GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK,
Workshops: USA - TX, MS, FL [ECHO], CA, AR, NM;
México, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Haití, England, India, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Indonesia, Liberia, Ghana
minifarms@gmail.com
Box 1901, Lubbock TX 79408-1901 USA
Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-livestock farming,
using bucket drip irrigation, worldwide, in English & Español
Organic, No-till Farming
The solution to world hunger is to teach farmers organic, no-till farming and there is unlimited, documented proof it is the
best way to farm. “The hungriest people grow food for a living: 70% of the developing world’s extremely poor people
are in rural communities and work in agriculture. They barely produce enough food to survive, which is why they’re
referred to as subsistence farmers.” compatibletechnology.org The farmer does not need to buy anything, from
anybody, at any time except seed for new crops.
These are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just and economically viable. These practices
can feed the world regardless of how high the population goes. UN Report Says Small-Scale Organic Farming Only Way
to Feed the World. [2014] iatp.org My experience is that there are farmers in every country farming this way already but
no way to find them.
Poor, unhealthy soil is the reason for low yields. Soil is unhealthy due to chemicals and low organic matter. The solution
is to stop using chemicals and increase organic matter.
Organic, no-till farming, in permanent beds, with permanent paths, using only a machete, doubles or triples yields,
reduces labor 50% to 75%, reduces inputs-expenses to nearly 0, creates healthy soil with high fertility, stops soil
erosion, rain water runoff, soil compaction and eliminates most weed, disease, insect problems.
SRI – system of rice intensification: 50%-100% increased yields, up to 90% reduction in required seed, up to
50% savings in water. SRI has been adapted for rain-fed rice. panna.org/blog/bumper-crops-india-no-ge-required.
sri.ciifad.cornell.edu in 70+ languages.
With no-till, organic matter [green manure/cover crops, weeds, crop residue] generates the following results:
 The mulch gradually rots into the soil providing a constant supply of nutrients while eliminating composting.
 Moisture retention due to the mulch layer means reduced need for watering; saving both resources and labor.
 Mulch prevents weeds from growing, reducing another laborious chore.
 Because of greater nutrients, plants can be positioned twice as densely as normally recommended.
 The combination of denser spacing and healthy soil means a fourfold increase in yield. Josef Graf
Roland Bunch has promoted green manure/cover crops, worldwide, since 1982. In Honduras, it made farming profitable
and stopped migration to the city. Singing Frogs Farm, USA, since 2010. Fukaoka Farm, Japan, organic, no-till [rice, small
.grains, vegetables] since 1947. Farmers, Yilou, Burkino Faso, mulching since 1965, At the time of my visits the following
were organic, no-till: an Indian farmer [vegetables] for 5 years, a Malawi farmer [vegetables] for 25 years [model farm],
Ghana farmer, 3 years [only one farmer knew it out of 385 farmers in the association] and Honduras farmer [vegetables & fruit] on permanent
beds on the contour (73° slope] for 8 years. Reduced cost by 30% the first year and tripled profits in five years [Argentina]. I
was on a farm [Honduras] where the farmer, alone, farms 4 hectares using a machete. In Uganda, farmers average 73
days weeding but only 5 days when using no-till. USA, farmer has been no-till since 1985 using tractor. 262,000,000
acres in no-till and 85,000,000 acres organic, worldwide.
1.
2.
3.
4.
No technique yet devised by man has been anywhere near as effective at halting
soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as 0-tillage (Baker)
Financial: no tractor, no implements, no chemicals,
5. Use green manure/cover crops. [mucuna/velvet bean
no fertilizers.
but there are many others, legume and non-legume]
Healthy soil produces healthy plants which resists
6. Weeds; never let go to seed. Cut and leave as mulch
pests & diseases, for high yields.
7. Broadcast crops: alternate with seasonal cover crops
Healthy soil is made by increasing organic matter
8. Intercropping and/or crop rotation
using green manure/cover crops.
9. Leave all crop residues on top of the soil for mulch.
Soil always covered. Crop, mulch, cover crop.
10. No-till: no plowing, no digging, no cultivating
11. Permanent beds: used since 2000 BC in Guatemala,
Mexico. [1-2 m. wide; any length; paths between.
Run beds north & south or on contour]
12. Permanent paths [15-20% of the land is in paths and
that saves 15-20% of the seed, time and labor. If
drip irrigating, saves 15-20% of the water.
13. Winter: hoop houses, high tunnels over beds.
14. Support for climbing plants: cages, trellises
15. Tools-hand: machete, planting hoe, scythe, double blade
weed cutter, pruning saw, hula hoe, pruning shears, cart.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Seed - Open-pollinated No hybrids, No GMOs.
Transplants: start seed indoors as needed.
Seed: open-pollinated. No hybrids, GMOs.
Seed for new crops: More interest in this than
anything I do. Edamame soybeans, tomatillos, popping sorghum,
sweet sorghum [syrup], spaghetti squash, stevia [sugar], Chires baby
maize, sweet maize, popping maize, broomcorn, buckwheat, Sea-rice
86, Artemisia annua [malaria control]
20. Irrigation: Use drip or bucket drip. The farmer
makes the dripline [US$5]. One, 33m, will irrigate a
row of crop using only 40 liters of water every other
day. 20L bucket 1m above ground connects to
dripline. A line can be moved to irrigate several
rows per day. Water: stream, pond, well. A drip kit
returns US$20 per month to the farmer [FAO study].
Request instructions
21. Moscovies: Should be on every farm. Eats bad insects, roosts in
trees, needs little purchased food. Good eggs and meat.
22. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature.
Nature always wins.
A. http://rodaleinstitute.org/20101005_birke-baehr-foodfighter-and-future-farmer
B. Available: organic, mini-stock farming
C. craftsmanship.net/drought-fighters/ [OM is the key to soil
fertility]
D. newhope360.com/trends/gmo-engineer-turns-organicdevotee-true-story
E. Free dvd on request
I volunteer my time to teach workshops, worldwide, in
English or Spanish, when expenses are paid.
Ken Hargesheimer, minifarms@gmail.com
The agriculture corporations, farm supply stores and garden centers promote the use of chemicals, inorganic fertilizers
and GMOs for profit; not because it is best for your garden or farm. No one profits promoting organic, no-till
gardening/farming: nothing to sell.
"Plowing the land damages the soil almost as much as chemical weed killers do. It kills nitrogen-fixing bacteria."
Onmivore's Dilemma “No one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing. It can be said with truth that the use of the
plow has actually destroyed the productiveness of our soils.” Edward Faulkner Plow to kill the weeds; that brings to the
surface more seeds to sprout; more weeds to plow up.
Dear Ken, Thank you for the info. I am applying it in my own vegetable patch. It is working. Got about 10 pounds of
potatoes per square yard. This off previously dead low, carbon soil. Sure next crop will be better. Your advise is so
simple. People do not believe me when I tell them. I am so excited about growing things now. This coming from a
commercial plum farmer. Jeremy Karsen, South Africa
We have already started several gardens in Jinkfuin community and the people working on them have benefitted from the
DVDS we received from Ken. We watched the DVDs and got so many lessons and women and men already running
gardens, good ones! Lia, Kimilili
I confirm Ken's advice. I've been using mulch and no-till since the late sixties. It works. It really works. I now manage a
5,000 ft² community garden in its fifth season. It started on hard clay with turf grass using cardboard and mulch. Leaves
are added to the beds every fall and it has never been tilled. It's a beautiful, fruitful garden. I have friends who have sand
and advised them to do the same. They've been very successful as well. It will work anywhere. Judith Hainaut
Uganda: We have been working on improving farming techniques for almost a year. The farmers are planting small
plots that only feed their family. There is no other choice but to try new techniques to improve the output of their plot.
Ken suggested the "no till" farming techniques as well as the "drip system". Both have proven effective at increasing
production by at least 5 fold. The time is now for Kyomya to become a model agricultural village. [nabuur.com]
Ken has instructed us by introducing cover crops to improve the organic nature of the soil. This involves less work than
the previous method and has resulted in double the yield from crops where this method has been implemented.’ Busukuma,
nabuur.com
Appropriate Technology:
Bicycle trailer [cargo, passengers, tank]
1.
2.
3.
Clothes washer [saves hours of work]
Composting toilet [inside house]
Solar cooker
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Solar food drier [vegetables, fruit, meat]
i4@org/surv/solarbox.htm
solarfooddryer.com/mother_earth_news_a
rticle.pdf
solarcookers.org
Humanure.org [toilet]
e.
youtube.com/watch?v=riqYz2WEfRQ
[clothes washer
f.publications.cta.int/en/publications/publicatio
n/1802/. solar