Beetle - dry stone walls - original seeds - organic farming - Singing Frogs Farm of Mr. Paul Kaiser in California - cinnamon - permaculture - meditative piano music - agriculture in a high-rise building - semi-submerged greenhouse "Walipini" - SRI rice growing method - bloom strips / flower strips - earthworm - e-mail --

The points: 1. Keep hedges and trees near the fields (preferably at the edge of the forest) where the beneficial animals live - 2. Grow mixed vegetables so that the beneficial insects of the various plants complement each other and destroy all pests and vermin - 3. Leave roots in the soil - 4. Spread a lot of compost - 5. Let seedlings sprout in the greenhouse for 1 month, not just 2 weeks - 6. Ventilation of fields with calculation spade - 7. Neutralization of compost for young plants with oyster shells or grated rock sand - 8. Covering the fields with black plastic mulch in winter (usable for 10 winters) - 9. Work in cold zones with semi-underground geothermal pit greenhouses ("walipini") - 10. Mulch on patches - 11. Dry-stone walls - 12. Meditative piano music

Fields of Mr. Paul Kaiser near Sebastopol north of San Francisco: without pesticides, with drip irrigation, with shrubs and trees around, compost blankets are put in winter etc. - this is the Singing Frogs farm [2]

24.8.2012: <Useful animals and vermin> - the industrial man mostly makes the plagues himself displacing animals from continent to continent - example beetles -- Hedges and forest edges make sense - the beneficial animals live in them -- November 4, 2014: <"Dry stone walls", anything but dry> - plants and animals in the dry stone wall -- "USA" 22.9.2014: Original seeds bring more harvest - Monsanto's genetic engineering seed and pesticide Roundup is just scrap and garbage -- USA: More and more farmers are leaving Monsanto -- Conventional seeds are more profitable than GMOs -- October 24, 2014: A life without criminal pesticides and genetic engineering: <Video: BioPioneers talk about the long road to healthy nutrition> -- Sebastopol near San Francisco ("USA") May 13,2017: Paul Kaiser's Singing Frogs Farm water-saving, efficient agriculture through soil care with trees, shrubs, roots in the soil, compost on small fields: Dancing with the drought - BayerMonsanto won't like it - a Californian farmer has probably found the most effective method of cultivating crops in drought areas! The Drought Fighter -- The earthworm produces the fresh earth and revitalizes the earth - Charles Darwin 1882 - the earth must be covered -- Small organic farmers have more harvest than large pesticide farmers (!) -- Pesticides destroy pests AND beneficial organisms - and pests return faster -- Fertilizers make plants passive -- from 2005: the farm of Mr. Kaiser near Sebastopol, north of San Francisco -- Mr. Kaiser in Sebastopol (California): restoring a farm -- The test: A tractor plough destroys soil nests, roots and earthworms - the caring cultivation method -- The government report of the "US" Agriculture Department: Tractor plough=earthquake+hurricane+tornado+forest fire simultaneously -- Mr. Kaiser with direct sowing agriculture without plough -- Important: install hedges and bushes for beneficial insects + always leave the roots in the soil=food for microorganisms + compost layer -- Greenhouse for seedlings for 1 month -- Aerating a soil with a rake spade WITHOUT a plough -- Compost can be too strong for young plants - neutralization with calcium (oyster clams and rock stone powder) - plants become stronger than weed - 7 times a year -- Avoid monocultures ("mono-cropping") -- Black plastic mulch can be used 10 times in 10 winters -- Big farms are not needed any more - many intelligent little farms can do it -- Mr. Leap asks a question - Mr. Kaiser can harvest 7 times on 8 acres - the neighbor with 44 acres produces less than Mr. Kaiser -- Growing pesticide-free cereals with direct organic farming is easy -- No money to spend on pesticides and tractors+lower water consumption - higher wages possible -- Drip irrigation in hoses - frost sometimes destroys the hoses -- Compost is a problem for drinking water - but Paul Kaiser has clean ponds with its rainwater runoff -- Paul Kaiser with 60 tons of compost per acre per year -- Mr. Paul Kaiser catches the rainwater from the farm in ponds - everything is alive! -- Paul Kaiser doesn't need an organic Bio certificate -- Soil control on Paul Kaiser's frog farm - rainwater samples are always crystal clear -- Commercial compost production with aluminum and plastic parts inside -- Paul Kaiser: Any compost of the society should be given to agriculture -- The layer of "organic soil material" SOM (soil organic matter) -- Tractor plough agriculture has reduced the SOM layer from 8 to 1% -- The more SOM - the more water in the soil can be kept -- Small bio farms near towns are the future -- Frost provokes dead vegetables - but drought has NO consequences for Kaiser's frog farm (!) -- Spitsbergen May 21, 2017: World seed store has problems with leakage due to warmer climate: Arctic: "Eternal" world seed store thaws -- 13.8.2017: Cinnamon in the garden: Against mosquitoes, fungi, ants, for roots, for plant wounds, for seedlings: Cinnamon is not just a spice. 6 amazing ways it can revolutionize the garden! -- Herisau (Shitzerland / Switzerland) October 25, 2017: Permaculture agriculture spares and brings the greatest benefits: INPUT KOMPAKT: Permaculture - the future of agriculture? -- France 8.12.2017: Music against fungi and viruses in the field - and the sound system works - no more pesticides necessary: Replacement for pesticides: Piano music to combat vermin -- 9.12.2017: Modern agriculture no longer needs fields - agriculture in the tower - salad on 12 floors etc.: Indoor farming the salad production of the future? - Salad, 12 stores -- High Andes 5.1.2018: Agriculture in high mountains in semi-submerged half-underground greenhouses "Walipini" -- 18.1.2018: More light in the greenhouse with LED matrices with adapted light spectra: Innovative lighting technology doubles the efficiency of greenhouses -- 8.3.2018: Pesticide-free agriculture: SRI method for rice cultivation - EM technology - and bloom strips: SRI method for rice farming: Indian farmer cracks world record harvest with pesticide-free cultivation method -- Harvest of rice with SRI method: 4 times more rice - with half of the water - and with 1/10 of the seed -- EM Technology -- Bloom strips / flower strips have a vermin reducing effect: up to minus 61% "pest infestation" -- 9.3.2018: Earthworms - fertilizing and drilling tunnels into the soil: Underestimated earthworms - In the soil is a worm - and that is very good -- E-mail 28.3.2018: Saving creation (insects+birds): smaller fields with more vegetable diversity, green strips and forest edges - pesticides can be drastically reduced - open letter -- IDEA: Form a commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture to implement the simple measures -- Start with small countries - then expand -- Pesticide companies have to produce other products -- Ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs will be able to save creation together -- 28.3.3018: AGRICULTURE REVOLUTION - SAVE INSECTS+BIRDS: Small fields, bloom strips, put forest edges under nature protection

Workshops
-- with Paul Kaiser at Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol near San Francisco: Learn to farm, Workshop 375$: info@singingfrogsfarm.com
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-farm-the-singing-frogs-farm-way-autumn-2017-tickets-31502699422
-- Company Genodics SAS with piano music against funghi vermin: farmers in France perform meditative piano music on their fields winning against vermin. Article: http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/news/story/10747493
-- Company "Aerofarm" with agriculture in towers. Article:
http://www.epochtimes.de/lifestyle/essen-trinken/indoor-farming-die-salatproduktion-der-zukunft-salat-auf-12-stockwerken-a2284093.html
-- Agroscope about bloom strips reducing vermin up to 61% (German):
https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/de/home/publikationen/agroscope-online-magazin-jahresbericht/ausgabe-3/bluehstreifen-reduzieren-schaedlinge.html
-- Earth worm science: Research Institute for Biological Agriculture (Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) in Frick (Shitzerland / Switzerland)

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1. Beetles Aug. 24, 2012: <Useful animals and vermin> - the industrial man mostly makes the plagues himself displacing animals from continent to continent - examples
Beneficial animals and pests
(original German: Nützlinge und Schädlinge)
http://www.planet-wissen.de/natur_technik/insekten_und_spinnentiere/kaefer/nuetzlinge_und_schaedlinge.jsp

Translation:

Phototexts:
1. Ladybirds like aphids to eat.
2. The asian ladybird is quite aggressive.
3. The potato beetle was originally relatively harmless.
4. Important for healthy forests: the bark beetle.
5. Grain storage pest: the grain weevil.

<Good beetle - bad beetle? Whether a beetle is considered useful or harmful depends entirely on how you look at it. And that of man is usually an economic one. When entire harvests are destroyed, this is damage. When beetles are active in the defence against other pests such as lice or snails, they are considered useful. But it's not quite as simple as that - and often people themselves lay the foundation for massive damage.

Ecological Diversity

Beetles not only populate almost all habitats on earth, they have also conquered a wide variety of ecological niches. They feed on plants or animals, eat carrion or live predatory lives. They live on the ground, underground, in plants and in water. Each of the species has its role and its place in the ecosystem. But certain way of life of some beetle species seems very useful for humans - which is often used - but in some cases disrupts the ecological balance.

The beneficial animals

Beetles whose benefits are directly visible include glow worms (fireflies) and fire-colored beetles (from Pyrochroidae family). The larvae of the fireflies like to feed on snails, even slugs (nudibranches), which other animals ignore. They paralyze their prey with poison, drag them into hiding and destroy them. The larvae of the fire-colored beetles, which live under the bark of trees, eat the larvae of the dreaded bark beetle.

The best known and most popular beneficial among the beetles is certainly the ladybird (lady beetle). Its craving for lice makes it a welcome guest in agriculture and gardens. A ladybird can kill up to 40,000 of these little pests in its life. No wonder that it is now used specifically as a biological pest control agent.

From beneficial to pest: ladybirds

To make the elimination of aphids even more effective, the Asian ladybird was introduced in Europe at the end of the 20th century. This type of ladybird, recognizable by the 19 points and a "W" on the neck shield, multiplies very quickly and eats about five times as much as the European seven-point ladybird. If the aphids are eaten, the Asian ladybird also likes to eat fruit, vegetables, grain or the larvae of other ladybirds. He doesn't even stop at humans: These rather aggressive small animals bite and like human blood. In the meantime, the Asian ladybird has caused damage in viticulture, as many a wine becomes inedible due to its repellent. Fruit farmers complain about eaten fruits that are unusable for sale and many a homeowner involuntarily harbours the beetles, which can nest in cracks in masses in order to hibernate there. Meanwhile, there are also fears that the Asian ladybird could displace the European species.

Introduced pests

Today, the potato beetle is best known for destroying entire potato harvests in a very short time. The beetle, which originated in the US state of Colorado, was originally relatively harmless. In its homeland, it fed on the buffalobur nightshade (Solanum rostratum) and did not pose a major problem. But then the European settlers came and brought the potato. With the extensive cultivation, the hour of the "Colorado Beetle" has come, which from now on fed on the new nightshade plant and flourished splendidly. Potato beetles arrived in Europe from the USA in the 1870s, where they caused their first major damage shortly afterwards. Today the crop pests are spread all the way to Asia.

Major crop damage is also caused by the corn rootworm from the "USA", which is finding the best living conditions in Europe with increased maize cultivation.

Bark beetles

Even if its reputation is not the best, bark beetles are not really pests in the forest. If the forest is healthy, they play an important role as destructors in the ecosystem, i.e. they decompose organic material. Few bark beetle species such as the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus)  are capable of damaging living trees to such an extent that they die. Spruce bark beetles and sixtoothed spruce bark beetles (Pityogenes chalcographus) belong to the group of bark breeders that feed on the juice bearing layers and thus cause the trees to die. If a sixtoothed spruce bark beetle infestation is noticed, it is usually too late for the tree. It becomes problematic when the bark beetles multiply explosively. Then they can cause great economic damage in the forest. Also affected is stored wood, which loses a lot of value as a result of the infestation. The spread of the bark beetle is mainly favoured by monocultures [for example when fire-colored beetles are missing].

Storage pests

It becomes unpleasant when beetles spread in storage depots or even in the kitchen: Rice weevil, bread beatle (biscuit beetle), tobacco beatle (cigar beatle) or museum beetles [museum beatle (Anthrenus museorum) and varied carpet beatle (Anthrenus verbasci)] attack flour, cereals, pasta, packet soups, cocoa and tea, but also animal products such as leather and fur. Some of the storage pests are already in the package when shopping, others find their way through open windows or doors. An infestation by the storage pests cannot really be prevented, but the life of the crawling animals can be made difficult by tight storage containers and regular controls of the contents. And in case of an emergency, the only thing that helps: throw everything away generously!
Martina Frietsch, 24.08.2012>

========



Michael Palomino, portrait

2. Hedges and forest edges make sense - the beneficial animals live in them

by Michael Palomino

In natural and original agriculture, hedges or dry stone walls are always grouped around the fields. Fields at the edge of the forest have a large location advantage due to the bushes at the edge of the forest where the beneficial insects live.

One can observe this principle in the original agriculture in the Sierra Mountains of South "America", where to this day hedges or dry stone walls have been laid around the fields to delimit or protect the fields from deep fodder.

If Europe were so intelligent as to replant these hedgerow and stone wall cultures, it would hardly need pesticides.

Fields with hedges and stone walls, Sierra Mountains above Ayacucho in Casaorqo, Peru [5]


Fields of Cabuya cacti, shrubs and trees in Huasalata, Sierra in Ecuador [6]


Millpo with field walls, Ayacucho region, Peru [7]


Hamlet with field walls, Millpo, Ayacucho region, Peru [8]

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3. November 4, 2014: <"Dry stone walls" [without mortar], anything but dry> - plants and animals in the dry stone wall

from: Swiss TV online: original German: "Trockenmauern", alles andere als trocken";
http://www.srf.ch/kultur/gesellschaft-religion/trockenmauern-alles-andere-als-trocken

Translation:

<Karin Salm

The art of dry stone walling [without mortar] was invented in prehistoric times. In the 1970s, the craft almost fell into oblivion. The newly published, impressive book Dry-Stone Walls (original German: Trockenmauern) gives an insight into a tradition that has shaped the landscape. Two kilos that have what it takes to become a standard work.

Why did people pile stones on top of each other to form dry-stone walls? Quite simply: because they were no longer on the road as gatherers and hunters, but settled down and farmed. They cleared the stones from the fields and built walls to fence pastures and terraces getting some arable land from the steep mountain flanks. Stones were the simplest, most elementary building material. Architects and builders were not necessary, the collective was enough.

An archaic craft

Dry-stone walls [without mortar] are therefore an archaic craft with a lot of experience. Simple forms are created and because the material comes from the region, the buildings naturally integrate into the landscape and shape it at the same time. Dry-stone walls are also ecological and offer plenty of space for flora and fauna. And as the icing on the cake: dry stone walls - be it pasture walls, trullis or retaining walls - are incredibly beautiful.

"There is no moral dilemma in the dry-stone trade," writes the British specialist Richard Tufnell in his essay in the splendid volume Dry-Stone Walls (original German: Trockenmauern). He bought a farm in Scotland in the late 1970s. A dry-stone wall had to be restored. An almost unsolvable problem, as hardly anyone had mastered this old craft.

Thanks to Richard Tufnell, that has changed: He collected the almost lost knowledge, wrote it down and passed it on. Also in Switzerland. The Swiss Foundation for Environmental Action has now turned his knowledge into the book Dry-Stone Walls (Trockenmauern): on 470 pages with a weight of 2 kilos.

Hand and brain

The result is a standard work that provides insight into a fascinating craft that requires not only strength and endurance, but also an eye for the right, suitable stones and knowledge of statics, slope pressure and angle of friction - hand and brain are required for dry-stone walls.

But "Dry-Stone Walls" is much more than just a building instruction. This great book turns out to be a real treasure trove. It quickly becomes clear: in a simple dry stone wall there is a lot of cultural, building and agricultural history.>

[Dry stone wall=heating
Dry stone walls are heating up in the sun reflecting the heat, so that the environment becomes even warmer and the plantations grow faster].

Links

Environment Work Switzerland Foundation (editor): «Trockenmauern.»  Main Editor (Hauptverlag), 2014.

========

4. "USA" Sep.22, 2014: Original seeds bring more harvest - Monsanto's genetic engineering seed and pesticide Roundup is just scrap and garbage
USA: More and more farmers are leaving Monsanto
(original German: USA: Immer mehr Landwirte kehren Monsanto den Rücken)
https://netzfrauen.org/2014/09/22/back-roots-immer-mehr-landwirte-kehren-monsanto-den-ruecken/

Translation:

<More and more farmers in the US are avoiding genetically modified seeds (GMOs). But they can't do this right away because Monsanto is still on the long leash. Farmers have found that non-GM seeds, i.e. conventional seeds, are much more productive and would be more profitable for agriculture.

The magazine "Modern Farmer" discovered that there is a movement among farmers to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for purely economic reasons.
Just the use of herbicides risen by up to 26% between 2001 and 2010. This is mainly because GMO seeds show a dramatic increase in resistance to these herbicides.

The Farm & Water Watch Group reported that approximately 61.3 million hectares in the United States are infested with weeds that are resistant to the herbicide Roundup, which is mainly glyphosate. The photo shows an example of weed giga growth in American fields.

Farmers are returning to natural seeds leaving GMO seeds. According to the inventors of the magazine "Modern Farmer", this has absolutely nothing to do with hippies or anything else; in the "USA", this group consists of farmers from the Midwest who made this decision for economic reasons.

"Five years ago this GMO seed was developed," says farmer Huegerich, who planted the GMO seed together with his father. "My grain did not suffer from root rot because I had the Bt gene (invention of Monsanto) in the seed. I also needed less pesticides. But now the worms seem to have adapted and are attacking the roots. Nature comes back and the plants have become resistant."

Conventional seeds are more profitable than GMOs

The magazine "Modern Farmer" speaks of a "post-GMO economy" (Back to the Roots). And provides excellent arguments for those farmers who leave GMO seeds and plants. Here are a few of the interesting details that the magazine listed for this case:

• Growing one hectare of natural corn costs $680.95 according to Aaron Blook and the cost of GMO seeds is $761.80. This means that growing GMO products in the field would cost 15% more.
• GMO seeds are usually about $150 more expensive than the same amount of natural seeds.
• Between 2011 and 2013, the market for natural crops (from natural seeds!) grew by an amazing $1.8 billion (1.3 to 3.1 billion). This was mainly due to the fact that GMO crops are not growing or approved in some Asian and European countries.
• The market for non-GMO products is growing strongly. The sale of "Spectrum Seed Solutions", a company that sells natural seeds, has doubled in the last four years.
• Sales figures of the company of "eMerge Genetics" selling natural seeds has also increased by about 30% in the last five years.
• The director of the company Spectrum Seed Solutions, Mr. Scott Geisler, estimates that the non-GM corn market could account for 20% of the market in the next 5 years. This really is a revolution in the "USA", considering that almost all agricultural markets are contaminated with GMO seeds.
  

Boer analyst Bloom calculated that an average farmer could save around US $ 81, - if he would plant and harvest natural seeds every year. And because the average farms in the USA cover about 1000 hectares, this represents an annual saving of US $ 81,000.

It seems that GMOs are a thing of the past and that the future for the agricultural sector in the "United States" will belong to non-GMOs, because more and more farmers are distrusting the fairy tales of GMOs.

But above all the super weeds, the resistant weeds, have opened the eyes of many farmers. Because if the weeds could really have been destroyed with Roundup, why is nature then able to expose the Monsanto lie?

The Monsanto story claiming that the world would need GMOs to produce more food is not just a proven fairy tale, but, as you read in this article, above all it is a very big lie...! The free market in the "United States" should put an end to deceitful and manipulative concessions.

Original news:The Post-GMO Economy One mainstream farmer is returning to conventional seed — and he’s not alone in: „Modern Farmer“ 

More and more countries do not want Monsanto and Co. to make them slaves. In South "America", too, farmers refuse to plant seeds. See: After Mexico and Guatemala now Costa Rica - New setback for Monsanto (original German: Nach Mexiko und Guatemala nun Costa Rica – Neuer Rückschlag für Monsanto).>

========



5. October 24, 2014: A life without criminal pesticides and genetic engineering: <Video: BioPioneers talk about the long road to healthy nutrition>

from: Netzfrauen online: original German: Video: BioPioniere erzählen - Der lange Weg zur gesunden Ernährung; 24.10.2014;
http://netzfrauen.org/2014/10/24/video-biopioniere-erzaehlen-der-lange-weg-zur-gesunden-ernaehrung/]

Translation:

<The film "BioPioneers tell - Six lives for the future" (original German: "BioPioniere erzählen - Sechs Leben für die Zukunft") is an impressive documentary about the beginnings of organic farming. Six pioneers from the first hour report on their experiences, their motivation and their vision for the future.

BioPioneers tell... Six lives for the future

... is a contemporary document about the life and work of important personalities in the history of organic farming. They describe their experiences as pioneers, tell of their thoughts and their motivation to support organic farming. An exciting story and a valuable contribution to preserve the beginnings and origins of the movement.

In the rapid times of the Internet, it is an "old" report from 2012 that we have selected here for the net-woman (Netzfrauen) readers - but it is encouraging and still correct. The aim of the documentation, to enable a well-founded understanding of the origin, use and goals of the organic movement also for newcomers, but also for customers, is thus still fulfilled today.

The film on YouTube, published by Trainee Program Organic Farming for www.biopioniere.net, already celebrated its premiere on October 24, 2012. It clearly shows that a life beyond Monsanto & Co. is possible.

Whether Demeter, Bioland or other ecological organizations: without people, like these six pioneers interviewed in the film, from the fields of production, processing, trade and research, as well as from associations, the organic movement as we know it today would not exist.

Netzfau Andrea Escher

Links

USA: More and more farmers are turning their backs on Monsanto (USA: Immer mehr Landwirte kehren Monsanto den Rücken)

Weed resistance in response to poison cocktails - Nature strikes back! (Unkrautresistenz als Antwort auf die Giftcocktails – Die Natur schlägt zurück!)

Unbelievable! State blackmail in favor of Monsanto - US requires El Salvador to buy Monsanto's GMO seeds or no aid money
(Unglaublich! Staatliche Erpressung zugunsten Monsanto – US requires El Salvador to buy Monsanto’s GMO seeds or no aid money)

Pesticides - "Murder in instalments"! The power of the agricultural lobby! (Pestizide – „Mord auf Raten”! Die Macht der Agrarlobby!).>

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6. Sebastopol near San Francisco ("USA") May 13, 2017: Paul Kaiser's water-saving, efficient agriculture through soil care with trees, shrubs, roots in the soil, compost on small fields
Dancing with the drought - BayerMonsanto won't like it - a Californian farmer has probably found the most effective method of cultivating crops in drought areas! The Drought Fighter
(original German: Der mit der Dürre tanzt – Das wird BayerMonsanto nicht gefallen – ein kalifornischer Landwirt hat wohl die wirksamste Methode gefunden, Nutzpflanzen in Dürregebieten anzubauen! The Drought Fighter)
https://netzfrauen.org/2017/05/13/der-mit-der-duerre-tanzt/

 
Map with San Francisco, Sebastopol and the Singing Frogs Farm [1] - Singing Frogs Farm, aerial view with fields and greenhouses [4]

Translation

<by Todd Oppenheimer

Todd Oppenheimer is the author of "THE FLICKERING MIND: Saving Education from the False Promise of Technology". He is the founder and editor of CRAFTSMANSHIP Magazine.

Photos by Christopher D. Cook

[The agricultural pioneer Paul Kaiser]

[...] Even as a child Mr. Kaiser was obsessed with earth, his mother tells. Was this tendency genetically determined? Although his family still grows pumpkins in Illinois for Libby's, Kaiser grew up in a suburb of Northern California. With 20, Kaiser, a muscular bundle of energy and curiosity, was looking for the secret of a healthy plant life. He fed his search through a series of restless studies that earned him higher academic degrees in international relations, natural resource management and sustainable development. [...]

[The earthworm produces the fresh earth and revitalizes the earth - Charles Darwin 1882 - the earth must be covered]

Pessimists have been warning against soil abuse since the beginning of agriculture, at least since 5000 BC. But we have also known how to restore fertility since 1882, because in 1882 Charles Darwin published one of his lesser-known discoveries: The topsoil is created by nothing other than the small but fine earthworm, in quantities of 10 to 20 tons per acre. (Earthworms open up rock, mixing its minerals with roots, leaves and other biological remnants to a beautiful, wholesome meal. Its excrements are fertile soil). But when this earth is pulverized to dust, as happens all over the earth [aplicating the arrogant and destructive machine agriculture], there is nothing edible for the worm in it - or, more broadly, for the rest of the ecosystem. [...]

[Research in Gambia (Africa): Paul Kaiser's agricultural experiment in hot Gambia]

He did one of his first horticultural researches in West Africa in 1998 while working for the Peace Corps. Kaiser was sent to Gambia, a small country near the Sahara that was once one of the big players in the slave trade. His task was to revive the parched landscape, which he tackled with a combination of agriculture and forestry (agro-forestry).

[Field and forest are an entire unit with beneficial organisms for humans and plants]

Although hardly practiced today, rural forestry is a centuries-old method based on a very plausible principle: Starting with a selection of trees that can all take on different tasks - wind protection and mulch, for example, or preserving water, nutrients or topsoil - this will result in fertility. Kaiser first collected tree seeds and planted them everywhere. He also built a small experimental garden with vegetables that the villagers had never or rarely seen before - cabbage, peppers and some salad.

[Gambia: Sowing and gauze (mull) over it: branches, twigs, leaves keep the soil moist and cool - by condensation water at night (!)]

The country of Gambia suffers from both scorching heat and light rain. The only reliable water source in Kaiser's community was a 35 m deep well. Therefore, Kaiser followed a basic rule that was unfortunately mostly ignored: "Protect your ground. "I took all the branches, twigs and leaves I could still find in the almost destroyed forests," says Kaiser, "and threw them onto the garden beds. Life itself will take care of the rest". (As romantic as this claim may sound, this measure works for simple biological reasons: Soil that is covered remains moister and cooler [due to condensation water at night (!)]; in this way, plants are forming their roots and their good microbes closer to the surface, where there are most nutrients. Very soon Mr. Kaiser realized that he needed considerably less well water than the village farmers. "You have to pick up 100 buckets a day while I only need 20 every two days." [...]

[Gambia: The multitude of vegetables brings many different beneficial organisms to the fields]

Little by little, the villagers realized that they too could grow something other than millet and peanuts, which had been their staple food for generations. [...]

[Costa Rica: The plantation at the edge of the forest remains practically undamaged because of beneficial animals coming from the forest]

Some years after leaving the country of Gambia, Mr. Kaiser worked on his exam series in Costa Rica when a colleague who studied two citrus fruit orchards discovered something unusual. The first plantation, bordering a dense forest full of trees, bushes and wild wine, was more than 90 percent less infested by pests than the second plantation, which was in an open plain and a mile away. This amazed Mr. Kaiser. "Such a result cannot even be achieved with chemical pesticides," he says. "These chemical sprays are killing everything - the pests and the beneficials." (Beneficial insects are insects that do not eat the arable crops, but support them in growing. Bees, for example, help pollinating; others like ladybirds and praying mantises eat the insects that eat up the harvest). Every farmer wants beneficial insects; after each spraying of insect killers, the pests always return faster than the beneficial insects. (Biologists explain this by the fact that pests multiply faster and more effectively and that they have become more resistant through centuries of control. More injections follow and the death spiral continues. Paradoxically, this process is independent of whether these sprays are chemical or organic.

In Costa Rica, Mr. Kaiser and his colleagues realized that the pest-free plantation escaped the fate of the other plantation for one simple reason: The beneficial animals hung in the leaves of the trees near the plantation and were able to preserve the harvest. During his studies, Kaiser visited a banana plantation whose productivity could be doubled by planting the super tree Moringa Oleifera, which provided both shade and nitrogen, the most important nutrient for a plant. Mr. Kaiser was so impressed by the countless powers of this tree that he later wrote a small book about it.

[The Principle: Nature Conservation=Agricultural Conservation]

A pattern manifested itself in Mr. Kaiser's brain. "If you first make sure that nature as a whole is doing well," he says today, "agriculture is easy."

[Small organic farmers have more harvest than large pesticide farmers (!)]

Mr. Miguel Altieri, Professor of Agroecology at the University of Berkeley, California, came to the same conclusions with other experiments in different regions of Latin "America": In many cases, small farmers achieved higher profits and higher yields than conventional farmers who used chemicals and other conventional farming aids by using the natural resources of their own land to fertilize their land. This development is particularly dramatic (in a positive sense) in Cuba, where new fertility is achieved by returning to old farming methods. (See "Cuba's Harvest of Surprises," by Christopher Cook.)

[Pesticides destroy pests AND beneficial organisms - and pests return faster]

After each spraying of insect killers, the pests always return faster than the beneficial insects. (Biologists explain this by the fact that pests multiply faster and more effectively and that they have become more resistant through centuries of control. More injections follow and the death spiral continues. Paradoxically, this process is independent of whether these sprays are chemical or organic. [...]

[Fertilizers make plants passive]

Mr. Kaiser has a lot of confidence in his plants, because he doesn't weaken them with sprayings and fertilizers. This strengthens them and they can develop their own polyphenols - this is the core of the plant immune system. It seems that plants work according to the same principle as humans: what is not needed disappears. "If we provide all protection for them," Kaiser said, "they will no longer defend themselves. [...]

[from 2005: the farm of Mr. Kaiser near Sebastopol, north of San Francisco]

[Mr. Kaiser in Sebastopol (California): restoring a farm]

In 2005, Mr. Kaiser and Mrs. Johnson returned to the "United States" to get married, start a family and try out what they had learned so far on their own land. After a few months of searching, they finally found their target: the Singing Frogs farm, an area of eight acres (= 3,275 ha) near downtown Sebastopol. It wasn't the obvious choice. The farm had been neglected for years; the farm was cold and humid and situated on a slope, where the waste water from the neighbourhood was collected. There were no large areas thus row cultivation possible was not possible. In other words: This was the top area for Mr. Kaiser. "I was looking for a place to heal," says Kaiser. "I knew I wanted to grow things, but I had no plan of what that meant." However, the place also had a good omen: on the other side of the city was the farm and the former house of the great plant breeder Mr. Luther Burbank (1849-1926).

[The test: A tractor plough destroys soil nests, roots and earthworms - the caring cultivation method]

In 2007 Mr. Kaiser ploughed his land with all the tools the farm had at its disposal. He plowed the ground like any other farmer does. As the farm had not been worked for years, the simple weeds had made the land very fertile. That's why the farm blossomed so quickly. But also the work increased massively. "The weeds were enormous," says Kaiser. "We even worked at night with spotlights on the field and we hunted for hours!" One morning in the spring, he saw a wedge-tailed plover (a bird from the region) screeching at his tractor. After driving back and forth on his field a few times, he realized that she wanted to protect her eggs, which lay invisibly on the ground in a nest. When Kaiser stopped to take a closer look, he noticed all kinds of damage caused by his plough - cut earthworms and snakes, destroyed hives, valuable roots and beetle colonies now exposed to the hot sun. A few months later, when his thumb was crushed in the engine of his tractor, he had an apparition: "I'll never do that again," he remembers. "There must be a better way." [...]

[The government report of the "US" Agriculture Department: Tractor plough=earthquake+hurricane+tornado+forest fire simultaneously]

The Federal Government is not mincing its words here. In a 2010 report, the USDA (US Department of Acriculture) stated: "Ploughing the soil is synonymous with an earthquake, a hurricane, a tornado and a forest fire all occurring simultaneously in the world of soil organisms." Mr. Don Tyler, a USDA conservation expert, argues that one year of tillage can destroy 25 years of soil improvement through direct sowing. [...]

[Mr. Kaiser with direct sowing agriculture without plough]

Mr. Kaiser resumed his studies and discovered a vast amount of literature praising the advantages of direct-seed agriculture (agriculture without machinery work) - in other words, agriculture without machines such as ploughs or spades for digging up the soil. The practice follows the second often neglected mounting rule: disturb your soil as little as possible. After all, this cultivation method had a surprisingly mixed balance.

[Important: install hedges and bushes for beneficial insects + always leave the roots in the soil=food for microorganisms + compost layer].

Mr. Kaiser imitated what he had learned overseas by framing his farm with hedges and bushes loved by those beneficial animals. He also built his own greenhouses. In this way he was able to stimulate new plantations with seedlings that he could let ripen well. These ensured constant harvests, even in winter. [...]

Fields of Paul Kaiser near Sebastopol north of San Francisco: without pesticides, with drip irrigation, with shrubs and trees around, compost blankets in winter etc., roots remain in the soil - the Singing Frogs farm [2]

According to the standards of most farmers, Kaiser's fields of just over two acres are a disorganized hodgepodge - no large, wide, carefully ploughed fields; no endless rows of always the same arable crops. However, more and more farmers are realizing that when they plant a mixture of fruits and surround them with trees, bushes, flowers and the countless insects that attract them - then productivity will increase.

[Greenhouse for seedlings for 1 month]

Mr. Kaiser accelerates his production by nurturing and growing his seedlings before planting them in the fields. Many other farmers do the same, but Kaiser's way differs in two ways: First, he plants his seeds in compost. Most farmers fear possible disease potential in compost and use sterile garden soil instead. This is safe, but is much less nutritious weakening the plants and reducing the amount of nutrients in the ripe fruits. Secondly, for more efficiency, most farmers transplant their seedlings when they are still relatively small after two weeks already. Kaiser uses larger containers so that his seedlings can grow for a whole month before being moved. This not only speeds up their start, but also increases their survival rate on the field. [...]

[A visit of Mr. Leap]

In one of Kaiser's greenhouses, the size and healthy appearance of the aubergines elicited great amazement from everyone. "I've never seen eggplants like this on the coast before," said Leap. "Eggplants attract all kinds of pests and diseases." Even the unprocessed paths between the vegetable beds impressed Leap and Wong. Usually these are bare and hard; Kaiser's ways were soft and green. [...]

Most farmers think that processes like these involve too much muddy work and demand too much from their soils. In fact, however, this work is worthwhile. The longer the arable plants remain in the soil, the better for the soil - because all creatures in the soil are feeding themselves on plant roots. This gives a new light to these countless disc-shaped fields all over the country, which lie fallow in winter. They're not resting, they're dying. Jerry Hatfield, crop physiologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, recently told me: "When a farmer leaves ploughed land fallow, "you let your biological system starve to death. I always ask them: "How would you feel if I only gave you food once a year?"  For Kaiser, this principle simply means: "Always leave the roots in the ground".

Then Mr. Kaiser tried something else: Instead of the standard distribution of fertilizer on his fields he put a thick layer of compost on top.

[Aerating a soil with a rake spade WITHOUT a plough]

Paul Kaiser aerates fields with a pointed spade [3]

Mr. Kaiser was fanatic now following the three main rules for soil health: leaving roots in the soil as far as possible. Cover the ground as far as possible. Do not disturb the ground as much as possible. Mr. Kaiser only ploughs when he revives old soil for replanting. He won't plow again. If a plant bed needs occasional ventilation, he is stabbing in with a spade like this one.

[Compost can be too strong for young plants - neutralization with calcium (oyster clams and rock stone powder) - plants become stronger than weed - 7 times a year].

Despite its liveliness, this material [compost] can be too much for young plants because it burns their tender shoots with its undiluted substances. On further reading, Mr. Kaiser discovered that he was able to neutralize his compost with calcium (from broken oyster shells) and with trace elements (from ground solid rock). And so he stratified the entire mass onto the ground and placed the plants through it.

Thanks to the nutrient balance in his soil, Mr. Kaiser's seedlings, which were already robust, got an additional advantage. "Our arable crops overtake the weeds right from the start," says Kaiser. "That way, we no longer needed to weed." John Cheatwood, one of Kaiser's employees, describes it this way: "Compost is our answer to harrow and plough". This highly intensive cycle - composting, planting cuttings, harvesting, repeating - allows Mr. Kaiser to harvest up to seven times per acre per year. That's three to five times what most farms produce. Why shouldn't we live with this system?! [...]

[Avoid monocultures ("mono-cropping")]
[...] Mono-cropping is widely criticised. It leaches out the soil and reduces the diversity of wild organisms that normally live on a farm. It creates a vacuum that favours certain vermin and pests. [...]

In contrast, Mr. Kaiser aims for diversity, and extremely so. On only eight acres it has hundreds of native trees and bushes. On the two and a half acres of it, which he cultivates, he grows a corresponding number of different vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, winter pumpkin, lettuce and mustard - and these in about six varieties per variety - plus 30 to 35 different types of tomatoes.

[Black plastic mulch can be used 10 times in 10 winters]
A freshly cultivated field was covered with a thick, felt-like blanket - Kaiser's version of the miles of black plastic foil you see when driving through American farmland in winter. These long "sheets" are called "plastic mulch" and they are highly effective in suppressing weeds, keeping soil microbes moist and feeding them. Every year, these black plastic films end up in landfills. Kaiser points to his mulch blankets and says: "They last 10 years. If we roll them up in the spring."

[Big farms are not needed any more - many intelligent little farms can do it]

[Mr. Leap asks a question - Mr. Kaiser can harvest 7 times on 8 acres - the neighbor with 44 acres produces less than Mr. Kaiser]

This highly intensive cycle - composting, planting cuttings, harvesting, repeating - allows Mr. Kaiser to harvest up to seven times per acre per year. [...]

The wealth of the farm made Leap bother Kaiser with the question that everyone would ask: "I'm not sure if something like this would work on a large scale," he said. Kaiser loves this question because it is crucial, but he hates the way it is always asked. "I used to think the best way to do this would be having a huge farm with a bunch of fields like this around a center," Kaiser replied. "But my neighbor plants 44 acres (almost 18 ha), produces less than me, sells on fewer regional markets and has fewer contract customers. That's why we don't need a bigger frame. We need more small farms like these in urban areas and fewer giant farms of 100 acres, far, far away from the people eating their fruits." [...]

[Growing pesticide-free cereals with direct organic farming is easy]

When these changes spread, their creators will, consciously or unconsciously, make use of Kaiser's methods. Some of them are now being applied with surprising success to Midwest cereal fields - with innovations that could transform our entire trading system. (See also: "A Brand New Idea for Commodity Exports"). Apart from this, it is relatively easy to use healthier methods such as direct sowing for arable crops such as maize and wheat;

However, this method seems more difficult for vegetable fields on a large scale. Nevertheless, a few people are on the trail of some promising solutions. (See: "Your Salad's Difficulty with Sustainable Farming"=The problems of your salad with sustainable agriculture).

[No money to spend on pesticides and tractors+lower water consumption - higher wages possible]

While work on most farms is part-time and seasonal, work on the Singing Frogs farm is full-time throughout the year. Mr. Kaiser also pays slightly higher wages compared to the norm because of the higher skills his system requires - recognize soil conditions, adapt the methods from bed to bed, and working fast. But he does not spend any money for herbicides, pesticides, tons of fertilizer, tractors, fuel and machinery maintenance or daily irrigation. That way, he says, he always looks great. That's good for Kaiser, but is it good for his workers? Emperor's older workers get $15 an hour. This is far higher than the average wages, which are around California's minimum wage of $9 an hour. [...]

[Drip irrigation in hoses - frost sometimes destroys the hoses]

Suddenly, Elisabeth Paul drew attention to a broken hose from which a water fountain jumped up. Kaiser moaned and turned off a connection accordingly. "I'm really tired of these frosts," he said when he came back. [...]

[Compost is a problem for drinking water - but Paul Kaiser has clean ponds with its rainwater runoff]

The Compost Puzzle [Nitrogen eliminated by organisms when the earth is healthy]

At one point during Mr. Leap's walk across the farm we all dug our hands into Kaiser's soil. It smelled very aromatic and was surprisingly light. "It almost feels like potting soil," said Mr. Leap as he let the soil run through his fingers. This was partly due to the season (the summer heat dries out the soil). But the main reason was that it consisted almost entirely of compost, which becomes very loose when drying. All this compost was weird for Mr. Leap. "He needs far more than usual."

Compost is a complicated matter. On the one hand, its rich ingredients stimulate plant growth so effectively that one wonders why more farmers do not make use of it. "We just don't have the carbon," says Ray Archuleta from the USDA. Mr. Archuleta refers to the gap between available compost reserves and the 920 million acres (=3,723,108 km2) currently being cultivated in this country; but he also means the word "carbon" provocatively. Carbon is bad, isn't it? When it turns into carbon dioxide, it mainly contributes to global warming. (The same happens with nitrogen when it turns into nitrogen oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more effective than CO2. Well, carbon and nitrogen are also the main components of compost and gradually the fertile parts of the topsoil. This means that these chemicals are only harmful when we use them incorrectly - in our air, if they were better stored in the soil. That's what Kaiser says: What I need most as a farmer is carbon for the soil structure and nitrogen for plant growth."

On the other hand, compost also has its ugly sides. As more and more American crops are required worldwide, farmers everywhere have become dependent on nitrogen. When a field contains too much nitrogen, this nitrogen is pollution the groundwater. At this point Mr. Leap says: "Every water-bearing layer below agricultural land is contaminated with nitrate". (When nitrate turns to nitrite, it replaces the oxygen in the blood of its consumers. In the middle of the last century, some groundwater sources had become so contaminated with nitrate that this led to the "blue baby syndrome" with several dozen deaths. The problem has almost disappeared since then, but agronomists have been concerned about it to this day). Most nitrate contamination occurs during torrential rains that hit fattening plants and industrial farms that use unlikely amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Much, however, also comes from simple compost, which usually contains a lot of nitrogen.

Strangely enough, farmers who love compost are among the worst nitrogen polluters. And Mr. Leap fears that Mr. Kaiser is a particularly outstanding polluter. Over the last few years, Kaiser has spread more than 60 tons of particularly nitrogenous compost on every acre of his farm - five to ten times as much as usual. Before each planting action, he also supports the soil with a small amount of organic fertilizer, which contains a special amount of nitrogen and phosphorus - another problematic nutrient.

[Paul Kaiser with 60 tons of compost per acre per year]

Kaiser fertilizes his fields with unusually large amounts of compost - more than 60 tons per acre per year - which his workers apply with wheelbarrows before each planting. That's 5-10 times more compost than most farmers use. Kaiser grows more fruit than the average farmer, but recent tests show that his compost could produce more nutrients than the plants need. Excess of some of these nutrients - mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and some trace metals - make them toxic to both water supplies and consumers of his arable crops. It is therefore important for Kaiser and his imitators to develop more precise methods for measuring the nutrient content of fields.

[Paul Kaiser doesn't need an organic Bio certificate]

"This is a precedent," says Mr. Leap. "This is a huge over-application. If Paul wanted to become a certified organic farmer, that could be trouble. Surprisingly, Kaiser's Farm is not - he resists this label because of the costs, the complicated procedure and the standards he finds superficial. It's also amazing that this doesn't bother his customers. In surveys, virtually all of his unconventional farming methods were in favor. Mrs. Robin Boyle, woman marketing director of California Certified Organic Farmers, says, however, that if the Kaiser label were applied for, its compost quantities would "turn on all the red lamps in our office".  But she also said that such huge quantities could also be within the limits of what is permitted, depending on the individual situation of the farm.

[Mr. Paul Kaiser catches the rainwater from the farm in ponds - everything is alive!]

Mr. Kaiser argues that the situation of his farm is clearly within the permitted limits - for four reasons. First, the additional nitrogen is necessary because he plants much more per acre with arable crops than an average farm. Second, soil samples showed that its nitrogen content is "exactly where it should be for healthy plants". Thirdly, he notices that the plants really "eat up" the nitrogen: Sometimes the leaves turn yellow (which is a sign of nitrogen deficiency). And fourthly, he adds that his ponds, which catch what drains from the farm floor, are visibly clear and full of life. In addition, recent rainwater tests have also shown absolute cleanliness. (Water contaminated with nitrogen or phosphorus is usually blocked by algae that kill fish and other aquatic organisms by taking oxygen from them. Kaiser had to deal with this problem in the first year, after he had applied a lot of compost, but afterwards it did not occur any more. "All our fields and indicators show that our nitrogen content is OK or not high enough," says Kaiser. [...]


[Soil control on Paul Kaiser's frog farm - rainwater samples are always crystal clear]

Initially, Kaiser's soil samples have a slightly higher nitrate content and an even higher phosphorus content. But his rainwater samples - which agronomists see as the golden way to detect fertilizer leaks from a farm - are always crystal clear.

How could that be? When you listen to agronomists and soil scientists who are sceptical about Kaiser's methods, these polluters hide themselves. It might be true, but it might as well be the opposite. If you can't resist the exact numbers of this puzzle - and the debate it triggered - please read note #2 at the end of the article.

If you believe Mr. Kaiser, the lab technicians miss the right result. The polluters are not visible,  simply because all the biological life he has built up in his fields is eating them up. "The highly organic biomass buffers any imbalance in those nutrients," says Kaiser. "It seems to me that all this criticism is voiced by people who do not understand a truly biological system." This claim is bold, but Kaiser also has some scientists on his side. "All this microbial life goes through a cycle of these nutrients," says Mr. Jerry Hatfield of the USDA. Mr. Ray Ward, a leading expert on soil sampling, agrees. (Ward maintains the Ward Laboratories in Kearny, Nebraska, which have developed some of America's most comprehensive testing procedures for nutrient levels and microbial life in soils. Kaiser's last tests were conducted by the Ward Laboratories). Mr. Jeff Creque, chief scientist at the Marin Carbon Project [compost Carbon Project in Marin district in California] also stands with Kaiser's methods. Creque adds that industrial agriculture has abandoned the biological system, which has primarily led to carbon dioxide pollution. "In earlier times, it was only possible to increase the nitrogen content in the soil in conjunction with carbon," says Creque. "Today we feed the chemistry of the soil instead of feeding the biology of the soil. We also burn the coal."

The problem is that no matter how qualified these observers are, they end up stating nothing but tesis. Nitrogen and phosphorus are just two of the billions of natural and living components that make up some sort of soil. Scientists have only recently begun to understand how this ecosystem affects fertility while its tiny inhabitants interact with each other. Some of such interactions could be an excuse for Emperor's excesses, others can exacerbate them. "We may know less about the ground than we do about the moon," says Morris.

In the months following his visit, Mr. Leap discussed these questions - with himself, with Mr. Kaiser, with many of his colleagues in organic farming and with me. Long e-mails went back and forth, all full of endless questions and endless rows of numbers. In the course of this process, I had to face so many ingenious surveys of the two and many others who are dedicated to sustainable agriculture that I had inhibitions about addressing them again. The central question that fired these interviews was fundamental and almost unsolvable: If Kaiser's methods are really erroneous, can they be corrected?

At first, Mr. Leap was quite pessimistic. "I'm not sure he can produce at this level without these excesses," Leap tells me. "I'm afraid that they're inextricably linked to his system. It is as if the vegetables are "pumped up" by the compost." When I asked Tim Hartz, a well reputated professor of plant sciences at California's Davis University, if he thought the Kaiser's system was sustainable, his answer was just a no. All this increasingly worried Mr. Leap about Kaiser's extremely ecological claims. "What bothers me," Mr. Leap said, "is that Paul [Kaiser] makes such a big deal out of this bird (wedge-tailed plover) that he doesn't plow anymore. But that's the way he sees it. What he can't see are the consequences for the fish downstream from his farm". [...]

[But they were NEVER measuring other waters! There is NOTHING bad with Kaiser's farm].

[Commercial compost production with aluminum and plastic parts inside]

Which is also important for some people: In the commercial production of compost, tons of fossil fuels are burned. Kaiser himself can only produce about a third of the compost he needs for his farm. The rest comes from his neighbors in Sonoma County. When food waste and garden waste is taken to the local compost diposal site (landfill), it goes through 15 different phases of separation, cleaning, shredding and aeration in diesel-powered facilities to become new soil -- which then leaves the landfill at a rate of 150 tons per day. And even this end product is far from perfect. I noticed this one morning when I helped Kaiser's team plant cucumbers. In almost every hole I found one or two small snippets of plastic, aluminum foil or other materials that did not decompose. This is due to all those neighbours who, after almost two decades of publicity campaigns, still cannot really separate waste.

[Paul Kaiser: Any compost of the society should be given to agriculture]

That's why Mr. Leap is very sceptical about a system that depends on so much compost. "When the soil microbes do their job," Leap told me, "there's no need to add nitrogen." Others prefer Kaiser's answer: "Where should all our organic waste go?" he asks. "There are only two possibilities - when sunk in the sea, it leads to excessive plant growth that takes oxygen from marine life. Or you can take it to the landfills. In other words, perhaps human evolution itself is the last compromise of our planet. All life means energy, in one form or another. And the waste of that energy has to go somewhere. There is no organic lunch without compromise.

Sustainability in view of the cities of tomorrow

According to some new censuses, Americans produce so much compostable waste and use so little of it that at least 15 million tonnes of this rich material (once it is dry) and more than 200 million tonnes are landing on landfills every year in California.  It primarily produces methane there, which is a major contributor to global warming.

[Global warming is a big lie, climate is manipulated by HAARP antenna systems].

[The layer of "organic soil material" SOM (soil organic matter)]

In a field, however, compost produces a lot of good things in addition to plants. Farmers call it "organic soil material" or "SOM" (soil organic matter) and it is mainly responsible for soil fertility. SOM is essentially all residual tissue, whether living or not, of all living organisms - plants, roots, beetles, microorganisms, fungi, sponges, lichens, whatever. All this rotting is wonderfully effective. It helps the ground to hold the water. More importantly, when water is scarce, all this rotting material nourishes the roots of the plants and the microorganisms around them so that the plants can continue to grow. Dwayne Beck describes it as follows: "SOM is the living, the dead and the very dead. When you work on bad ground, you use the very dead. If you work well, you use the dead. But the living is what you want to use". Living or dead, SOM consists of 60 percent of carbon. And the more of it is in the soil, the less of it goes into the air where it would produce carbon dioxide.

[Tractor plough agriculture has reduced the SOM layer from 8 to 1%]

In 1920, before industrial agriculture came up, SOM accounted for an average of between 6 and 8 percent of our topsoil. Over the years, when American farmers applied a system that extracted more than added, the level of SOM dropped on average to 2 percent, in some areas even below 1 percent - which is more than half the minimum amount for healthy soil. A simple machine that became ubiquitous caused this loss: the moldboard plow (invented - who would have thought it? - by Thomas Jefferson). In a 2002 report by the University of Minnesota, it says: "The deeper and more aggressive the ploughing, the more CO2 is released into the atmosphere. And, according to the authors of the report, the plough with it's dashboard is "the most aggressive machine that has ever been used".

[The more SOM - the more water in the soil can be kept]

When the Kaiser family bought the Singing Frogs farm, their land had not been ploughed or planted for five years, so it was relatively healthy: SOM was tested at 2.4 percent (not bad for the sandy clay which is typical for this area). After Kaiser put his compost-based system into practice, the SOM level of the farm rose to 10 percent. This level would be even higher if the soil samples were taken from higher layers. Tests during this autumn showed that its soil was also particularly rich in microbes, both in terms of quantity and diversity. This hidden material could be one reason why Kaiser's fields were so lush despite the drought. He repeatedly points out that every percent more of SOM on an acre of land means that the top soil layer of 30 cm can hold an additional 4360 liters of water [per acre].

Kaiser presented this 4360 liter to his audience at the agricultural conference in Napa [near San Francisco], where I met him for the first time. The central theme of this conference was the conservation of agricultural land and numerous speakers presented the various measures that a handful of California counties are taking to prevent cities from spreading and swallowing more and more agricultural land. Despite such initiatives, the general trend here is rather weak. Since 1982, the "USA" has sacrificed 13 million acres (=52,610 km2) of first-class farmland for urban development.

[Small bio farms near towns are the future]

These figures are particularly painful when you think of Kaiser's long-term hope: a network of small farms in the world's cities that could protect us against fuel and water shortages in the future. If his vision is to have any chance at all, we must structure our cities completely differently. "Most cities are in the middle of the best farmlands," said Ed Thompson of the American Farmland Trust to the audience of the Napa Conference, "because the origin of all cities were regional agricultural markets."


[Frost provokes dead vegetables - but drought has NO consequences for Kaiser's frog farm (!)]

In the last few weeks the temperatures fluctuated by up to 10 degrees every day, which is why the local newspapers spoke of desert-like. "In the last two years, the last rain fell on February 1", Kaiser said, "and it looks like it will happen again this year." Not only little rain falls, there are also frost phases - the first frost typically hits Kaiser's farm at the end of September, last May. "We have temperatures of at least -7°C for four weeks every year", Kaiser said. The reason: Singing Frogs is located at the low point of a flat valley, where temperatures are on average 5 degrees lower than the average for the neighbors, who live only a few hundred meters uphill. That morning, Kaiser' crops looked more discouraged than he himself was - many were withered or dead. Eating flies were buzzing all over the place.

[Frost damage can be evaded by Walipini principle of construction of green houses half in the earth].

When I spoke to Mr. Kaiser again months later, he was full of energy again. Despite the drought, he harvested a lot and his income was already higher than at the same time the year before. This was partly because he had less competition on the regional farmers' market. Many neighbouring farms had suffered badly in the hard, dry winter. One of them bought his vegetables from Singing Frogs Farm. But Kaiser's own customers were also well supplied. "At the regional market," Kaiser said, "people actually came to me and asked: "Does your cauliflower get drugs?">

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7. Spitsbergen May 21, 2017: World seed store has problems with leakage due to warmer climate
Arctic: "Eternal" world seed store thaws
(original German: Arktis: „Ewiges“ Welt-Saatgutlager taut auf)
https://de.sputniknews.com/panorama/20170521315826520-arktis-welt-saatgut-lager-taut-auf/


Map with Spitzbergen, Island, Norway [16]

Translation:

<The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world's largest seed warehouse designed to secure plant diversity forever and save humanity even after the worst disasters, has leaked: thawed water has entered the vault due to global warming, reports The Guardian.

The Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, where almost one million packages of plant seeds are stored, was created in 2008. Norwegian Agriculture Minister Terje Riis-Johansen had explained that the seed store was the "modern new edition of Noah's Ark".

The bunker-like building was designed as an impenetrable freezer warehouse to protect the world's most valuable plant species from extinction and preserve them for eternity.

But because of the high temperatures this winter, the permafrost soil on Spitsbergen is thawing. According to the newspaper, a lot of water entered the vault's entrance tunnel and later froze there.
(article of The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts)

Fortunately, the seed itself had not been damaged. The ice has already been removed.

"We had not thought that the permafrost could disappear and that we would experience such extreme weather," quotes the Norwegian government newspaper Hege Njaa Aschim.

The leak now raises doubts as to whether the vault can really serve its purpose. The camp was supposed to function without human supervision. "But now we're monitoring the vault 24 hours a day," Ashim continues.

The most important question now is whether this was a one-off event or whether the situation will worsen.

"The Arctic and Svalbard in particular are warming up faster than the rest of the world. The climate is changing dramatically; we are all surprised at how quickly this is happening," the government representative continued. There is an urgent need to find a solution, as this is a major responsibility.>

[Climate change is performed by weather manipulations with HAARP antenna plants].

========



8. August 13, 2017: Cinnamon in the garden: Against mosquitoes, fungi, ants, for roots, for plant wounds, for seedlings
Cinnamon is not just a spice. 6 amazing ways it can revolutionize the garden!
(original German: Zimt ist nicht nur ein Gewürz. Hier sind 6 erstaunliche Wege,wie es den Garten revolutionieren kann!)
http://likemag.com/de/zimt-ist-nicht-nur-ein-gewuerz-hier-sind-6-faszinierende-wege-wie-es-deinen-garten-verbessern-kann/559539

Translation:

<Amazing...

Most people think of Christmas time when they hear cinnamon. Cinnamon snails, cinnamon stars and so on... It makes your mouth water.

But few people know that cinnamon is a kind of 'secret weapon' for the garden. We have collected all six tips and tricks for you. Have fun!

1. As a mosquito repellent

We love the smell of cinnamon, but this does not apply to our 'insect friends'. Simply spread cinnamon in your garden and place a few cinnamon sticks near the seat you are - and you will have peace from the stinging beasts.

2. Fungicide

Fungi or similar bacteria don't like it when you sprinkle some cinnamon on the culture medium of the plants. In any case, this should solve the easier and superficial fungal problems. More serious infestations need a little more attention.

3. Ant trap

Just as with mushrooms, cinnamon is not exactly popular with ants. If they eat it or inhale it, they can even die. This spice can keep them away from other foods and is completely harmless for pets and children.

4. Root booster

When you try to reproduce plants, cinnamon comes in handy. To make the cut trunks develop roots again, cinnamon can be spread on the ends before you plant it. The effect is unbelievable and clearly cheaper than special products from the home center (DIY store).

5. Heals plant wounds

When a plant is injured either by a cut or by transplanting, then cinnamon helps to heal. Just sprinkle something on the 'wound' and the rest will take care of itself.

6. Protected seedlings

Seeds and seedlings usually need it dry to protect themselves from fungi and other infestations. But cinnamon is perfect. "Spread it over the baby plants and undisturbed growth is certain.>

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9. Herisau (Shitzerland* / Switzerland) October 25, 2017: Permaculture agriculture spares and brings the greatest benefits
INPUT KOMPAKT: Permaculture - the future of agriculture?
(original German: INPUT KOMPAKT: Permakultur - die Zukunft der Landwirtschaft?)
https://www.srf.ch/sendungen/input/input-kompakt-permakultur-die-zukunft-der-landwirtschaft

<Reena Thelly

Kurt Forster lives in his house in the town of Herisau with a garden on 800m over sea level but can harvest exotic products such as lemons, chestnuts or figs, but also corn and potatoes. He cultivates according to the rules of permaculture.

This is a technique that yields so much in harmony with nature that he and his wife can live off the garden all year round with minimal effort.

Instead of monoculture, there are mixed cultures - different vegetables and fruits grow side by side in the smallest space. This makes them robust and more resistant to pests and vermin. Pesticides and artificial fertilizers are not used. To protect the soil, work is not carried out with heavy engines, but with bare hands. Nature thanks it, for example with endangered animals that resettle.

But followers of permaculture want more than self-sufficiency: Namely, leave a better world to future generations.>

* Shitzerland: with criminal bank secret, with criminal pharma industries with pills, vaccines and pesticides, and with the criminal company of Nestlé robbing all water of the world.

========



10. France Dec.8, 2017: Music against fungi and viruses in the field - and the sound system works - no more pesticides necessary
Replacement for pesticides: Piano music to combat vermin
(original German: Ersatz für Pestizide: Klaviermusik soll Ungeziefer bekämpfen)
http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/news/story/10747493

Greenhouse with meditative piano music against fungi, France, company Genodics SAS: There are just loudspeakers in the greenhouse and there is some meditative piano music [17]

The article (translation):

"by Thomas Mathis

In France, farmers play music in their fields to fight fungi and viruses.

More than 100 farmers in France make piano music to their cultures twice a day for about ten minutes. On the field are white, handy boxes consisting of four loudspeakers and a solar cell. At a volume of 60 decibels - a normal conversation - this device produces melodies that have been developed for pest control.

According to French researchers, the melodies influence the process by which proteins are combined. Each protein emits specific tones. If you know the melody, you can speed up or slow down the process. The inventor company Genodics SAS advertises that after the device has been installed the harmful pesticides can be omitted (dispensed).

A farmer has saved his zucchini culture

In particular fungi and viruses could be destroyed with the system. The company is supported by several farmers who have had positive experiences. According to the French newspaper "Le Figaro", for example, a French farmer was able to save his zucchini culture from the mosaic virus, against which there are no pesticides so far.

The system already seems to be under discussion in French-speaking Switzerland. The television stations RTS and the newspaper "Le Matin" have reported about it. In German-speaking Switzerland, the sound system is not yet known neither concerning research nor with producers.

TV report of French Swiss TV:
http://www.rts.ch/play/tv/specimen/video/la-musique-qui-fait-du-bien-aux-plantes?id=5685862&station=a9e7621504c6959e35c3ecbe7f6bed0446cdf8da
Article of Le Matin: https://www.lematin.ch/societe/La-musique-remplace-les-pesticides/story/22489586

"Nature is full of secrets"

The idea is well received, but many experts are sceptical. Various experts say that the subject area is not yet so well illuminated scientifically. The Swiss Farmers' Union says that one is never averse to new methods if their effect is proven. Pro Natura is open to the method. According to spokesman Mr. Roland Schuler, efforts were made to find alternatives for the use of poisons in agriculture. "If music helps, you should test it."

Mr. Jean-Luc Pasquier, a horticultural expert at the Agricultural School Grangeneuve FR, believes in the success of sound reinforcement: "I am convinced that music has an influence on plants. The music emits vibrations that affect all living beings," he tells the newspaper Le Matin. [...]>

Links:
Figaro: http://www.lefigaro.fr/conso/2017/11/13/20010-20171113ARTFIG00015-un-paysan-sauve-ses-cultures-d-un-virus-devastateur-8230-grace-a-la-musique.php
Le Matin: https://www.lematin.ch/societe/La-musique-remplace-les-pesticides/story/22489586
Télé Suisse Romande:
http://www.rts.ch/play/tv/specimen/video/la-musique-qui-fait-du-bien-aux-plantes?id=5685862&station=a9e7621504c6959e35c3ecbe7f6bed0446cdf8da

========



11. Dec. 9, 2017: Modern agriculture no longer needs fields - salad on 12 floors etc.
Indoor farming the salad production of the future? - Salad, 12 storeys
(original German: Indoor-Farming die Salatproduktion der Zukunft? – Salat auf 12 Stockwerken)
http://www.epochtimes.de/lifestyle/essen-trinken/indoor-farming-die-salatproduktion-der-zukunft-salat-auf-12-stockwerken-a2284093.html

Company "Aerofarm" with agriculture in towers of 12 floors, New Jersey, "USA" [18]

Translation:

"by Oliver Trey

A special kind of farm shows what the future of salad production could look like. This involves "vertical farming" or "vertical cultivation".

New York - Fresh salad from the freezer in the supermarket? Well, sure, maybe the ready packed and already washed salad? Just unpack and put a tasty dressing on the plate and serve. Pure quality of life, directly from the field, ripened under the sun, harvested by the farmer and prepared ready to serve for the consumer. That's what we want.

But a special kind of farm in the US state of New Jersey shows what the future of salad production could look like.

The lettuce that is "grown" here has neither seen sunlight nor grown in the ground. Salad grows here in a large warehouse on extensive growth beds under futuristic lighting. The whole thing is more reminiscent of a mega-solarium than a farm. It is about "vertical farming" or "vertical cultivation".

Up to 12 stories high, one "salad bed" lies above the other. A lifting platform is required to take a look at the "12-storey bed".

In the city of Newark, in New Jersey, just opposite Big Apple New York, the company of "Aerofarms" is already rewriting the future of agriculture. Founded in 2004, the company is one of the pioneers and leaders in indoor farming. This is the world's largest indoor facility for vertical farming.

Aerofarms technology is patented. The advantages are unique. The growth cycle from seed to harvest is only 12-16 days compared to 30-40 days in the open field. Up to 30 production cycles are possible per year, completely independent of weather conditions, compared to 1-2 harvests in the field. Salad cultivation is practically on site, no long transport routes from the field to the consumer. No field cultivation, no use of pesticides and no need to wash the lettuce from the ground - the lettuce is "clean" from day one... Harvested and packaged as grown. Fresh from the "solarium-high-bed".

Salad production of the future?

"It's really an opportunity to invent new farming methods," enthuses Marc Oshima, Marketing Director and co-founder. And with everything that can be said against the mechanisation of agriculture, the facts speak for him. Conventional methods of cultivation require much greater use of resources and have a greater impact on the environment.

Aerofarms uses 95% less water than traditional field management. There is no competition from weeds or pests and vermins, so there is no use of pesticides. There are no long transport routes, therefore, there is a reduction in CO2 emissions of 98%. There is no costly cooling and intermediate storage and no loss of vital substances after harvest. The lettuce is packaged immediately at the place of cultivation and immediately and directly delivered to the retail trade. At a time when there is a global shortage of water and food shortages, this fast and direct production cycle is opening up a new chapter in agricultural cultivation.

High-tech support around the clock

So what is the secret behind this cultivation method? "We give the plant exactly what it needs in terms of nutrients, light and environment," Marc Oshima proudly explains. Here millions of data about the green lettuce leaves are collected and processed as they grow, more than a farmer could even imagine in a classic field.

Everything is monitored, controlled and determined: light, water pollination, and the supply of minerals. Harvest biologists, microbiologists, bioengineers, mechanical engineers, industrial engineers, lighting engineers, computer scientists - the team from "Farmers" has more to do with high-tech than with a farmer's experience of many years.

The little salad plants grow under special LED lighting - 24 hours a day. "The plants do not need sunlight, they only need a certain light spectrum, the right light intensity and the right light frequencies. We take the frequencies from conventional light that the plant does not need," explains Mr. Oshima, pointing to the LED lamps behind him, "creating a more efficient photosynthesis, the perfect growth environment for the plant. Growth, size, consistency and other properties of the plants are monitored by thousands of sensors. This cultivation method allows the product quality, nutrient content and taste of the lettuce to be specifically influenced and optimized.

Ground or no ground, that is the question here

The real trade secret behind this production method, however, is the light plastic fabric on which the plants are growing. It is made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles. It is flexible in use and can be reused for years.

When no conventional soil is used, the washing of the salad with the corresponding consumption of water is omitted. Asked if there are any limits to this type of cultivation, Marc Oshima answers, "In our business model at Aerofarm we have adapted to various fast-growing green-leaf salads and herbs, where we see the greatest benefits, with over 250 different species. However, the technology has no limits, even carrots and potatoes could be cultivated.

Concept for the local community

But what touches Marc most is the socio-economic concept behind this cultivation method. "This is one way to democratize food production while providing access to good and healthy food." In view of the growing world population and urbanization worldwide, this cultivation method could be a solution evading difficulties of climate in normal agriculture - overcoming draughts, and when agricultural land is always less, nor pesticides are used damaging nature any more.

Water is one of the most precious resources and one of the major challenges facing food production in the future as the global problem of water scarcity increases. Today, according to Oshima, 70% of fresh water is used daily in agriculture, just as 70% of environmental pollution comes from agriculture - in terms of pesticides, excessive use of fertilizers and overproduction.

"What many people don't know in today's field farming is that the vegetables are produced here in the "USA" far away from the end consumer, then come to these large industrial operations where they have to be cooled and washed... and all this is very energy-intensive. In the case of the company of "Aerofarm", everything from job creation to production and delivery of goods is close by - everything remains in the local community, even 85% of the 120 employees live within a 20km radius. Since this management model is independent of location and weather conditions, it can be operated anywhere, especially in countries where management conditions are rather unfavorable. Therefore the next project of Aerofarms is to install this technique also abroad, in Northern Europe, in the Middle East and in China.>

========



12. High Andes Jan. 5, 2018: Agriculture in high mountains in semi-submerged half-underground greenhouses "Walipini"

www.facebook.com/gmofreeusa
www.gmofreeusa.org

Andes: The Walipini is a semi-subterranean greenhouse with geothermal energy, where temperature never gets below 0 degrees.

See the Walipini web site

========



13. Don University (Russia) 18.1.2018: More light in the greenhouse with LED matrices with adapted light spectra
Innovative lighting technology doubles the efficiency of greenhouses
(original German: Innovative Lichttechnologie verdoppelt Effizienz von Gewächshäusern)
https://de.sputniknews.com/wissen/20180118319114966-russische-innovationen-landwirtschaft/

Translation:

<In Russia, staff and students at Don State Technical University have developed a system for the intensive cultivation of seeds in greenhouses. The system creates optimal conditions for rapid germination and resistant plants. According to experts, the harvest can be increased by more than 100 percent with this system.

The new system mimics the conditions of germination thanks to LED matrices with different light spectra. The lighting conditions change according to the most important parameters - temperature, humidity and duration of effect.

 "The innovation of our development is that the promotion effect of alternating lighting regimes is created with the help of the LED matrix. The matrix allows the control of intensity, visible and infrared part of the light spectrum," said one of the developers, head of the chair "Automation of production processes" of Don State Technical University, Alexander Lukyanov.

According to the scientist, such intensification of seed preparation would significantly shorten the growing season and help to make the most effective use of greenhouses.

90 percent of the light installation has been assembled from Russian materials; according to developers, its market price will not exceed 10,000 rubles. Several Don companies and greenhouse companies in the Rostov region are already showing interest in the plant.

The development of the Don State Technical University is part of the major project "Creation of high-tech production of scalable complexes of off-season intensive agriculture with a high level of automation and autonomy".

During the first year of work, the university team managed to create a fully functioning model of the plant. The team then won the competition of "Leader of Technologies innovation project" and presented its development at the fair of Wuspromexpo.

Since the beginning of this year, scientists have been conducting extensive research into the effect of different programs on different seed types - for every culture optimal germination conditions are determined for each crop.>

========



14: March 8, 2018: Pesticide-free agriculture: SRI method for rice cultivation - EM technology - and bloom strips
SRI method: Indian farmer cracks world record harvest with pesticide-free cultivation method
(original German: SRI-Methode: Indischer Bauer knackt mit pestizidfreier Anbaumethode Ernte-Weltrekord)
http://zeit-zum-aufwachen.blogspot.pe/2018/03/sri-methode-indischer-bauer-knackt-mit.html

The article presents THREE DIFFERENT TACTICS FOR A PESTICIDE-FREE AGRICULTURE:
-- the SRI method for rice cultivation
-- EM technology
-- the bloom strip.

 
Rice cultivation with the SRI method yields up to 4 times as much rice [9,10]

The article (translation):

<SRI means System of Rice Intensification (also called SICA by Spanish Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo Arrocero). This is a cultivation method for rice described first by the Jesuit Mr. Henri de Laulanie in Madagascar in 1983. In 1997, it was Mr. Norman Uphoff who established this method in Asia. He is the head of the International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development at Cornell University.

SRI on Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_of_Rice_Intensification

Article about SRI (German): https://www.weltagrarbericht.de/leuchttuerme/system-of-rice-intensification.html

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) breaks some iron rules of wet rice cultivation: The seedlings are planted out after 8-12 days instead of one month, individually in a wide distance of 25 centimeters instead of in clusters in a small space. They do not compete for nutrients, space and sun, develop stronger roots and more shoots.

[Harvest of rice with SRI method: 4 times more rice - with half of the water - and with 1/10 of the seed]

Instead of keeping the fields constantly under water and thus curbing weed growth, the plants only receive the optimum amount of water, the soil is temporarily dry, which changes its bacterial composition and reduces methane emissions. Since weeds have to be weeded mechanically, the soil is well ventilated and plant growth is stimulated. Compost is used for fertilization. Farmers in Madagascar were able to increase their crops from two to eight tons of rice per hectare on average - with a tenth of the seed.

With this environmentally friendly cultivation method, Mr. Sumant Kumar, an Indian farmer, recently broke the harvesting world record for rice. The Guardian reports that Mr. Sumant produces 22.4 tonnes of rice on one hectare of land with around 50% less water and just 10% of the usual seed.

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/feb/16/india-rice-farmers-revolution

Sensational - considering that he had neither research funds nor a research laboratory. A "simple" farmer, with modest means, is simply presenting the arsenal of research in agrochemistry worth millions!

Conclusion: In view of the tragic consequences of the so-called green revolution, such information is very valuable. They prove that crops are not dependent on chemicals and genetic engineering. It works without poison.

[EM Technology]

In addition to the SRI method, there is also the EM technology, which enables a massive increase in cops and harvests for all plants and is 100% ecological.

Article by Legitim.ch (German):
https://www.legitim.ch/single-post/2017/12/08/Geniale-EM-Technologie-ermöglicht-pestizidfreie-Landwirtschaft-und-Waschen-ohne-Waschmittel

[Bloom strips have a vermin reducing effect: up to minus 61% "pest infestation"]

Bloom strips / flower strips reduce vermin and pests by up to 61 percent [11]

Bloom strips (flower strips) are also an effective alternative to chemical pest control. At the same time, they increase biodiversity and ensure the survival of endangered insects. Agroscope conducts research on behalf of the government and confirms that flower strips reduce pest infestation by up to 61%!

Article by Agroscope about bloom strips (German):
https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/de/home/publikationen/agroscope-online-magazin-jahresbericht/ausgabe-3/bluehstreifen-reduzieren-schaedlinge.html

Flowering strips are not only beautiful, but also useful!

It is possible without chemistry, without genetic engineering and without monocultures; as we recognize even much better.

Source: https://www.legitim.ch/>

========


15. March 9, 2018: Earthworms - fertilizing and drilling tunnels into the soil
Underestimated earthworms - In the soil is a worm - and that is very good
(original German: Unterschätzte Regenwürmer - Im Boden ist der Wurm drin – und das ist gut so)
https://www.srf.ch/kultur/wissen/unterschaetzte-regenwuermer-im-boden-ist-der-wurm-drin-und-das-ist-gut-so


Comic: earthworm tunnel system with excrements as humus on the top [19] and the tunnels are also pastered with this humus (see the article)

Translation:

<Author: Susanne Bernard

Little strong man: The earthworm can lift 50 times its body weight. As a living plough they are loosening and fertilizing the soil.

We hardly notice him and react in disgust when one crawls across the path: "The earthworm really doesn't have many fans.

It is thanks to him that cereals, vegetables and grass thrive in the fields year after year.

No earthworms: a catastrophe

"A world without earthworms would probably be even more drastic than a world without bees," says agroecologist Lukas Pfiffner from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). Because "earthworms are the master builders of fertile soils."

120 to 150 earthworms live in a square metre of carefully managed Swiss arable land rich in humus. For organic farmers it can be 50 to 80 percent more. This is the result of investigations during years by Research Institute for Biological Agriculture [in Frick - Switzelrand - Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau].

No species list, no lobby

The earthworms of Switzerland are distributed in about 40 species. You don't know exactly, because there is no official list of species. Pfiffner regrets that, but: "There is definitely no lobby for earthworms."

According to their way of life, the earthworm species are divided into three groups. The first one lives in the top layer. The second one digs horizontal tunnels. And the third one builds vertical residential tubes.

Hardly anyone is stronger

Especially the deep digging worms work like living ploughs. They loosen the soil and mix its layers. Just some muscles are needed.

The earthworm is a real muscleman, says Lukas Pfiffner. In relation to its size it is one of the strongest animals in the world as it is able to lift 50 to 60 times its body weight.

Wormholes have many functions

Worms are drilling tunnels by which air and water are streaming in the ground. Also plant roots are using the worm ducts for penetrating into the deep ground without resistance.

The roots find here not only water, but also fertilizer. The corridors are wallpapered with nutrient-rich worm excrement.

Worm excrement as first-class fertilizer

The excrements of earthworms are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. They deposit up to ten kilograms of manure per square meter per year - in the soil and on the surface. This results in a layer several millimetres thick.

This worm soil is produced by the decomposition of dead plant parts. The nutrients in the soil are released and are available for new life creation like food blocks.

Underground life is pulsating

However, the toothless earthworm does not manage this recycling process alone. It depends on microorganisms that pre-digest the material.

Earthworms share their subterranean habitat with countless other organisms. It is said that in a handful of earth there are more living beings than people in the world - according to Pfiffner a reasonable estimate.

Many tiny creatures and an underestimated giant

Most soil organisms are tiny: bacteria, fungi and algae - not visible to the naked eye. Compared to them, the earthworm is a giant.

Accordingly, worms are contributing a great deal to preventing the cycle of life from collapsing. "Earthworms are one of the central soil animals that contribute significantly to fertile soils," says agroecologist Lukas Pfiffner.>

========

Email for pesticide-free agriculture


Michael Palomino, Portrait

16. E-mail March 28, 2018: Saving creation (insects+birds): smaller fields with more vegetable diversity, green strips and forest edges - pesticides can be drastically reduced - open letter

March 28, 2018

Dear Minister of Agriculture Mrs. Klöckner,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The whole world is threatened by pesticides, thus insects and birds will soon be extinct if this continues. Over the last 15 years, bird populations have fallen by 30%, in some cases by as much as 70% depending on the bird species (aricle in German: https://netzfrauen.org/2018/03/24/artensterben/).

Without insects there is no pollination, and fruit production will soon stop. If the pesticides continue to be used in this way, then also soil animals will be eliminated, the soil will become sterile and the food production will stop as in China, which has to look for soil in Argentina. The whole rural food chain is at stake: Insects, bees, pollination, birds, all plants to be fertilized, our food.

German NABU (Nature Conservation Union - Naturschutzbund) cannot fight pesticides on its own, and international action is required - foreign ministries with ministries of agriculture worldwide.

In my collection of articles with agriculture without pesticides http://www.med-etc.com/natur/Ldw/Landwirtschaft-me001-ENGL-agriculture-without-pesticides001.html

some simple but effective measures are described how to do a good or even BETTER agriculture WITHOUT pesticides,
--- while the cost of the pesticides is largely SAVED
--- small fields with different vegetable species are created, so that the soil animals are different and complementing each other, so that there are enough beneficial insects to keep the pests and vermin in check - you can prescribe the field sizes.

Small-field agriculture without pesticides, e.g. Singing Frogs Farm in California

--- in large fields without flowers and bushes, bloom strips / flower strips can be installed to give insects and beneficial insects their habitat - the bloom strips alone can reduce pesticides by up to 61% - such bloom strips can be prescribed

Bloom strips / flower strips in big fields reduce vermin and pests by up to 61% [11]

--- Leave the edges of the forests and protect all forest edges worldwide so that hedge birds, berry birds and insects do not lose their habitat.

A forest edge of 3m width is the home of insects, hedge birds and berry birds [12]
Forest WITHOUT the edge of the forest: insects, hedge birds and berry birds have lost their homes and the crop of the field suffers more vermin [13]

IDEA: Form a commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture to implement the simple measures
The Ministry of Agriculture can form a joint commission with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to push through this transformation of agriculture into an INTERNATIONAL SPECIES-PRESERVING AGRICULTURE WITH ONLY LITTLE PESTICIDE USE. It is simply the case that the Ministers of Agriculture alone have NO POWER AGAINST DAMAGING PESTICIDE INDUSTRY. Since these interrelationships affect the WHOLE WORLD, as a historian, sociologist and successful naturopath, I believe that the foreign ministers are the right partners for this topic.

Start with small countries - then expand
One can start with a small country, for example Saarland, or Saxony, or Denmark, etc. When farmers see that the cost-benefit ratio remains the same or even improves with new farming methods and with flower strips and with intact forest edges, they will be happy to switch to an agriculture with less pesticides.

Pesticide companies have to produce other products
The pesticide companies (Bayer, Syngenta, Monsanto which is now purchased by Bayer etc.), which are destroying creation since 2006 with the pesticides of Roundup etc. threatening all insects and many bird species being threatened with complete extinction - these pesticide companies should realize the damage they have done and refrain from producing these pesticides, and possibly even switch to solar energy or other products. NABU has the numbers [about the animals which are in danger].

Ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs will be able to save creation together
In my opinion, the authority of the foreign ministers and agriculture ministers of the WHOLE WORLD is needed to end the pesticide disaster and to install the species-preserving agriculture. The nature conservation associations alone cannot do it, and the ministries of agriculture alone cannot do it either. It is only possible TOGETHER if the UNO also sees that THE CHANGE IS POSSIBLE AND A CONSERVATION OF ALL SPECIES IS POSSIBLE. Pesticide producers (Bayer, Syngenta etc.) are to switch to OTHER PRODUCTS, e.g. solar energy equipment.

Sincerely
Michael Palomino, Lima
Tel. (mobile) 0051992611070
michael.palomino@yandex.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.palominoale
VK: https://vk.com/id472868156

========

Eintrag bei Facebook und VK:

Meldungen besagen, dass die kriminellen Pestizide die Insekten um 80% und die Vögel um 40 bis 70% reduzieren. Also:


Entry on Facebook and VK:

17. March 28, 2018: AGRICULTURE REVOLUTION - SAVE INSECTS+BIRDS: Small fields, bloom strips, put forest edges under nature protection
Reports indicate that criminal pesticides reduce insects by 80% and birds by 40 to 70%. So:

STEP 1: INSTALL SMALL FIELDS WITH VARIOUS VEGETABLES, because the soil animals are different depending on the vegetables, so all the soil animals are always present and keep the pests and vermin in check - so the farmers save MUCH MONEY because there are no more costs for pesticides, and they can sell better products

STEP 2: Prescribe BLOOM STRIPS when there are large fields - this can reduce the need for pesticides by up to 61%

STEP 3: Put forest edges UNDER NATURE PROTECTION, as these shrubs and berries are enormously important for insects, hedgerows and berry birds - AND: destroyed forest edges must be replanted - destruction of forest edges must be punishable. [Because forest edges are the home for many useful animals fighting vermin].

========

18. We repeat the points for agriculture WITHOUT pesticides

The points:
1. Keep hedges and trees near the fields (preferably at the edge of the forest) where the beneficial animals live
2. Grow mixed vegetables so that the beneficial insects of the various plants complement each other and destroy all pests and vermin
3. Leave roots in the soil
4. Spread a lot of compost
5. Let seedlings sprout in the greenhouse for 1 month, not just 2 weeks
6. Ventilation of fields with calculation spade
7. Neutralization of compost for young plants with oyster shells or grated rock sand
8. Covering the fields with black plastic mulch in winter (usable for 10 winters)
9. Work in cold zones with semi-underground geothermal pit greenhouses ("walipini")
10. Put mull on the patch / bed so the ground never dries.
11. Install natural dry-stone walls for animals and more heat.
12. Meditative piano music strengthens the plants against fungi and viruses.

<<        >>

Photo sources
[1] Map with San Francisco, Sebastopol and Singing Frog Farm: google maps
[2] Fields of Singing Frogs Farm: Photo by Christopher D. Cook; In: https://netzfrauen.org/2017/05/13/der-mit-der-duerre-tanzt/
[3] Paul Kaiser aerates fields with an arithmetic spade: Photo by Christopher D. Cook; In: https://netzfrauen.org/2017/05/13/der-mit-der-duerre-tanzt/
[4] Singing Frogs farm, aerial view with fields and greenhouses:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-farm-the-singing-frogs-farm-way-autumn-2017-tickets-31502699422
[5-8] Photos of the High Sierra in South "America" from Peru (Ayacucho, Millpo) and Ecuador (Huasalata) with the original agriculture with hedges and trees around the fields: Fotos von Michael Palomino
[9,10] Rice cultivation with the SRI method yields up to 4 times as much rice:
http://zeit-zum-aufwachen.blogspot.pe/2018/03/sri-methode-indischer-bauer-knackt-mit.html

[11] Bloom strips reduce vermin by up to 61 percent: http://zeit-zum-aufwachen.blogspot.pe/2018/03/sri-methode-indischer-bauer-knackt-mit.html
[12] forest edge 3m: http://www.med-etc.com/natur/wald/waldschaendung.html; original: http://www.lpv-mfr.de/html/freiraeume.htm
[13] Forest without forest edge: http://www.med-etc.com/natur/wald/waldschaendung.html; original: http://www.nabu.de/nh/202/vielfalt202.htm
[16] Map with Spitzbergen, Island, Norway: Geothek Weltatlas
[17] Greenhouse with meditative piano music against fungi, France, company Genodics SAS: http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/news/story/10747493
[18] Greenhouse in a tower house of 12 floors, company "Aerofarms" in New Jersey, "USA":
http://www.epochtimes.de/lifestyle/essen-trinken/indoor-farming-die-salatproduktion-der-zukunft-salat-auf-12-stockwerken-a2284093.html
[19] Comic: earthworm tunnel system with excrements as humus on the top: In: YouTube Video: Doku - Unsere Landwirtschaft tötet Insekten und vergiftet das Wasser; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXl71o8MrOQ

               

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