Newly planted salad greens with surface stubble remaining

Beds in the Kyusei garden have been lightly turned and raised by adding soil from pathways throughout the garden to raise beds and bury surface debris. The soil has been opened with a broad fork (a garden fork which spans an impressive 80cm width) instead of being dug over and the beds are exposed to allow soil temperatures to raise. The ground is not overworked and maintains good soil structure while being open enough for plants to spread their roots.

As well as minimizing tillage, Kyusei farming principals also call for maximum ground coverage throughout the growing season. So once the soil is exposed and ready it is a race to plant and to establish good ground coverage through mulching with straw. This aids the biological processes of the soil creating habitat for microbes to thrive and provides nutrients and moisture retention come summer stopping the soil surface from drying up.

Weekly applications of EM (Effective Micro-organisms) are in use on the garden from now on. Stay tuned to find out more about how EM is used to treat the Kyusei garden.

MattD

Four year rotation plan:

0) Green manure. The first and last in rotation is a green manure crop. This is not a cash crop but a crop which is grown purely for the benefit of building the health of the soil and in order to fix nitrogen and increase soil carbon.

1) Pioneer crops. Second in rotation are the crops that are heavy feeders and will benefit being placed after a green manure. They do not mind well structured soil and crop residue and are competitive against weeds. Examples are corn and squash.

2) Clean up crops. Clean up crops are either quick growing or their growth habit, harvest or soil cultivation methods may also be used to control weeds. Examples are quick growing greens and potatoes which require mounding and digging before planting and after harvest.

3) Follow up crops. Follow up crops are non competitive and light feeding crops that either spend a long time in the ground before they are harvested or struggle to compete with weed pressure. They are placed last in crop rotation in order to benefit from previous ground work, tilth and weed control from previous crops.

4) A green manure crop is sewn looping the rotation back and bring back soil structure lost to cropping.

Stay tuned for bi-monthly updates on the Kyusei Garden progress.

Matt Donn

This week courses commence at the BHU and the ground lies in green cover from previous tenure. The cherry tree, in full blossom, marks the sign of spring and seedlings wait to be transplanted once the Kyusei garden beds have been rejuvenate.
MattD

The field day held was well received with over 40 people attending, from far afield as Invercargill.  Sunny warm weather made for a great day exploring the well known organic Harts Creek Farm, and hearing about the uses of EM® on the property.

Harts Creek Farm has been a long term user of EM® technology (15 yrs), and has been a leader in the innovative use of this technology in many different ways on the farm. Farm owners, Tim Chamberlain and Rose Donaghy were fantastic hosts for the day.

The day started with an introduction by Mike Daly with an overview of the afternoon’s events and the history of EM® use on the Chamberlains property. Keynote speaker Dr Ravi Sangakkara from Sri Lanka, was introduced to the participants and shared his experiences of EM®, including how EM® works and case studies from around the globe. Dr Sangakkara is internationally acclaimed for his knowledge of Crop Agronomy and the integration of EM® into farming systems.

Tim Chamberlain gave an explanation of his use of EM® on Harts Creek farm, and showed the group around part of the property. This was a good opportunity for people to ask questions about his experience with using EM® and also about the organic practices used on his property. This well known organic farm is at the forefront of producing, fresh vegetables, specialist vegetable seed crops, innovative functional food crops and livestock.

Whilst walking around the property it was noted how healthy the soil looked. Several holes were dug by Tim to show the participants the soil structure.

Graeme Pyle talked about the latest innovation at Harts Creek Farm, a fertigation pump which delivers EM® through the Centre Pivot irrigator, this proved very interesting for a lot of people, as well as how EM® can be used on a smaller home garden scale.

A corn field recently harvested was strewn with remaining corn stems. The cattle had first dibs on the stems, before EM® was applied via the irrigation system to further aid in the breakdown of this organic matter.

Following the fertigation display, the group then made their way back to the vehicles via a clean flowing stream surrounded by native riparian plantings; an indicator of good water management practices.

A convoy southward brought everyone to the Chamberlain’s home. Tim showed the group his wheatgrass crop ready for harvest, then proceeded to his carrot crop, harvested the day before. Sheep were making the most of the carrots that didn’t make the grade, and were doing a good job of cleaning up the paddock.

Mike Daly, summarised the day and spoke about the EM Farmer First Groups. These are regional based discussion groups which allow farmers to research and compare how EM® applications perform on their farms. There is currently a group in Tapanui – Southland involved, with the plan for more regions to become involved as interest develops. An opportunity to receive more information about EM® was given to the group before heading to the Chamberlain’s residence for barbeque and drinks.

Overall the day was a great success. It was a wonderful opportunity to see a large scale organic system in operation in conjunction with the use of EM®.  It was clear that the use of EM® is contributing to the overall success of the property, and gave the participants the chance to further their knowledge of the product and how it can be used.

Harts Creek farm is hosting a field day for interested farmers and others.  This well known organic farm is at the forefront of producing fresh vegetables, specialist vegetable seed crops, innovative functional food crops and livestock. Harts Creek Farm has been a long term user of EM technology (15 yrs), and has been a leader in the innovative use of this technology in many different ways on the farm.

Farm owners, Tim Chamberlain and Rose Donaghy, in conjunction with the New Zealand Nature Farming Society (NZNFS) are hosting this event on Saturday 30 April 2011, starting at 1.30pm with a farm tour and concluding at 4pm, with BBQ and refreshments from 4-6pm.  Tim and Rose will host this day, and the theme will be:  EM on Harts Creek Farm..…. 15 years on.  Lessons learnt!  What works…and what doesn’t!

The field day is the first in a series of seminars to be held in Canterbury, Nelson and Blenheim by the New Zealand Nature Farming Society.  This tour will show case the use of EM (Effective microorganisms) in food production (Farming, Viticulture, Waste Management) and will feature a world expert, Dr Ravi Sangakkara from Sri Lanka, PhD at Massey in NZ, now considered the foremost authority on crop agronomy and the integration of EM into systems for productivity. The feature day will be a visit to Harts Creek Farm,  known for its innovation and leading light vision for  the progression of Organic Farming in New Zealand.

The focus of the day will be; Experiences gained over 15 years of EM use on Harts Creek Farm