Author: Linda Borghi

Have  you noticed that food insecurity is already at a crisis level in many countries.  The time to think about these things is not when it’s already a crisis.

But wherever we are, this is a warning that we all need to wake up and take action now to educate ourselves about how to grow sustainably.  I have been passionate and speaking about this for a long time, including speaking at the United Nations in a conference titled, Food, Famine and the Future of Food Technology.

The United Nations is alerting the world of the urgent need to return to small scale, sustainable, natural and organic agriculture.That was the key point of a new publication from the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) titled“Trade and Environment Review 2013: Wake Up Before It’s Too Late,” which included contributions from more than 60 experts around the world. Check out page 2 of this report. The PDF is here: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcted2012d3_en.pdf

This is why I am so excited about Farm-A-Yard!  This matter can only be solved by each of us taking this seriously.   We all need to be supporters of local food systems. Whether you are a grower or an eater, we all play a vital role in securing our food future right where we are!

I wanted to share some thoughts I had after watching Evan’s free webinar.

The soil issues in this country are not joke…they can be even more serious in urban settings sometimes.

You may have already heard that… there is NO Miracle in “Miracle Grow”.

Budget artificial fertilizers are like fast food for plants. They are designed to feed the plant, not the soil.  This is one reason why our produce today is at least 40% less nutritious than 60 years ago.  The commercial growing practices have lead to nutrient-depleted soil from overuse of artificial fertilizers that do not feed the diverse microbes in the soil. This depleted soil results in weeds, pests & disease. Just like fast food sets people up for ill health, farms can fall ill and be plagued by these “deficiency disease symptoms.”

Did you know that the protein in a healthy plant cannot be digested by insects? So they are not interested in trying to feed on healthy plants! They can detect unhealthy plants, which is a signal to go in and do their job of breaking down and recycling them.

To have healthy plants we need healthy soil and healthy plants = healthy people!

Good soil is hard to come by, if you can find any at all. I hate when people ask where they can get good soil to start a garden, because I have to tell them that there isn’t any, truly good soil, available to buy!  They end up using cheap budget soils and fertilizers in an attempt to make their garden grow and then begin a cycle of managing problems, ie…symptoms of unhealthy soil instead of getting to the root of the problem.  It just doesn’t work.

Have you noticed that artificial products cannot be trusted in labeling? They contain “inert ingredients” that the EPA does not require to be listed, keeping the public in the dark. Crazy, but true. Use them and you don’t know what you’re putting in your soil.

Evan explained how those kinds of inputs only stimulate plant growth artificially, doing nothing to nourish the soil environment, leaving it stripped of elements and therefore the need for more inputs, over and over.

However, when you grow the plant in nourishing soil, it has all the nourishing elements and  it grows well. It  is able to uptake all the nutrients it needs, and just as important what YOU need as the eater!.

I found Evan’s presentation so enlightening, thought provoking and even more, this information energized me to TAKE ACTION!  I finally have the missing pieces that I have been looking for to really make a difference, not just in my own food producing endeavors, but knowing that I truly am able to contribute to the sustainable healing of my part of the world!

So, in case you missed Linda and Evan’s free webinar, here is a brief highlight

https://vimeo.com/farmayard/soilhighlights  

More words from the soil doctor….

“Spring countdown is is days away. Do you have your garden planned?

To get the most out of your growing make sure to include compost tea in your plans. It is simple to brew, and it is a dynamic and cost-effective means of adding microbes and trace minerals to your soil so that it can get to work being soil.

Fertilizer is a crutch, a compensation for the inability of the soil to generate fertility on its own. There is no yeast to make the bread…or the beer, so to speak.

In poor soil it is necessary to add fertilizer to generate a result, but the challenge of the progressive farmer is to constantly stimulate the soils ability to provide fertility. This way it only gets better with time and we can reduce the amount of fertilizer required to grow the garden.”  To learn more about this food for your soil go to:

www.farm-a-yard.com/compost-tea

For me, gardening has to be “no fuss”.  It has to almost run on auto pilot once it’s set up.

Making your growing project convenient. Besides an area that has good sun & water source, make sure where you grow your plants is easy for you to access.  Growing right outside of your front or back door is a good idea instead of having to walk all the way to the “back forty” to get to it.  Growing food works best if it can easily be part of your normal daily routine. (Though I have gardens in public places, that don’t need daily visits because I grow more perennial drought tolerant plants there and I normally drive that way in my weekly routine making it easy to maintain).

Water source and watering system needs to be handy and easy to use.  I can’t stand to fight with kinking hoses and I need a good shower nozzle that is not going to break tomorrow because it’s just made of plastic!  For smaller projects, I also prefer to use rain collection (instead of chlorinated water) by using an open top 55 gallon rain barrel (with removable screen) because I can just dunk my water can into it. (Works faster than the spigot at the bottom 🙂

Companion plant with herbs can increase yields, attract beneficial insects, and help nurture diversity for balance.

Companion and inter-plant herbs right along with your vegetables.  For instance, plant cabbage, kale, broccoli and other bassicas with dill, which attracts predatory wasps.

Predatory wasps are just one example of the how a healthy garden balances itself. Here is just a little about how that works.

Trichogrammatids, scelionids and mymarids are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. They help control caterpillars such as cabbage loopers and cabbageworms.

Eulophids parasitic wasps that are usually metallic green or blue in color. Some types help control Colorado potato beetles by parasitizing their eggs, while others parasitize the adult insects.

Pteromalids are about one-eighth inch long and solid black with distinctive red eyes. Female pteromalids parasitize pupating caterpillars and beetle larvae by laying eggs inside them.

Interesting stuff, huh?…

Dill planted with brassicas is just one of the many beneficial relationships you can encourage in your garden. Google companion planting for more.

All compost is not created equal.

It is smart to recycle our vegetable scrapes, coffee grounds and tea bags.  You can make a compost pile and make you’re own soil for your garden. I add some Microbemakers Compost Tea in a Box to mine so that it would jump start the process with more microbes.  Even though I use compost that I make, it is never enough or as effective as the compost tea. This stuff is amazing and perfect for people who cannot have a compost pile.  I use it to feed my garden plots and it takes all the guesswork out of balancing my soil nutrition because the microbes know just what to do!  Saves me sooo much time, energy and $$.  I have never had a product I could recommend until now.

Check out the Facebook live video with Evan Folds speaking at Fayetteville State University.   Evan Folds at Fayetteville State University- FB LIVE

Mulch

Mulch is one of my best friends!  It invites more organisms, help hold moisture (I spend less time watering), is a natural, slow release fertilizer, encourages the beneficial mycelium network that draws up nutrients from deeper in the soil and makes it available to the plants and suppresses any competing weed growth. (though I allow some weeds in my garden because I eat them they do important work as well.

Straw, or wood chips for mulch are two of my favorites, but I have lots of leaves available and I use those too.  It’s important to me to always keep the soil covered.  I will just rake the mulch back before I turn the soil, if needed, and then plant. It’s important to be careful not to till the mulch into the soil. Then when the plants are up, I move the mulch back to cover.

Watering plants before a frost.

If frost threatens water the ground well the day before. Plants are less susceptible to frost damage if they are well watered.

My biggest tip of all is this:  Use Microbemakers Compost Tea in a Box.  Before I used this, I was always trying a whole bag full of tricks to discourage pests, mildew and other problems…a lot of time spent with little results.  It all sounded good, but my approach was all wrong!  Now I know that I just need to bring in the microbes! (they are my superheroes!) I just feed them and they bring in the balance of what is needed in the soil to prevent issues.  Growing healthy soil is my first priority and it’s sooo easy to do!  Now I don’t spend gobs of time reading what to do about this or that isolated problem!  Thank you Evan Folds!

I overwintered some pepper plants and here is a picture of one in a 4 inch pot with a tiny pepper that is growing faster than anything I have ever witnessed before!  I had to bring it in last night, March 12, because it snowed here in Fayetteville 🙂

Boy, I just can’t tell you how good it feels to be able to grow this way!   Working with nature is the only way to do this. Start working with this microbe food and you will get really excited like everyone who tries it!

 

See also Are you a Freedom Farmer? (video version) from as voiced by Linda Borghi on Vimeo.

(Article by Marsha Howe, video voiced and produced by Linda Borghi)

For me, growing some of my own food is a simple yet revolutionary action.

I take seriously my personal responsibility to grow some of my food supply.  This spells “freedom” in so may ways. 🙂

I guess you could describe me as some sort of gypsy, micro farmer. I travel around from plot to plot, designing, practicing, permaculture principles, managing small projects in public & private spaces in the urban settting with minimal tools (I always want to minimize the heavy lifting!)

I just love seeing people discover the personal transformation that happens when they begin to spend a little time outside cultivating something to eat…caring for the earth that cares for all of us. Anyone can be a freedom farmer!

It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. But FYI… you will enjoy it so much that you will want to spend more time!  🙂

I love to find ways to grow with less effort.  That’s where being mindful and observant with some thoughtful planning can go a long way in making your efforts count. (BUT no matter what happens, you will ALWAYS learn something!  The best way for beginners to get started is to start small.

The important thing is to just get started!!

Find ways to grow in some unlikely places.  I grow on a public walking bridge that spans way above a road way.  It has big cement planters extending the length of the bridge.  I have been practicing permaculture principles and have been able to grow quite a variety of edible plants that do well without having to water them.  There is no water source at this location. I just depend of the rain, Biodynamic/BioEnergetic practices and a healthy amount of wood mulch to hold the moisture.

I also plant according to the Stella Natura Calendar guide, which helps me to organize my planting schedule.

I keep one separate calendar just for all my gardens and their activities and have a simple coding system to keep notes.  My permaculture plots usually only need a visit every 10-14 days because most of what is planted there are perennial plants (they re-seed themselves and once established only need some weeding) .

I know an awesome freedom farmer couple in southern California who just began plugging in some edible plants in their front yard  and it has opened up so many possibilities for personal and community wellness.   There are many physical, emotional, spiritual, and potential financial benefits.

What is so remarkable, is the gradual transformation that took place in their yard by planting organically grow food into their local, very micro ecosystem. When you start nurturing your space you invite a diversity of living seen and unseen organisms…. insects, birds…etc. to inhabit and contribute vitality, which moves everything toward a more balanced, environment.  They became a host for amazing visitors and new residents, including a pair of humming birds, right outside their front door!

There is another really important benefit of “freedom farming”…

Freedom farming nurtures much more than the biology of the space. In this high tech age…we need more opportunity to “unplug”. We can all benefit from breaking free from demanding technology by scheduling some tech free time in the garden.

Would you like to become a “freedom farmer”?

I would challenge everyone to exercise their freedom, grow some of their own food and develop a habit of  unplugging from technology at least for a small time each day and to “plug in” to nature and get recharged!

Are you a freedom farmer?  Farm-A-Yard is a movement, have ya heard?  Join us! Get on our mailing list. 🙂