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Organic Farming and Permaculture at the MSU Student Organic Farm

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Organic Farming and Permaculture at the MSU Student Organic Farm What is a Farm? Possible Farming Perspectives Organic Farming and Permaculture • Purpose - Focus • Place – Farm, Field, Forest, Frontyard (Where?) at the MSU Student Organic Farm • People – Farmers, Families, Friends (Who?) Presented to the North Central Nut Growers Association at the Annual Meeting held at Michigan State University, August 13, 2013 • Process – Farming (How?) • Product – Function (Food, Fiber, Flowers, Fuel, etc) (What?) John Biernbaum MSU Horticulture • Policies, Politics – Funding, Finances • Possibilities – Friends and Families Parts of this Power Point Presentation were prepared • Profit - Finish by Jay Tomczak as part of his Masters Thesis Project. • Passion – Fun 2 Reducing Risk for Small Scale Farmers Integral Agriculture Basic Curriculum Assumptions Farmers, Friends and Families • Build Soil Organic Matter – Use of cover crops, compost, etc Using Facts and Feelings to – Reduce risk of flooding, drought, disease, erosion • Increase Product Diversity Faithfully, Physically and Fearlessly – Mix annual and perennial crops and animals Farm – Reduce risk of production or market failure • Use Season Extension Front-yards, Forests, and Fields For Food, Feed, – Greenhouses, cold frames, hoophouses, transplants Fodder, Fiber, Fuel, Flowers, Fertility, Fun, – Reduce risk of crop loss and extend marketing • Use Direct Marketing Freedom, Fairness and the Future. – Farmer’s markets, CSA, Farm Stand – Reduce risk of market loss due to falling price 3 Practical Profitable Prolific Perpetual Produce Extended Season, Four Season, Year-Round Farming Practical Pieces of the Puzzle Quick For the Health of It! Low Hoops Let’s Eat! Plant Tunnels Elevation Spacing Cold High Vertical Exposure Frames Tunnels • Perennials Factors Space Heat Green- Soil Retention houses Factors • Organic Heating Frost & Placement Soil & Bed Freezing Preparation Cooling & • Permaculture Shading Process Transplants Protection Drainage Perpetual Succession Produce Pests & Irrigation Planting Pestilence • Productive/Prolific Planning Harvest Scheduling Preservation Methods • Profitable Crop Participation Cultivar Cold Selection Profit (People) Selection Storage • Perpetual Processing Fermentation Jobs Community Support John Biernbaum, MSU-SOF Freezing Canning September, 2011 Education Drying Majority of World Food Supply from Four Major Crops- What are they? With animal production, we would also • Wheat consider pasture and range land made • Rice up of grasses and broadleaf crops as • Potatoes • Corn perennial systems. • Two others to consider: – Sugarcane What are other perennial food – Soybeans crops that you can identify? • Are these annual or perennial crops? paw paw persimmons Possible Categories to Consider plums hazelnut nectarines cherry hickory nut peaches pears chestnut walnut apples “tree fruit” “tree nuts” mulberries sugar maple “tree other” “tree berries” serviceberries “tree fruit” “tree nuts” “tree other” elderberries “tree berries” culinary “vine “herbaceous” grapes medicinal “herbaceous” berries” Midwest Zone 5 hardy kiwi “vines” flowers 40 Midwest Zone 5 Perennial Farm & blueberries asparagus “vegetables” cranberries Perennial Farm & “vegetables” “bush Garden Crops “bush rhubarb gooseberries Garden Crops berries” berries” horseradish currants “root crops” ground nuts “root crops” bush cherries horseradish “berries” “berries” sunchoke strawberries “services – burdock raspberries “services – biodiversity” “services – “services – blackberries N-fixation” “mushrooms” N-fixation” biodiversity” pollen/nectar “mushrooms” Alfalfa, clover windbreaks many siberian pea water management Important Perennial Food Crops in Tropical Why are perennials important? and Subtropical Climates What are some advantages of perennial crops? • Banana • More rapid development in spring so longer growing • Coconut period (season extension). • Coffee • Larger root system so more potential to survive or • Tea tolerate drought. • Bamboo • Root system stores energy reserves and helps with • Olives survival under temperature extremes. • Mango • No regular cultivation of soil so potential to prevent • Yam or sweet potato soil erosion and build soil organic matter. • Cassava Annual Perennial Leaf Area Index (LIA) Annual Perennial Leaf Area Index (LIA) April May June July August September October November April May June July August September October November Corn Plant from Seed Chestnut Tree Nitrogen and minerals are moved from leaves back into the woody part of the plant. How is Leaf Area Index calculated and why is it important? Leaves provide important biomass for soil microorganisms as do dead roots. Why are perennials used less? Yield is a function of many What are some disadvantages of perennial crops? integrated and interacting factors • Variety • No regular cultivation of soil so competition from ground cover occurs (like quack grass). • Pruning • Training • Longer term rotations so potential for root pathogens to build up in the soil. • Spacing • Light and Canopy Management • Takes a longer time to establish and to get a harvest. • Rootstock – dwarfing (How does it work?) • Higher initial cost of plant material. • Flowering (flower formation the year before) • Takes time to learn how to manage all the different • Flower Set and Pollination crops – pruning and plant protection. • Thinning (Non organic vs organic methods?) • Pest and Disease Susceptibility More than Yield; Profit relates to Fruit Number, Size, Quality • Fruit number up, fruit size down • Fruit number down, fruit size up Tall Trees, hard to pick and spray, were replaced by • Quality usually associated with larger size trees pruned to keep them • Biennial Bearing – a higher yield year followed lower to the ground. by a lower yield year; depends on the variety. • Key factor is profit more than yield. • Perennial crops are more challenging to manage than annual crops? Maybe not? Orchard Floor Management Perennial Crop Ground Floor Management: Impact on Soil Biology and Pest Populations? Where’s the Mulch? Long Term Rotation? Harvest Trees Established Grazing Wooded Pasture Perennials N Fixation Infra- structure Mixed Annuals and Young Annual Crop Wooded Production Perennials What is a Organic Farming? Required Components • No Prohibited Inputs 3yrs prior to first harvest NOP (National Organic Program) – Synthetic Pesticides or Fertilizers • Organic production. A production system that – Prohibited non-synthetic substances (e.g. rotenone, is managed in accordance with the Act and KCL) regulations in this part to respond to site- specific conditions by integrating cultural, • Crop Rotation biological, and mechanical practices that • Pro-active / preventative mgnt of weeds, pests, foster cycling of resources, promote ecological disease. balance, and conserve biodiversity. 25 26 Required Components Organic Farming &Ethic Not what it “isn’t” but what it “is” • 3rd Party certification by USDA accredited • Emphasis on maintenance and building of certifier Soils, Natural resources and Biodiversity • Annual Inspection • Soil Health • Organic Systems Plan & Record Keeping • Crop and Animal Health • National Organic Standards Board governs and – rather than insect and disease management updates standards. • Stewardship and care of the land and animals 27 28 International Federation of Organic Organic Farming: What must you know to Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) create a productive agroecosystem? • IFOAM Principles 2005 – Health • Biology & Ecology of the different parts of the – Ecology system and how to manage them. – Fairness – Soil Management – Care – Ground Cover Management • Developed over two years with a participatory – Herbivore, Decomposer, Natural Enemy process. Management • Details available at www.ifoam.org – Crop Selection and Management 29 Soil Management • Pre-Establishment (site preparation) How are these factors • Post-Establishment (site management) applied/relevant/different in a Perennial • Amendments Cropping System? – Compost, Minerals, Mulch • Cover Crops (how would you use these?) • Excess nutrients cause un-balanced growth (too much shoot/leaf and not enough wood production) Non-Crop Competitors (Weeds) • Perennial weeds vs annual weeds • Effect/roles of weeds/competition on crop • Pre-Establishment (site preparation) • Post-Establishment (site managment) • Techniques – Mow and or grazing with animals – Mulch – Flame – Till (Swiss Sandwich) – Organic Herbicides? Pest & Disease Management Edible Forest Gardening • Pest population - preventing build up • Focus on the crop ecology aspect of • Farm-scaping / beneficial attraction permaculture • Low/Zero damage tolerance • Developing landscape evaluation, • Intensive Monitoring & IPM implementation and management plans for a sustainable agriculture • Pheromone Traps & Disruption • Incorporates concepts of efficient use of space • Use of Organic Sprays and the developmental changes that occur over time • Integration of annual and perennial crops Model of the Three Sisters Garden • Putting parts together in a way that the combination works better than the sum of the parts. Gardening Like the Forest • Corn, Beans and Squash and not • Beans grow up the corn. • Beans eventually provide nitrogen through nitrogen fixation. Gardening in the Forest • Prickly squash vines protect them all from animals and cover the ground to reduce weeds and conserve water. • All three provide food that can be stored for the winter. Add Rising Energy Costs, Energy/Biofuels and Edible Forest Gardening Climate Change to the Big Picture • Establishing a wide diversity
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