and what that is about.

A discussion on what will be planted, and why.

Also, some vital info on the seeds themselves, and why seeds are one primary focus of SimPLife.

OK, time for a quiz on applying what you have learned about BioDynamics.

Real life, hard-hitting facts are thrown down, and your executive decision sets the whole farm process going the way YOU decide.

Responses to BD questions asked in the previous lecture.

The official SimPLife opinions are given, based on experience and highest probabilities.

However, NO wrong answer really exists- there is only your decision, setting action towards result.

Describes seed factors: of planting depth, early and full-growth plant spacings, and companion planting guidelines.

NOTE: a companion planting chart is recommended, to choose the right combinations of crops and herbs in your field. many useful charts exist online- using the largest chart available- one with the maximum number of crops listed is recommended, to allow a SimPLer and wider selection.

RESOURCE ATTACHED: as discussed in the video, please review the Women's Alliance of Ladakh Seed Bank Planting Guide , done as a volunteer SimPL project in 2013, to complement a most valuable seed bank effort- a room of Ladakhi superseeds is nothing to ignore-
in collaboration with the Navdanya organization of India, which is nothing to ignore.

the chart admittedly is a bit involved- you may want to take time to understand how it reads- but it includes planting depths for various types of crops, a little local lore, and plant spacings & watering info is there as well.

incidentally, i had the great fortune to meet the great Navdanya leader Dr. Vandana Shiva at the Ladakhi Organic Festival there at the WAL facility, and passed onto her my information for the Ladakhi Organic Farming book (still in progress), but unfortunately did not hear back from them. this happens as well- we do not always meet with great success or have great results when dealing with great people.

something as trivial and common as failure should never dissuade us, in my opinion, from the work we feel we must do, or efforts that have great importance for ourselves and this planet.

More discussion on getting nutrients and seeds into the soil.

Planting Demo: organic Ladakhi brassica superseeds are planted whilst straddling a cell.

At this point in our earthly journey together, we now  consider the definition of "farming", and of the "farm". Yes, both have  entries in dictionaries around the world, and we can quote those to no  end. However, the idea posed here aims for knowing, without having to  translate the knowledge into any language or expression, save for the  action to perform the subject, which arises from 'body memory', the felt  presence & wisdom of the doing- of experience.

YOU  are asked here, to consider this idea only, NOT to necessarily arrive at  your own answer, just yet. Does this idea of felt-presence and body  memory makes sense to you? SimPLife, and SimPL philosophy, sees it as  KEY to true knowledge.

so.

What IS Farming, ANYWAY......

and WHY are we waiting SO LONG to ask the question?

Perhaps it is best, at times, to witness detailage prior to engaging with definition.

With physical exampling we may arrive thus more
in the realm of knowledge,
and not mere imagination,
when time comes to grok an understanding
of new concepts that are offered in our direction.

One can hope, that such offered concepts are in themselves
sufficient for new knowledge.

But.....in reality, what is striven,
by them whom who do the offering,
that the offerees find knowledge of their own,
and need nothing of offerings.

For what else is a reason for WHY

more, next lecture...

Amalay the mother, head of the local family, helps us to understand the regular Ladakhi watering practice. Also, when to water via canals vs. hosefeed watering, is discussed and exampled.

Where were we? Farming. right. This is a quick sweep of the planted cells, 5 weeks into the future, and how it compares to
the neighbouring Ladakhi cells.

This shows the SimPL process of how overplanting can turn one cell into many,
as we find more time to expand the farm.

Mulching: The essence of Multiplicity, merely by covering the soil around valuable plants with straw or dead cellulose. see how....

Green Manures: freshly cut green plants, laid in among the crops, under the mulch. An extra jolt of vital nutrient at mid-to-late season.

A discussion on thinning, and how this process is at the center of various cell maintenance activities.

The first farm HARVESTING also occurs here- the small or baby plants singled out for the season's early salad.

Speed thinning - or using a tool to quickly chop through close planting, is discussed and exampled.

Also, more discussion of the thinning process - how multiplicity, if properly utilized, can result in performance of all cell maintenance activities - cultivation, weeding, small-produce harvesting, plant spacings & selection.

THESE ARE the most common techniques i've used over the years.....

having said that, i have found that by planting using strict BD principles, i have been blessed with not many horrible cases to report.

anything more specific, message me and let's get to work.

THESE ARE MORE common techniques i've used over the years.....

TWO MINED, NATURAL SUBSTANCES from Earth, that are effective killers of the ground-crawlers and earth-burrowing pests.

FIRST, I discuss BORAX, then comes DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. They both have specific roles to play-

and definite CAUTIONS to bear in mind.

------------------------

BORAX- the Miracle Mineral

ALSO KNOWN AS sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve in water.

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH

ALSO KNOWN AS D.E., diatomite, or kieselgur/kieselguhr – is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 3 μm to more than 1 mm, but typically 10 to 200 μm.

The typical chemical composition of oven-dried diatomaceous earth is 80–90% silica, with 2–4% alumina and 0.5–2% iron oxide.

Adding in a few notable pests- which sometimes double as allies- to offer a few more pest control solutions.

Tossing in the building trade to the pest control hodgepodge , with an added mention for our good friends, the pollinators.

DON'T MISS the cheat sheet attached, to get you going on pollinator attraction!

Suggests a balance, on how much influence BD has on our actions.

When do we harvest vegetables, vs. root crops, for storage?
Do we rely on BD to tell us when we can pick crops to eat right now?

Factors- Also, the importance of farming with a special someone-

special due to that rare appreciation of quality-grown food- who can

assist in farm management when we are called away...

BioDynamically:
HARVEST - that most glorious time of ultimate farm success and plenitude - occurs at the time of optimum moisture upon the Earth.
For most all vegetables, seedplants, herbs and fruits, this is at Ascending Moon period, during an AIR zodiac constellation.
For root vegetables, this is on Descending Moon, during an EARTH constellation.

Here, Harvest time in the second guesthouse field. Here, we see mature cauliflowers being trimmed and bagged for storage & immediate use- and the green cuttings being carried directly to the cows.

...those happy days of simpl harvest, taking daily abundance from the fields, SHARING all around, and treating yourself and others to the best gifts one can give...

Apples & Apricots are featured here in Ladakh, but fruits are adored worldwide, and are perhaps the best examples of PERENNIAL farming-

which, once established, generally produces high-value crops at much less effort than most vegetables.

One technique to put a bio-farmer on the map, is to UP-MARKET crops. Produce crops in a form which involves preparation or process, and the harvester thus kicks them into a higher energy category, with higher dividends as a reward.

In this example, apples and apricots are shown simply sliced, and drying in the sun. Later these DRIED FRUITS provide year-round nutrition and yummy snacks, enjoyed as a family staple in Ladakh.

as in every Ladakhi market, along with other up-markets of various

prepared & scrumptuous nuts and fruits.

Ladakh, as in most mountain kingdoms, is known for its prolific production of organic grainstuffs, such as barley (nas), buckwheat, and most recently wheat (troe).

All rural Ladakhi habitations are surrounded by grainfields, whereas slow-trundling armies of farmer-buffaloes shouldering grain bundles are a common sight, from september through october.

Recently, my Ladakhi friend Sonam Shara gifted me with a rare gem- footage of modern-day local farmers using the ancient method of leading beasts (dzo) over grainstalks, in order to separate seed from chaff. this has been inserted to this lecture.

enjoy!

In rural Ladakh, a common sight is to see browned grasses adorning the roofs of most buildings. Wild, robust alfalfa & grainstalks are piled up to stay dry and protected, as feed for the various family friends: cows, goats, sheep, the occasional rats and mice.

This natural occurrence of super-beneficial alfalfa is a major blessing upon Ladakh, and a major player in the wide comfort margin they enjoy in rural life. In farming, this boon takes a bittersweet downturn, however.

super-dryness, the lack of outside wild pastures negates the mulching or

crop cover for wintering farmfields- thus the clay soil remains

predominantly clay, and soil-building technique alas is sorely missing

from the Ladakhi farming regimen...

Shows our little farming strip at season's end, which despite less than perfect human conditions, has supplied quite a lot of food this season all told, actually a success story.

Also, a rundown on the simpl, overall easy-going Ladakhi Method, how it isn't really much work over a whole season....

This series was filmed in Itaewon-dong, Seoul, Korea, in early summer 2015.

Although this example is not what most city dwellers are experiencing - to have a small plot of land outside your elevated apartment is decidedly NOT normal - it is nevertheless subject to the constraints that all urbanites are subject to, mostly space and privacy issues.

Whither it be a soiled plot, a tub, box, or bucket, we start with the farm essentials, and mix it together to create our smallish urban farm layout.

Another scintillating BD quiz: this time for the particular conditions of the urban farmette. A few questions or conditions are posed here, for your consideration, regarding the BD calendar, local environment, and personal conditions.

A worst-case look at urban results, more or less:
This is the result of the farmette existing on its own - with smatterings of watering in between local rains- and being subject to local abuses, as is bound to occur on occasion there.

Rajma beans are left in the farmette, to further ripen on the vine, for seed-harvest later on.

After the long offseason sleep, a field or urban growing project is
brought back to life. soil treats, slowly converting to useable nutrient
over the long months, mud & fireplace ashes dumped on, then mixed in.

the same rejuvenation can occur if you have an army of pots you wish to populate
with veg & flowers. pile all your treats and soil together on the ground somewhere
and mix, then go ahead and fill each pot or container.

next up, what to do after we make ready......

WHY do we plant seeds? to eat.

why must we choose what to plant? some things grow better than others in our areas,
some things we prefer over others, in our diet.

why is it so much better to choose the highest quality seed? in the life physical, we tend to be products of our environments, and that includes nutrient uptake. the best foods tend to bring the best results to your body. crap food brings, well.....

Caroline Myss has said "our biologies are our biographies". what sort of story are you writing for your body?

the seeds planted in this course are among the oldest continuous, open-pollinated examples of unbroken DNA on the planet. why do we care? 

consider that DNA in reality is like a biophoton storage cache inside each bodycell, shooting light at cell functions 100,000 times per second, to keep the bodycell on track according to
what the proteins tell it to do*. you want that process- any of it- to falter, even once? 

i think most of us would say no.

long story short, feed your body with the oldest, most intelliegent, best grown DNA & nutrient content, and you are firing more light in each cell, times trillions of cells, every moment of your life. sound good? 

yeah. i'll take the heirloom produce, please...

-

* re: the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton. he explains it all much better than i.

one take, in an urban setting, of how our precious-most seeds go into our Earth.

this, according to the ladakhi method of cell farming, as opposed to the outmoded
row farming which stripped our planet of all her hard-won topsoil. 

geez. row farming.

SO twentieth-century...

A summing-up of what we just did out there. how the BD factors in,
what companions were chucked in to each cell together-
and YOU are asked to check my decisions, please....

and what have we learned? actually its too big to capture entirely in this storyboard.
i HOPE you take notes.
what's NEW in this chapter, is how little work it takes to prep every new season,
once we have established our ladakhi method in a previous year. 

the soil, if you notice, has become a complex, dark, rich and nutrified
playground of subsoil ecstasy. well, maybe it isn't quite as poetic for you,

but these little gems of knowledge and skill we make
can some day be what keeps us alive.

keep in mind, the principles and procedure used here, is no different, really,
than what goes on in the big fields of the rural clean-air breathers.

and, this works both ways- we don't need to be disadvantaged in the city,
if we have just a spot of soil somewhere, or containers with a view of sun.

GET the scenario: 5EOB Panauti, Nepal, late-season maybe October. farm is coming off a major, severe brutal pummelling on a scheduled, daily basis from the grouchy Thor that Nepal is known to sport.

the farm has just sustained major crop losses- all greens, potatoes, legumes and cucumbers, most corn, radishes and turnips- all due to severe, high velocity rain and wind persisting for over three months.

a good way to learn about what to do and especially, what NOT to do when you have a farm in the himalayan subtropics and a family or a covey of neighbours perhaps to feed- -  and the rains they are a-comin............

here a few discussions on the situations at hand, topped off with a kind of Monsoon Guide of further ideas of perhaps a better behavioural approach than what we did......

stay high n dry, catch yous by and bye

im

on-site with your host Charlie Baba T 5EOB, we discuss surviving crops, and show a renutrifying & replanting quick makeover for a few of the beds on one of the many terraces here at the farm.

the banter:

chatting up the case for letting life live,
the plants we know nothing about, which fill in the spaces between crops and functionals on every farm,
and the opportunity we have, as gods and protector warriors of food plots, to introduce interesting and beautiful biodiversity into our midst.

HERE is a pdf of guidelines and suggestions for monsoon farming based on experiences and observations of our own, and as discussed in the previous videos. A planting list is included, although it cannot be definitive for your situation, of course- we don't know where you live!

i hope and trust this can be useful for all farmers. some good basics are in there...

peace and carrots

im