Natural Farming has come to our Idaho homestead! Last summer I dedicated some time and energy to attending a hands on Korean Natural Farming course taught by Chris Trump of Natural Farming Co. fame. At the conclusion of the course I became certified to teach Korean Natural Farming introduction and basic hands on material. I plan to continue my knowledge this year with some advanced teaching curriculum and expanded learning. We’ve added education, consulting, and natural farming inputs for purchase to our homesteading enterprise. Head on over to our Reditus Natural Farming site to learn more or to contact us directly!
Natural Microbiome Farming!
Natural Farming is a set of practices that take a holistic view of fertility management. Built on a foundation of collecting and propagating the indigenous microbial life found in pockets of undisturbed, fully functioning ecosystems. These arks of the original microbiome of your soil are then used to inoculate degraded areas in order to return the natural fertility
to the system, creating nutrient dense, resilient plant communities that flourish.
Using Biostimulants to Foster Natural Fertility….
Bio-stimulant solutions are utilized to provide a jumpstart to the plants based on their life cycle. This process, though complex, isn’t complicated. The techniques can easily be learned, and the input costs are low. The end result is a grassroots method of creating an independent production system
that puts the nutrition, profit, and power back into the hands of the farmer and gardener.
Welcome to the world of Natural Microbiome Farming!!!
Head on over to www.reditusnatural.com to learn more and get started on your journey into the world of natural farming today!!!!
That sounds good.
Where just like I was told of holes being dug, filled with wastes, then a pipe stuck in and backfilled. The pipe would be corked or capped. Then later opened and lit, where they produce methane.
Methane ingester would be very beneficial, where a tank is used or the ground. Sewage and organic material piled in,producing methane. Then the left over sludge is a rich fertilizer.
I think these have been implemented in Europe on a municipal level. In the U.S. is just not as intelligent as our European counterparts.
There is an outfit that used to disperse this information for overseas. They were called Volunteers for Technical Assistance. They can be looked up and told who they have merged with. Mother Earth News probably has information on it too. All the manure, hay, sewage and organic wastes. That’s a lot of free material going to waste. I had plans for this on my homestead which I wanted to become an Eastern Orthodox Intentional Community.
I’ve been reading online about all the benefits of raised beds, that tilling the land isn’t the best for the microorganisms.
Do you use any raised beds on your homestead?
We use a lot of raised beds of one sort or the other around our place. The greenhouse is all raised beds, we use hugelkulture mounds outside of the greenhouse(wood filled raised mound beds), we’re creating terraces that are essentially really big raised beds….lots of raised beds around here!!! We try to minimize tillage and use lots of mulch, now we’re adding the Natural Farming techniques into the mix for even more natural fertility!!!
Yes! I’ve just been learning about
hugelkulture ! You’re so lucky to have all this land! And experience!
If I may ask your opinion, my husband built us a huge raised bed this past weekend. It’s cedar framed with galvanized steel sides, almost 4 feet high.
I know we don’t need great soil at the bottom, so we were thinking for cheap bulk to just lay straw bales atop a gravel and rock layer base. Do you think that would be ok? Any issues with fungus or such as the straw breaks down?
And one more question, if I may, we noticed there were a few termites in the cedar! We’ve always thought cedar was pretty much immune to termites, then I read that the cedar will kill them as they eat it. Do you have any experience w cedar and pests?
Thanks so much!
Using straw bales in the bottom should work out just fine. We’ve used the giant 1000lb straw bales for all sorts of projects around here without any issues. They make a great retaining wall for some of our terrace building (although they break down after about four years being out in the weather). The only concern I would have with the straw as the core for your beds would be the rapid break down, but if you were willing to rebuild the inside of the beds every year or so you would be building great soil in there as all that straw breaks down….lots of worms and a fine, fungal dominated soil/compost!!! For something a little longer lasting I’d try to source some old fire wood or tree trimmings from around the neighborhood to fill the bottom 1/2 to 2/3 of your beds with, but if none of that is available the straw will work just fine for your purposes.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the termites myself, unless your beds are super close to the house. Once you get things growing in there and build a little more habitat for other creatures they should kind of find a balance and not get out of hand, plus termites leave behind really rich droppings with lots of fungal inoculation that most of your garden plants should love!
THANKS so much for all that, truly appreciated.
And please keep the posts coming! They’re a blessing for those of us less experienced.
Have a blessed Eastertide to you and your family!