Foundations of Natural Farming

Author: Harold Willis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Book Description
"Join longtime ecological farming author/researcher Harold Willis as he explains the foundation concepts of natural farming and issues the call for cleaner forms of food and fiber production. In this single volume, the author details the interconnections between soil chemistry, microbial life, plants and livestock. He discusses the current problems in agriculture and suggests how lessons from nature provide the roadmap to efficiency, effectiveness and profitability. This book does not stop at providing recipes of what farmers need to do to farm better, but also passes along an understanding of the why of ecological agriculture. This book is certain to become a classic of clean farming and one of the most heavily bookmarked volumes on a farmer’s shelf."--Publisher description.

Science and Technology of Organic Farming

Author: Allen V. Barker
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 100035220X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
Chapters on soil fertility and plant nutrition explain the chemistry of the plant, the soil, and the soil solution and outline the importance of plant macronutrients and micronutrients. The book offers practical information on using of green manures, composts and lime to maintain soil fertility; introduces methods of tillage of land; provides organic methods of controlling weeds, insects, and diseases; and suggests how food produce can be stored without refrigeration. The text provides information on how to assess and govern the nutritional status of crops and the fertility and condition of soil and presents guidelines, recommendations, and procedures for determining the best fertility recommendations for individual situations. This edition includes an entirely new chapter on hydroponics that explains organic approaches to hydroponic crop production.

Farming While Black

Author: Leah Penniman
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603587616
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.

Farming with Nature

Author: Sara J. Scherr
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597267570
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
A growing body of evidence shows that agricultural landscapes can be managed not only to produce crops but also to support biodiversity and promote ecosystem health. Innovative farmers and scientists, as well as indigenous land managers, are developing diverse types of “ecoagriculture” landscapes to generate cobenefits for production, biodiversity, and local people. Farming with Nature offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge of key topics in ecoagriculture. The book is a unique collaboration among renowned agricultural and ecological scientists, leading field conservationists, and farm and community leaders to synthesize knowledge and experience across sectors. The book examines: the knowledge base for ecoagriculture as well as barriers, gaps, and opportunities for developing improved ecoagriculture systems what we have learned about managing landscapes to achieve multiple objectives at a landscape scale existing incentives for farmers, other land managers, and investors to develop and invest in ecoagriculture systems pathways to develop, implement, manage, and scale up successful ecoagriculture Insights are drawn from around the world, in tropical, Mediterranean, and temperate environments, from farming systems that range from highly commercialized to semi-subsistence. Farming with Nature is an important new work that can serve as a foundation document for planners, farm organizations, researchers, project developers, and policy makers to develop strategies for promoting and sustaining ecoagriculture landscapes. Replete with valuable best practice guidelines, it is a critical resource for both practitioners and researchers in the field.

One-Straw Revolutionary

Author: Larry Korn
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603585303
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
One-Straw Revolutionary is the first book to offer an intimate look at the philosophy and work of one of natural farming's most influential practitioners - Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka. This offers readers a rare insight into natural farming and what Mr. Fukuoka was like as a person. It explains how simple farming naturally actually is and why it offers our only real hope for reestablishing a wholesome relationship with the earth.

Advances in Organic Farming

Author: Vijay Singh Meena
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
ISBN: 0128223596
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Advances in Organic Farming: Agronomic Soil Management Practices focuses on the integrated interactions between soil-plant-microbe-environment elements in a functioning ecosystem. It explains sustainable nutrient management under organic farming and agriculture, with chapters focusing on the role of nutrient management in sustaining global ecosystems, the remediation of polluted soils, conservation practices, degradation of pollutants, biofertilizers and biopesticides, critical biogeochemical cycles, potential responses for current and impending environmental change, and other critical factors. Organic farming is both challenging and exciting, as its practice of "feeding the soil, not the plant provides opportunity to better understand why some growing methods are preferred over others. In the simplest terms, organic growing is based on maintaining a living soil with a diverse population of micro and macro soil organisms. Organic matter (OM) is maintained in the soil through the addition of compost, animal manure, green manures and the avoidance of excess mechanization. - Presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances and new developments in the field OF research within a relevant theoretical framework - Highlights the scope of the inexpensive and improved management practices - Focuses on the role of nutrient management in sustaining the ecosystems

Natural Farming

Author: Pat Coleby
Publisher: Scribe Us
ISBN: 9781964992068
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Natural Farming carries a simple but widely overlooked message: healthy soil makes healthy plants, which in turn make healthy animals and healthy people. The book explores the consequences in the soil of applications of superphosphate and other artificial fertilizers over decades, and explains soil chemistry in terms that every farmer can understand. It describes the exact role of each mineral and vitamin, both in the soil and in the body. And it explains how to prevent expensive disease outbreaks and minimize the use of costly artificial sprays and fertilizers. The prescriptions are simple and can be applied to any farming enterprise market gardens, orchards, broadacre crops and pasture to restore the natural balance and fertility of the land, improve soil health, and increase productivity. The book is enlivened with accounts of spectacular successes in regenerating degraded land and curing animals that, in many cases, had been given up for dead. Natural Farming is an essential handbook for any farmer, with detailed information on: understanding a soil analysis establishment and management of pasture treatment of compacted soil and erosion alternatives to artificial fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides the significance of weeds strategies for drought diagnosis of diseases and deficiencies in stock remedies for common diseases, including Johne's disease and immune-system disorders rearing orphan animals. Natural Farming equips the farmer to get the best from the land using environmentally sustainable methods that save time, expense, and worry--and to supply the rising global demand for pure food.

Basics of Organic Farming

Author: Rakesh Kumar (Assistant professor-cum-scientist of soil science and agricultural chemistry)
Publisher: Educationist Press
ISBN: 9789388317047
Category : Organic farming
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description

Organic Farming

Author: Peter V. Fossel
Publisher: Voyageur Press
ISBN: 1616731842
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
Going organic may be a clear way of getting back to basics—and getting away from the havoc chemicals can wreak on our health and our environment—but the basics themselves may not be so clear. How to begin? What kind of fertilizer and feed are allowed? Is there natural pest management? What does certification entail? And is this the way to go? This book covers the basics and then some. Whether you’re thinking of starting an organic farm or making the transition to organics, whether you’re growing crops or raising animals, you’ll find everything you need to know in these pages—from getting started to developing a marketing strategy. A list of resources also points the way to other books, websites, and organizations focusing on every aspect of organic farming, including state standards and more information.

The Market Gardener

Author: Jean-Martin Fortier
Publisher: New Society Publisher
ISBN: 1550925555
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Book Description
Grow better not bigger with proven low-tech, human-scale, biointensive farming methods Making a living wage farming without big capital outlay or acreages may be closer than you think. Growing on just 1.5 acres, Jean-Martin and Maude-Helene feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands. The secret of their success is the low-tech, high-yield production methods they've developed by focusing on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process. The Market Gardener is a compendium of proven horticultural techniques and innovative growing methods. This complete guide is packed with practical information on: Setting-up a micro-farm by designing biologically intensive cropping systems, all with negligible capital outlay; Farming without a tractor and minimizing fossil fuel inputs through the use of the best hand tools, appropriate machinery and minimum tillage practices; Growing mixed vegetables systematically with attention to weed and pest management, crop yields, harvest periods and pricing approaches. Inspired by the French intensive tradition of maraichage and by iconic American vegetable grower Eliot Coleman, author and farmer Jean-Martin shows by example how to start a market garden and make it both very productive and profitable.