Author: Grace Gershuny Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing ISBN: 1603583483 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 106
Book Description
What are the advantages of making one's own compost? Is there really a benefit to using compost as opposed to building soil organic matter through other means? How can the decision about compost making affect a farm's economics? Part of the NOFA Guides series, this manual will help answer these questions, and is specifically intended to address the conditions faced by organic farmers in the Northeast. Information on composting techniques, including: Principles and biology of composting Temperature, aeration and moisture control Composting methods Materials (additives and inoculants, biodynamic preparations) About costs (site preparation, equipment, labor and time) What do you do with it? Compost tea and other brewed microbial cultures Compost and the law With extended appendices including a recipe calculator, potting mix recipes, and a sample compost production budget sheet.
Author: Rhonda Sherman Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing ISBN: 1603587802 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 258
Book Description
Choice Reviews, Outstanding Academic Title Techniques and systems for processing food scraps, manure, yard debris, paper, and more Turning waste into wealth sounds too good to be true, but many worm farmers are finding that vermicomposting is a reliable way to do just that. Vermicast—a biologically active, nutrient-rich mix of earthworm castings and decomposed organic matter—sells for $400 or more per cubic yard. Compare that to regular compost, sold at about $30 a cubic yard, and you’ll see why vermicomposting has taken root in most countries and on every continent but Antarctica. Vermicomposting is also one of the best sustainable solutions for organic waste management. Vermicomposting manure and crop wastes on farms improves crop yields while reducing demand for off-farm inputs. Vermicast has higher nutrient levels and lower soluble salt content than regular compost, and it improves soil aeration, porosity, and water retention. Plus, vermicast suppresses plant diseases and insect attacks. Municipalities, businesses, community gardens, schools, and universities can set up vermicomposting operations to process food residuals and other waste materials. The Worm Farmer’s Handbook details the ins and outs of vermicomposting for mid- to large-scale operations, including how to recycle organic materials ranging from food wastes and yard trimmings to manure and shredded office paper. Vermicomposting expert Rhonda Sherman shares what she has learned over twenty-five years working with commercial worm growers and researchers around the world. Her profiles of successful worm growers across the United States and from New Zealand to the Middle East and Europe describe their proven methods and systems. This book digs into all the details, including: Choosing the right production system Regulatory issues and developing a business and marketing plan Finding and managing feedstocks Pre-composting: why and how to do it Monitoring an active worm bed Harvesting, screening, testing, packaging, and storing vermicast Markets for earthworms and vermicast Food security: how vermicast benefits soils and plants Keys to success: avoiding common pitfalls From livestock farms and restaurants to colleges, military bases, and prisons, Sherman details why and how commercial-scale vermicomposting is a fast-growing, sustainable solution for organic waste management. The Worm Farmer’s Handbook is the first and only authoritative how-to guide that goes beyond small-scale operations and demystifies the science and logistics of the fascinating process that is vermicomposting.
Author: The Rev Publisher: ISBN: 9781937866099 Category : Gardening Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
True Living Organics teaches you how to grow organic marijuana both indoors and outdoors. It is the only organic marijuana cultivation guide on the market. The first edition sold over 15,000 copies, and the new edition has over 100 additional pages of all new information and photos detailing how to grow marijuana organically so that it is healthier and tastes better. Organic marijuana is preferred for medical marijuana users as well as recreational marijuana users, and growing organic marijuana is much cheaperthan synthetic hydroponic marijuana cultivation systems. This new edition features all new composting techniques, improved soil mixes for maximizing yield, and all new techniques for organic marijuana gardening, including worm farms, organic tea mixes, and highly effective organic soil amendments. Also includes an all new organic hashish guide which teaches you how to make all-natural organic hash from marijuana without the use of any dangerous chemicals.
Author: Eric Fisher (Environmental science writer) Publisher: ISBN: 9781856233200 Category : Compost Languages : en Pages : 243
Book Description
"This book will teach you everything you need to know about feeding your garden, orchard or smallholding with homemade and chemical-free 'teas'. It is packed with recipes for creating nutrient-rich, healthy soil, to give you healthy plants and ecosystems. Author, Eric Fisher, provides an in depth history of organic agriculture and the rise in chemical inputs. He then goes on to explore the importance of nutrients, their cycles and the structure of soil. This enables the reader to truly understand their soil and own ecosystem, so they can manage it properly. Once we understand how soil and nutrients work, it is easier to diagnose the problems and find a natural remedy. Eric provides recipes for a wide range of compost teas that can remedy many different problems, as well as for natural pesticides and insecticides. Eric shows the reader how to use the plants growing around them to create these 'teas', using aerobic and anaerobic processes, as well as how to grow specific plants to encourage beneficial insects for healthy ecosystems. Eric's aim is for growers to feel confident in diagnosing plant disease and pest problems, and then be able to create the right remedy for the problem. If we can care for the health of our plants and soil without using chemicals, we can save money, encourage others to do the same, and show agri-business that their chemical inputs are not necessary."--Provided by publisher.
Author: Jesse Frost Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing ISBN: 1645020274 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 305
Book Description
Principles and farm-tested practices for no-till market gardening--for healthier, more productive soil! From the host of the popular The No-Till Market Garden Podcast—heard around the world with nearly one million downloads! Discovering how to meet the soil’s needs is the key task for every market gardener. In this comprehensive guide, Farmer Jesse Frost shares all he has learned through experience and experimentation with no-till practices on his home farm in Kentucky and from interviews and visits with highly successful market gardeners in his role as host of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast. The Living Soil Handbook is centered around the three basic principles of no-till market gardening: Disturb the soil as little as possible Keep it covered as much as possible Keep it planted as much as possible. Farmer Jesse then guides readers in applying those principles to their own garden environment, with their own materials, to meet their own goals. Beginning with an exploration of the importance of photosynthesis to living soil, Jesse provides in-depth information on: Turning over beds Using compost and mulch Path management Incorporating biology, maintaining fertility Cover cropping Diversifying plantings through intercropping Production methods for seven major crops Throughout, the book emphasizes practical information on all the best tools and practices for growers who want to build their livelihood around maximizing the health of their soil. Farmer Jesse reminds growers that “as possible” is the mantra for protecting the living soil: disturb the soil as little as you possibly can in your context. He does not believe that growers should anguish over what does and does not qualify as “no-till.” If you are using a tool to promote soil life and biology, that’s the goal. Jesse’s goal with The Living Soil Handbook is to provide a comprehensive set of options, materials, and field-tested practices to inspire growers to design a soil-nurturing no-till system in their unique garden or farm ecosystem. "[A] practical, informative debut. . . .Gardeners interested in sustainable agriculture will find this a great place to start."—Publishers Weekly "Frost offers a comprehensive, science-based, sympathetic, wholly practical guide to soil building, that most critical factor in vegetable gardening for market growers and home gardeners alike. A gift to any vegetable plot that will keep on giving."—Booklist (starred review)
Author: Gary F. Zimmer Publisher: ISBN: 9781601731340 Category : Alternative agriculture Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Biological farmers work with nature, feeding soil life, balancing soil minerals and tilling soils with a purpose. The methods they apply involve a unique system of beliefs, observations and guidelines that result in increased production and profit. This practical how-to guide explains their methods and will help you make farming profitable and fun.--COVER.
Author: Elaine Ingham Publisher: ISBN: 9780979756108 Category : Compost Languages : en Pages : 93
Book Description
Simple explanations about how to add biology to any plant growing system makes this book easy-to-read for the general public. Guidelines for conventional, sustainable and organic applications -- whether you are growing indoor in controlled environments and soilless media or outdoors in open fields of soil, this book helps you design your growing systems and incorporate biology into your programs. Basic biology and chemistry of nutrient-cycling and plant growing environments are given, so the mystery is taken out of plant growing. Chapters include: Introduction, Synthetic or Inorganic Systems, Biological/Organic Systems, Plant Growing Systems Out of Balance, Roots Interface Biology and Plants, Types of Microorganisms, Types of Beneficial Aerobic Microorganisms, Environments for Maintaining Microorganisms, Microbes and Plants Form a Symbiotic Relationship, Integrating Biology into Plant Growing Systems, Sources of Beneficial Microorganisms, Apply Microorganisms, Testing for Biologicals, Research on MicroorganismsThere are many types of biological products for soil and soilless media enhancement available on the commercial market today and more entering daily. New research, new formulations, new stabilization techniques are enabling the expansion of these product to fill the increasing demand from consumers wanting alternatives to toxic chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.This notebook is an attempt to provide basic information about adding biology to soil and soilless media whether in outdoor fields or indoor controlled environment hydroponics systems. Whether we are using synthetic fertilizers/nutrients or sustainable practices, or have converted to organic systems, there is a way to add biology to enhance production, yield and quality.
Author: Pam Dawling Publisher: New Society Publishers ISBN: 1550925121 Category : Gardening Languages : en Pages : 459
Book Description
Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.
Author: Anna Greenland Publisher: Mitchell Beazley ISBN: 178472789X Category : Gardening Languages : en Pages : 440
Book Description
Foreword by Raymond Blanc. *** 'Anna is my go-to expert for all veg growing advice. She really knows her stuff.' - Melissa Hemsley Grow Easy is a superb book for those embarking on a journey to grow edibles, or those who are more experienced and looking to hone their skills. - Raymond Blanc 'Anna's growing skills translate easily into the pages of this book, so rich with information.' - Charles Dowding 'Anna is helping a new greener generation grow.' - Gill Meller *** A new generation of gardeners are hungry for the know-how to transform their balconies, front steps and back gardens into spaces to grow edibles. Anna Greenland, rising star of the organic grow-your-own scene, offers the jargon- free information, inspiration and confidence you need to get growing from scratch with absolutely no prior knowledge. Growing in an organic, sustainable way is central to this book and it doesn't need to be difficult or costly with Grow Easy at your side. * Try Anna's 30 top crop choices of vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit that are perfect for small spaces. Plant 'spotlights' give in-depth advice on how to grow each crop in a pot, in the ground or on a windowsill, plus Anna shares her trusted recipes to make the most of the harvest. * A year-round planner keeps you on track with monthly tasks. * Seasonal crop plans are included for those with small gardens, with a blueprint for two raised beds that gives continuous harvests and avoids gluts.
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Author: Grace Gershuny
Author: Rhonda Sherman
Author: The Rev
Author: Eric Fisher (Environmental science writer)
Author: 
Author: Jesse Frost
Author: Gary F. Zimmer
Author: Elaine Ingham
Author: Pam Dawling
Author: Anna Greenland