Is Organic Farming Feasible??

[Michaelangelica]

October 22, 2007, 6:59 am

Five Easy Ways to Go Organic

Five Easy Ways to Go Organic - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

[Michaelangelica]

This is funny but true

Lolly flavours kill plant pests

 

Wednesday, 12 December 2007 Dani Cooper

ABC

hoverfly

 

Lolly flavoured sprays are attracting beneficial insects, like this hoverfly, to eat agricultural pests (Source: iStockphoto)

Related Stories

 

* CSIRO support for organics questioned, Science Online, 26 Mar 2007

* GM cotton researchers win award

* Sex pheromones cut pesticide use

 

Banana and mint are the two unlikely candidates for the next generation of novel insecticides, scientists say.

. . .

Gurr says the science is based on the notion of the 'talking plant', a concept that researchers have known about for 20 years.

. . .

Gurr says a US colleague has developed the chemical solution, which contains cis-3-hexenyl acetate to give the banana smell and methyl salicylate for the minty smell.

 

It's being trialled in vineyards and on lettuce and broccoli crops.

 

The researchers are trying six different concentrations of the chemical and three different rates of spraying to see which one attracts the right insects.

[Michaelangelica]

Organic Farming helps sequester CO2 too

. . .According to Hogg and Favoino, this loss of carbon sink capacity is not permanent. Composting can contribute in a positive way to the twin objectives of restoring soil quality and sequestering carbon in soils. Applications of organic matter (in the form of organic fertilizers) can lead either to a build-up of soil organic carbon over time, or a reduction in the rate at which organic matter is depleted from soils. In either case, the overall quantity of organic matter in soils will be higher than using no organic fertilizer.

 

"What organic fertilizers can do is reverse the decline in soil organic matter that has occurred in relatively recent decades by contributing to the build-up in the stable organic fraction in soils, and having the effect, in any given year, of ensuring that more carbon is held within the soil," they explain.

 

But calculating the value of this technique to climate change policies is complicated. To refine previous calculations and to take account of the positive and negative dynamics of carbon storage in soil, Favoino and Hogg modelled the dynamics of compost application and build-up balancing this with mineralization and loss through tillage.

 

Their results suggest that soils where manure was added have soil organic carbon levels 1.34% higher than un-amended soils, and 1.13% higher than soils amended with chemical fertilizers, over a 50-year period. "This is clearly significant given the evaluations reported above regarding carbon being lost from soils, and the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," they say

Organic fertilizers could sequester carbon, slow global warming

 

 

This is an interesting article:-

Consumption of CO2 per hectare

 

* One hectare is 10,000 sq. metres. If a hectare of soil 33.5 cm deep, with a bulk density of 1.4 tonnes per cubic metre is considered, there is a soil mass per hectare of about 4,700 tonnes.

* If appropriate management practices were adopted and these practices achieved and sustained a 1% increase in soil organic matter (SOM)6, then 47 tonnes of SOM per hectare will be added to organic matter stocks held below the soil surface

* This 47 tonnes of SOM will contain approximately 27 tonnes of Soil Carbon (ie 47 tonnes at 58% Carbon) per hectare

* In the absence of other inputs this Carbon may only be derived from the atmosphere via the natural function known as the photo-synthetic process. To place approximately 27 tonnes of Soil Carbon per hectare into the soil, approximately 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide must be consumed out of the atmosphere by photosynthesis

* A 1% change in soil organic matter across 5 billion hectares will sequester 500 billion tonnes of physical CO2

Restoring soil carbon can reverse global warming, desertification and biodiversity loss

 

 

"You are what you eat, eats too."

[Mike C]

... on a large worldwide scale?

 

Or have we become to dependent on fertilizers and pesticides?

 

Wouldn't a consciouss shift towards organic methods of farming be necessary in avoiding polluting ourselves out of existence and mutating harmful insects into chemical resistent monsters?

 

Not to be parlayed into a GMO debate, but is internationally supported Organic farming a feasible possibility?

 

Organic products have been gaining in popularity and discussion, but there are still those unscrupulous manufacturers who dupe a large portion of uneducated grocery shoppers.

 

:D

 

Organic farming and gardening that I practiced when I had my own house

was absolutely feasable.

 

From a garden that was close to 300 square feet, I managed to fill a freezer with 13.7 cubic feet of space to the top.

Then I had to can the rest (tomatoes) and on one occasion got 219 lbs from 84 sq. ft. of space.

That was a year that gave us a lot of rain.

But when the rain was not that plentiful, the production declined.

 

I had tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, greens, squash, onions and a grape vine that a squirrel gave problems during harvest.

So I stated to bag the grapes to save them. Being an animal rightest, I spared the squirrel. Thiis added a lot of work. #@57/8>.

 

My produce was 100% organic. But the commercial organic variety was tested against the agibusiness variety and the organic had 66% less pollutants. Probably contaminated by nearby spraying from surrouding regular farms (Consumers Reports).

 

During sparse rainfall, I used collected rain water but this saved water did not make the plants grow like freash rainfalls that contained a lot of nitrogen ions(?) and ozone(?). My opinion.

I tried to avoid city water because it burned the plants from the chlorine, I think. Fresh rainfall is the best for the plants.

 

Our government (US) now officially regulates this industry and requires a government stamp of approval.

Because of this, the market really expanded to include some grocery chains as distributers.

 

Mike C

[Ahmabeliever]

Great thread. - Is organic farming feasible?

 

Ultimately, market forces will dictate the outcome, cash is king, so to 'convert' a farmer to organics, you stand a much better chance if you can show them the money. There needs to be money to make it feasible there are not that many farmers who can afford to 'experiment' with their livelihood.

 

I'm all for organics, sustainability, clean 'n' green... And I try not to get shamanistic about it...

 

I believe organics is sustainable, but in many cases will take a lot more knowledge, and so gets binned as too hard.

 

The duck rice is a prime example. Not only does the farmer need to know about rice, but also ducks, fish, and azolla. The outcome is obviously favourable, as are many gardening/agricultural systems with 'relatively' closed loops.

 

The following I do not have link/source to but the same or paraphrased can be found in intro pages of several sites concerning aquaponics.

 

"Aquaponics first appeared at least 1,500 years ago in China. One entrepreneur got tired of dragging feed out to the ducks, the finfish and the catfish. He stacked the ducks in cages above the fish. Now when he fed the ducks their droppings and uneaten food fell into the water with the finfish. The finfish ate and “processed it.” The wastes from the finfish flowed downstream and sank to the bottom, giving food to the catfish which are natural bottom feeders and scavengers. The processed feed and anything that the catfish missed was channeled out to the fields to feed the rice crop. He fed once and harvested four times.

 

The Inca’s of Peru practiced a different style of aquaponics before the Conquistadors arrived. They dug oval ponds near their mountain dwellings, leaving an island in the center. After the ponds filled, they added fish. Geese flew in, harvested their meals from the water and relaxed on the island. Their droppings and fish scraps quickly turned the island into a super rich, high quality garden. Now not only did the Inca’s have the geese doing the fertilizer work, but the moat around each garden kept out hungry predators. The pond/island system was extensive and created a local micro-climate that stayed warmer than the surrounding mountains, giving extra days of harvest every year. The production from the Inca aquaponic systems fed more people per square mile than any type of farming to this day."

 

Aquaculture right next door (incorporated with) horticulture is an excellent way of increasing yield per acre. Wastes of Aquaculture make excellent crop nutrition and also provide bacterial and fungal benefits.

 

Some crops could be used for omnivorous fish, and crop wastes to rear insects and worms for more fish food and products.

 

small example: Duckweed and freshwater crayfish are reared together, the duckweed is fed to tilapia, the tilapia wastes go to beds with vegetables. The vegetable wastes and remaining nutrient from the tilapia feed the duckweed and the crayfish. The inputs are the sun, and the water flow. The outputs are tilapia, vegetables and crayfish.

 

personal example: Home hobby stuff. I raise mosquito larvae and daphnia and algae which feed guppies that breed like crazy and feed trout. The wastes from guppies and trout grow vegetables that feed me and worms and algae and mosquito larvae and daphnia... (oh yes, I've just added shrimp in with the mossies and daphnia)

 

Here we see virtually no inputs creating several 'products'. But the set up is costly, especially when it's all 'new' to us.

 

The more knowledge, the more avenues of profit might be found. I'm only a student in organics though, albeit a very enthusiastic one. :doh:

 

On a side note:

 

Westerners squeamishness at their own wastes could be partially addressed by pyrolising the solids and using that for charcoal amendment.

[Michaelangelica]

Lots to discuss here Ahmabeliever and Mike C

I will come back

In the meantime-

You might like to check out this Oz site

Index - Permaculture discussion forum

[Mike C]

To All:

 

I forgot to mention that I used 'compost' for my plants and a little mineral

fertilizer.

 

I composted my garbage, weeds and grass clippings in a home made

composter that I rotated every couple of days to give me enough fertilizer every couple of weeks.

 

It was reduced to a beautiful black type of soil.

 

Mike C

[Ahmabeliever]

Love to get into some discourse with you Michael, and others...

 

To do with feasibility... Worms - They want $46.95 for 250 grams of tiger worms! That's almost $200 a kilo (retail) product you can get from compost! Takes an average 4 months to double your worms (apparently).

 

You should be able to sell bulk at $100 a kilo.

 

Highly feasible.

 

I farm worms in polystyrene, I've just started my first official farm, I normally just get a load of them from the compost bin. Few years ago I could have got worms for $20 a kilo. Doh!

 

Diversification appears a lot harder than running solitary crops and while you are learning, it will be.

 

I've planted so many shelter belts that could have easily been fruit bearing trees instead of the poplar and willows we used. Opportunities are overlooked all too often in gardening merely because we're not looking for them, but doing what we're taught/told.

 

A shelter belt system in itself could be a small orchard, a nut grove, expensive hardwood...

A drainage system could be rearing eels.

Scraps become very lucrative worms, not to mention the castings...

Water storage rearing fish.

Animal wastes breeding algae and plankton to feed fish.

Poultry controlling insects and weeds.

Old tires become a fence planted with vine crops or cattle feed.

Milk wash to feed fungi.

 

For some these ideas are untenable, even ridiculous to their circumstances, to others, there may be revenue right there staring you in the face.

 

wee quote "In response to a question about plagues of snails in gardens dominated by perennials, Mollison was in the habit of replying that there was not an excess of snails but a deficiency of ducks."

[Michaelangelica]

The food of emotions & thoughts

 

This is not a fast thought. From beyond organic farmer Joel Salatin:

 

"You know what the best kind of organic certification would be? Make an unannounced visit to a farm and take a good long look at the farmer's bookshelf. Because what you're feeding your emotions and thoughts is what this is really all about. The way I produce a chicken is an extension of my worldview. You can learn more about that by seeing what's sitting on my bookshelf than having me fill out a whole bunch of forms".

 

Quoted in Michael Pollan's must-read The Omnivore's Dilemma.

from afascinating blog

notes from somewhere bizarre

[Michaelangelica]

An article worth reading

Colin Tudge: the Website

Overall, the world needs a sea-change. It doesn't need literal revolution. The necessary economic changes could and I believe should be made within the broad framework of capitalism—but we need new models of capitalism, far removed from the simplistic global free market. Such models are already being developed, and indeed acted upon.

 

But the world does need a renaissance—one which, like all initiatives that really count for anything, must begin as a people's movement. Above all it needs farms rooted in biology, mixed and intricate and labour-intensive.

Tomorrow's farmers wouldn't have to stick strictly to the present rules of the Soil Association but they would certainly operate within their spirit.

Such agrarianism would be totally at odds with modern thinking in high places.

 

Eve Balfour was the niece of a British Tory prime minister. But she could yet prove to have been more lastingly radical than Mao Tse Tung.

 

I do hope so. Thank you.

[Michaelangelica]

A free on-line Organic Gardening library

Soil and Health Library

Who Is Creating This Site?

 

This site is created by Steve Solomon. Click here to go to his personal page and find out about him.

 

Click here to communicate via email.

 

Write via ordinary mail to:

 

Steve Solomon

P.O. Box 524

Exeter, Tasmania 7275

Australia

[freeztar]

I found this research to be surprising as I had always heard the opposite. Is anyone aware of more research on this?

 

No evidence to support 'organic is best'

New research in SCI's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture says there is no evidence to support the view that organically grown crops contain more major and trace elements

New research in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI) Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows there is no evidence to support the argument that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals

 

Many people pay more than a third more for organic food in the belief that it has more nutritional content than food grown with pesticides and chemicals.

 

But the research by Dr Susanne Bügel and colleagues from the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, shows there is no clear evidence to back this up.

No evidence to support 'organic is best'

[Michaelangelica]

I found this research to be surprising as I had always heard the opposite. Is anyone aware of more research on this?

 

 

No evidence to support 'organic is best'

Best for what?

The planet?

The soil?

The crop?

The wee beasties?

The Nursery Industry?

The Gas companies?

The fertiliser sellers?

 

I just purchased (I can't spell brought) three dozen of the most spectacular, long-stemmed (cheapish-comparatively) roses locally. Grown Hydroponically.

I doubt if anyone could produce better- no matter what their system.