Veganic Agriculture Network

Sheet mulching with cardboard and potatoes

Meghan — 2013-05-11T18:11:25Z

This is a technique that revolutionizes the way we typically think of starting a new garden, and the way we typically think of growing potatoes. After learning this technique, it's hard to go back to the old time-consuming and higher-maintenance methods!

This technique only involves 4 ingredients: cardboard, a knife, potatoes that are starting to sprout, and organic matter like hay, straw and leaves. Inspired by permaculture principles, with this technique you can convert an existing lawn into a new garden patch, and have a harvest of potatoes with almost no maintenance.

How-To

Starting the potato patch garden:

Ideally, start in the springtime within a month after the snow has melted and the ground has defrosted.

Pick up a lot of cardboard that was destined for the wastestream. The bigger the better. Ideally, visit bike shops or furniture stores to get large pieces of cardboard. If you have smaller pieces, you'll need a larger quantity to do the technique successfully. Remove anything from the cardboard that shouldn't be in your garden (tape, staples, etc.).

Pick a spot to start your potato patch. You can start the potato patch on a lawn, in a prairie, or in an existing garden. If there is vegetation present (grass, dandelions, etc.) there is no need to remove it. Though, you should flatten any existing vegetation---for example, by placing a piece of cardboard on the vegetation and dancing on it for a few seconds.

Cover the parcel with big pieces of cardboard. The underlying plants will be blocked from the sunlight and will eventually die off. You need to make sure that your pieces of cardboard overlap each other significantly (by 30cm or 1 foot). This ensures grass and dandelions underneath can't manipulate their way past the cardboard toward the sunlight.

Overlapping the cardboard

Grab your exacto knife or a kitchen knife. Make an X in the cardboard to create an opening. Add another X about every 25-30cm (10-12 inches).

Place a potato in each of these openings. The potato should be sitting directly on the ground (on top of a lawn, for example). Ensure that one of the potato's eyes is coming out of the opening. Slightly close the opening---ideally the potato should be hidden under the cardboard, with the eye of the potato exposed to the sunlight. The eye of the potato will become a stem and will produce leaves. There shouldn't be any grass or other vegetation coming out of the opening.

Cutting X's in the cardboard and adding potatoes

Cover all the cardboard with a thick layer of airy organic matter. Hay and straw are perfect, added in a layer about 15-20cm (6-8 inches) thick. The potato eye will eventually make its way through the straw or hay to the sunlight. At the Veganic Agriculture Network, we have never tried this method with leaves... if you try it, let us know if it works for you or not!

Note: if the soil is dry and if rain is not in the forecast over the next few days, it's recommended to water a little at each step while constructing the new potato patch.

Hay vs. straw: Hay is high in nutrients and will act as a fertilizer when it decomposes, though it may also harbour perenniel weed seeds. Straw should be free from any weed seeds, though it is poor in nutrients. Straw will add organic matter to your soil, but will not act as a meaningful fertilizer. Hay also blocks the light more efficiently than straw, so straw may need to be added in a thicker layer. Use what you have available!

Maintaining the potato patch garden:

The potato patch requires essentially no maintenance. If your layer of straw or hay mulch is thick enough, theoretically you can go on vacation for the next three or four months, and return for the harvest.

Why the straw or hay mulch has to be thick:

no weeding: the mulch helps block the sunlight from any underlying weeds
no watering: the mulch retains moisture and limits evaporation, so regular watering shouldn't be necessary except in very dry climates or very dry seasons.
no toxic potatoes: if potatoes are exposed to sunlight, they turn green and are toxic to eat. Having a thick mulch ensures that the potatoes are always covered, even if the cardboard begins to biodegrade.

*You may need to add more mulch mid-season to ensure that the potatoes are not exposed to sunlight.

Harvesting the potato patch garden:

Pushing back the mulch and leftover cardboard to harvest the potatoes

This is the best part. As the days get cooler and the potato plants start to look dry and somewhat brown, it's harvest time. Push back your mulch, lift up the cardboard... and voila! Potatoes! No need to dig---the potatoes are just sitting there, on the surface of the soil, waiting to be harvested.

How is this possible? Because potatoes don't actually need to grow in the soil. They just need contact with the soil so their root system has access to water and nutrients. Potatoes are typically buried in the soil because they sprout and turn green if they have contact with light. But in this technique, we achieve the same goal of preserving the quality of our potatoes by covering them in cardboard and mulch rather than with soil.

Why to consider this method for starting a new garden

Often when people start a new garden, they remove the top layer (the lawn). The consequences: loss of organic matter, loss of topsoil, loss of microbial life. Gardeners often then dig or till the underlying soil, and then leave the soil exposed for the season. The consequences: an inhospitable environment for soil fauna, increased erosion, and dry or caked soil on the surface.

In ecological gardening, we need to think outside the box. Or, more fittingly, we need to think about the box. Covering the existing vegetation (lawn) with cardboard boxes brings the advantages we seek, without any of the problems.

Building our soil: Rather than removing the grass and weeds, we leave them in place. They become our first layer of compost. The cardboard will eventually biodegrade, and the straw and hay mulch will biodegrade in a season or two. These also provide organic matter for the soil. Instead of tossing out our soil, we're building it up.

Supporting soil life: Instead of removing or disturbing the valuable microbial life in our soil, we're providing them with a suitable habitat and sources of nourishment. In turn, they'll make the soil more fertile and improve its structure.

Protecting the soil: With a thick mulch in place, there is little chance of erosion. The soil will remain humid and have a more steady temperature.

So, what's the catch? Can this potato patch method fail? That depends on your goals. If you have poor soil quality, compacted soil or a heavy clay soil, you can't necessarily expect a great potato harvest, and you may be disappointed by the results if your main objective is eating potatoes. However, over the coarse of the season you will have improved the quality of your soil both in terms of organic matter content and soil structure, so the land will be easier to work with and more fertile when you begin a more diversified garden the second year.

If you envision having a large garden, you can start a portion each year using the potato patch method. This method is also appropriate for preparing the land for trees, shrubs and forest gardens.

Why to consider this method for growing potatoes in an existing garden

The traditional way of growing potatoes involves digging the soil to loosen it, creating a trench, and burying the potatoes in the trench under the soil. During the summer, to ensure that the potatoes aren't exposed to light (since they would become green and toxic), more soil is hilled up around the potato plants on a regular basis. At the end of the season, the soil mounds are disrupted to dig up the potatoes. Overall, this technique involves more presence and energy from the gardener over the coarse of the season. And working the soil will deplete the soil of nutrients and microbial life, while leading to increased erosion.

The cardboard method may require more involvement during the initial planting (finding cardboard and hay or straw), though afterwards the technique is incredibly low-maintenance, with essentially no weeding or watering. For gardeners who enjoy the ease of a low-maintenance garden, this is a much easier way to grow potatoes. And, most importantly, the soil is protected from erosion, the soil structure is improved, and the microbial life is supported.

This is also a great technique for dealing with weedy patches in an existing garden: instead of removing the unwanted plants by hand, you can simply stifle them by covering them with cardboard and organic mulch, while reaping a harvest of potatoes at the end of the season.

Animal Place Veganic Farm

Meghan — 2013-03-17T18:02:44Z

Animal Place (www.animalplace.org) has been providing refuge to neglected farmed animals since 1989 on their sanctuary in California. More recently, they launched a 3-acre veganic farm, a working proof of the concept that domesticated animals are not necessary to grow food. In conjunction with the resident animal ambassadors, Animal Place's veganic farm educates visitors about how their food is produced and demonstrates a healthier, more compassionate way of eating and living.

The farm is managed by two farmers, Stephanie and Greg, along with the help of one or two interns, and occasional help from volunteers. To learn more about interning, visit animalplace.org/vegan-farm-internship. Please note that the internship positions are quickly filled, and applications are accepted in the fall for the upcoming spring. The farmers also provide regular information about the veganic farm through a blog (http://growitkindly.wordpress.com/) and a facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/growitkindly).

Animal Place's veganic farm participates in the USDA funded national program Farm to School. They stock an after-school veggie cart for a local elementary school, where children and their parents can take home free (or by donation) veganic produce and information about Animal Place. The kids visit the farm in the springtime to get hands on experience with veganic farming, and to meet Animal Place's resident animal ambassadors and hear their stories. Animal Place donates seedlings in the spring to encourage families to grow their own food veganically.

In 2013, Animal Place's veganic farm begins their first season as a CSA. They also sell wholesale to a local natural foods store and several vegan restaurants in the Grass Valley and Sacramento areas, as well as at a farmer's market.

Part of the harvest is also shared with the resident animal ambassadors who live on the sanctuary. All sales from the veganic farm directly benefit the rescue, care and advocacy for farmed animals at Animal Place.

Animal Place's veganic farm uses a full spectrum of proven techniques that have been developed by innovative farmers such as John Jeavons and Iain Tollhurst and they “veganize” the techniques that many successful organic farmers having been using for years.

For green manures and cover crops, they use a readily available mix of peas, cowbell beans and oats. As soil amendments, they use soybean meal, kelp meal, rock phosphates, alfalfa tea, and green waste compost. For potting soil, in addition to the base of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite, they are beginning experiments with alfalfa tea and complementary veganic fertilizers.

They grow a diverse selection of vegetable crops in order to provide ample variety to their CSA members and farmers markets. Their young orchard features figs, asian pears and permissions, and the perennial flower and herb garden attracts pollinators and other beneficial insects.

The veganic farm sits on a 600-acre piece of property, as part of the nonprofit Animal Place. Most of the land is a nature preserve, with another large portion reserved for pastures and barns for the rescued animals. The acreage of farmed land for food production is 3 acres but can be expanded in the future.

The soil on the farm is a clay loam. The climate is Mediterranean: hot and dry in the summer, cool and wet in the other seasons. The challenges on the farm include heavy rains which deplete the soils of nutrients and organic matter, and sloped land with poor drainage near the bottom. They are working to improve the soil fertility with an extensive program of cover cropping and amendments, and they will be taking measures to improve the hydrology while assuring that there is no net loss of wetland habitat.

The vegan ethic of least harm is extended to all areas of the farm. For example, they don't use violent and fatal traps to deter wild animals such as gophers and voles; instead, they make use of live traps and the adjacent nature preserve to relocate the animals. They offer habitats for song birds and native predators, which helps reduce the problems of insects and overpopulations of rodents on the farm, while reestablishing the natural ecology of the land around them.

Animal Place's veganic farm provides a working example that food can be grown without the use of domesticated animals. This links into Animal Place's overarching goals of providing education and outreach activities that promote compassion, respect and responsibility for all life.

Farming to Create Heaven on Earth

Stéphane — 2013-02-14T23:48:09Z

In the book Farming to Create Heaven on Earth, American journalist Lisa M. Hamilton provides an overview and her insight into the farming movement called Natural Agriculture. This approach to farming is based on a deep reverence for nature. Born in Japan, the Natural Farming movement now has numerous farms and demonstration centres throughout the world. In this book, you'll find the stories of different Japanese farmers and consumers who practice this philosophy-based approach to growing and eating food.

Note: The Natural Agriculture movement uses fertility techniques that, in general, do not include animal products.

HAMILTON, Lisa. Farming to Create Heaven on Earth, Shumei International Press, 2007, 185 p.

Growing Sustainability

Stéphane — 2013-02-14T04:06:58Z

The book is a compilation of the writings of Dave of Darlington – a treasury of useful information for gardeners and farmers, gleaned from Dave's long experience and enhanced by well-informed thoughts on the ethics and politics behind farming.

Available at the Vegan organic Network.

DARLINGTON, Dave. Growing Sustainability. Vegan-Organic Network, 2011, 320 p.

Veganic Forest Gardening Workshop: Québec, May 10-12

Meghan — 2013-01-29T18:06:15Z

Forest Gardening Workshop

May 10-12, 2013

http://www.thelivingcentre.com/cms/forest-gardening-quebec

An experiential learning experience will reveal the nature of ecosystem architecture, social structure, and our interconnectedness.

Forest Gardening and Deep Ecology is a practice, yet it also represents a radically new way of seeing our landscapes and our world. Seeing nature as a model of wellness; we can grow a diverse range of plants together in mutually beneficial groupings that are primarily self-maintaining.

An achievable Paradise that can be created in a rural field, a suburban yard, or even a vacant city backyard.

Forest Gardening is the art and science of growing plants in patterns that support mutually beneficial relationships, which create a garden that takes its vision from nature and the natural ecology of a young forest. We can grow fruits, vegetable, herbs, medicinal plants and other useful plants. By mincing the way nature creates healthy eco-systems we can create beautiful, high-yield, diverse gardens that are largely self-maintaining. Forest Gardening offers design systems that support a diversity of landscapes from rural to dense urban settings. This particular training is focused on how to create your garden in a temperate zone.

Forest Gardening allows us to achieve the same benefits that natural systems demonstrate: stability, resilience, self-maintenance, self-renewal, and increased nutrient conservation at personal and ecological levels.

Deep Ecology is a holistic approach to facing world problems. Bringing thinking, feeling, spirituality and action together it looks deeply at humanity's relationship with the natural world so that we can move beyond the individualism of Western culture towards seeing ourselves as part of the earth, no longer something 'out there' but something that we are intricately a part of. It helps us to creatively address our feelings as we face the social and ecological crisis in our world. Deep Ecology draws on the new science of Living Systems and ancient Indigenous wisdom.

Facilitators: Passionate, long-time gardeners, forest gardeners, permaculturists, herbalist and ecospiritual guides, Shantree Kacera D.N., Ph.D. and Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera, invite you to discover this remarkable model for creating inner and outer gardens that support self, community and Earth.

What You Will Learn:
• Edible Forest Gardening Theory
• Vegan Organic Gardening
• Conscious partnering with Nature
• Regional Adaptation
• Importance of Biodiversity
• Conventional vs. Organic vs. Wild
• Growing your own Super Foods
• Garden planning and Companion Planting
• The on-going unity of organism/environment
• Practical tools for the regeneration of oneself & the Earth

Hands-On Learning
• Reading the landscape & Understanding Elemental Flows
• Cultivating Soil Building Practices
• Effective Microorganisms (EM)
• Role of Effective Microorganisms in Creating Healthy Gardens
• Composting and Mulching Practices
• Vermiculture: The Miracle Work of Earthworms
• Plant Identification of local wild & cultivated plants
• Ecological Sustainable Gardening Practices
• Organic Insect Control
• Growing Indigenous Plants
• How to Create Microclimates
• Seed Saving and the Essentiality of Biodiversity

Contact & to Register
Date: May 10-12, 2013
Fri. 6:30-9pm. Sat. & Sun. 9-5:30pm
Fee: $350. plus taxes
(Early Bird Special, $300. - before March 1, 2013

Contact: Jude
Phone 450-245-7870
515 Chemin de Saint Cyprien,
Saint Cyprien de Napierville, Québec, Canada
J0J-1L0
Fore more info:
www.thelivingcentre.com

The knowledge of Manfred Wenz

Stéphane — 2013-01-07T04:44:42Z

We are in Victoriaville, a small town in Quebec Province, Canada. It's February 28th 2006, Manfred Wenz just arrived from Germany to share his experience of different sustainable and regenerative farming practices. Four days of talk and slides with 180 people listening and thinking. From conventional farming he went on to direct sowing, without fertilizer for the last 30 years!

This guy has tried everything. Starting to grow maize conventionally in 1954 on his 30 ha farm, he justdestroyed his soil using pesticides and chemical fertiliser, and deep-ploughing (up to 45 cm deep) while rotating wheat and maize. In 1970, of what used to be 60 cm of rich, dark humus there remained nothing but an eroded, compacted, subsoil-coloured soil. No more life. Dead soil. Facing the facts, he converted to organic. But repeated passages and soil work didn't help at all. It was only in 1980 that the answer came when he met Hans Kemink.

Kemink developed an approach and machinery in order to make permanent beds and avoid ploughing. This way, the tractor never compacts the growing area and the soil fauna keeps an undisturbed space. The machinery consists of two ridge wings to bring soil onto the beds from the path, and one sub-soiling tooth to lighten the bed. All crop residues are left on the middle of the bed to compost.

Even though it helped a lot to bring back life and humus, it wasn't enough for Wenz, who was inspired by his travels in Brazil. There, he saw many different organic direct-sowing techniques and even bought a direct-sowing machine to experiment in Germany. But it took 10 years before succeeding in adapting the techniques.

Learning from nature

To succeed, he had to develop a great understanding of the way Nature works. For him, Nature owns all the necessary tools to heal herself. “Nature has existed for 3 billion years; human farms for 10,000 years. From rock, Nature has developed all the good soil and plants we know now.” Wenz distinguishes four main natural mechanisms:

1. Soil fauna
In the soil, there is a system, a whole chain of life with about 1 kg of living organisms per square meter. “Nature has developed a series of specialists, billions of them interacting. No such thing as a parasite to be eliminated. Just like a tractor needs all its parts to work, so does Nature. So Wenz was especially affectionate of earthworms because they produce the best humus ever: worm casts are not wasted, keeping nutrients where plants go to feed themselves. Worms go up to 15 cm from their holes to get plant residues, making a tiny compost heap over it. Once softened and pre-composted by other organisms, worms digest it. Depending on the soil vitality, the number of holes goes from 200 to 350 per square meter. This would bring about 1 cm of good soil to the surface, which makes something like 100 m3 of worm cast per hectare. That‘s the equivalent of 5 to 6 cows per hectare! The rest of the soil organisms equal another 20 cows/ha more! So who said we need farm animals for manure?

2. The presence of plants
For Nature, a bare soil is a desert, an exposed soil becomes pale and dead like the subsoil.
Naturally, the soil will rapidly get covered by weeds, what Wenz called “healing plants”: the soil knows its needs, so heads toward balance and recovery, just like a wound closing, Nature will grow the necessary plants. So in his five-year rotation, Wenz starts by letting these healing plants grow. A free green manure! Moreover, plants are able to extract insoluble nutrients by their association with micro-organisms in their rhizosphere.

3. Shade
By covering the ground, the plants protect against erosion, and create shade. Thus conditions become favourable for the soil fauna. The absence of light, produced by plants and mulches, also prevents other plants from growing or germinating. In the shade of the cover the ground develops a very fine layer of soil which hardens after harvest. To benefit from this particular condition, Wenz makes sure that a field is resown the very same day.

4. Successive layers
In Nature, nothing is buried. Everything accumulates in successive layers on the surface of the ground. A 3 cm layer, "the litter", breaks up these vegetable residues. The seeds do not germinate in this zone. Beautiful hay at the stage when one gives it to the cows is best to serve as mulch.

Now comes the direct sowing

For direct seeding in spring, one should first have in his field a plant that has suvived through winter. This plant being alive in spring, it will drains the soil from water. At the same time, such a plant should be able to stand up, allowing the sun to warm up the soil and activate life. The seeds of the desired crop must be sown 4 cm deep in order to be under the decomposition layer.

One such technique consists in establishing a rye green manure in the autumn. In spring, this is layed down at the flowering stage with a roller which breaks the stems. The root continues to push the sap until exhaustion. If it were cut, the rye would start a new stem. The roller is in front of the tractor and the seeder is behind. This way only one pass is necessary in spring, followed by another one at harvest time. That is fuel saving! One similar technique has been practised since 2002 in the United States. Moreover, the Rodale Institute has a research program on the subject (www.newfarm.org). With this method, soybean makes its pods over mulch and remains clean from weeds.

For cereals, Wenz developed a tool able to work the ground precisely. Composed of blades shaped like a goose foot, it cuts the cover of white clover 4 cm high and deposits cereal right under this carpet. Wenz appreciated white clover for its small surface root system with a deep spiralling root going to the water table, while producing stolons (running roots) up to 50 cm long. Thus, this clover covers ground quickly if it is mowed or grazed, preventing even couch grass from settling. This clover carpet protects wheat, acting as an insulator. The sowing rate is 6-7 kg/ha using the varieties Huia, Nanouk or Kaia.

His main rotation looks like:

Spring: light harrowing followed by white clover sowing and growth of the healing plants. During the season, first he'll cut these plants; later on he'll cut both clover and healing plants. In autumn, the clover covers the field and the winter wheat is directly seeded. This first year serves to feed earthworms.
Spring: wheat grows on a bed/background of clover. After the harvest, by the end of July, the clover regrows. In autumn, the clover is lifted to weaken it before sowing wheat again.
Spring: same as last year. When harvesting, the straw is left on the ground to feed the ground fauna. In autumn, light soil work, and rye sowing.
Spring: rye harvest, followed by light soil work to let lost rye seeds and healing plants grow.
Spring: rolling the rye and direct sowing of spelt, lupins, or soybeans.

A special crop is false flax (camelina sativa) from the cabbage family. Producing seeds for oil, it is inexpensive and a good companion for soybeans, field beans, and safflower. In mixed cropping, false flax ripens ten days before soybeans and stays until both are harvested. Being good heating oil, Wenz uses 30% of his production to fuel his tractors. As green manure, it makes a straight vertical stem that covers the soil rapidly.

Now, Wenz's farm is owned by his son Friedrich who brought in biodynamics, even though they have been using no animal manure, no compost and no ploughing (since 1969). But they now use bio-dynamic ‘preparations'for soil amendment, some of which can be based on animal by-products so of course are not vegan-organic. Their wheat is sold to a local biodynamic bakery which neither buys nor sells any products farther then 14 kms. It seems that Friedrich went bio-dynamic in order to supply this bakery; the ‘preparations' are not necessary for the growing system. For Wenz, the idea isn't to reproduce exactly his method, but to dare to try and think about alternative ways. "The humus is the capital. One must live on interest and work to increase this capital. If not, the survival of our children is mortgaged." Today, Wenz has brought back 50% of the humus destroyed and wishes he had understood Nature earlier.

More about Manfred Wenz method: www.eco-dyn.com (in French or German)

Systemic approach more efficient than GMOs

Stéphane — 2013-01-07T04:41:20Z

The systemic approach is a method of breeding plant varieties that are hearty and resistant to all forms of stress, such as disease and drought. In the systemic approach, traditional principles of plant breeding are used, though the plants are subjected to a wide range of stresses, and only the most resistant plants are selected for continued breeding. The systemic approach offers a promising alternative to GMO's, and it produces results that go beyond our expectations.

GMO's have become commonplace in fields and on supermarket shelves, despite the uncertain health and environmental implications. GMO's can cross-pollinate with traditional and organic varieties, resulting in mutant plants and contaminated food supplies. Nevertheless, companies continue to drive forward the genetic modification of plants, under the banner of creating plants with sought-after features or increased resistance. With the systemic approach, however, we can develop plant varieties that are all-around resistant and versatile, without the negative drawbacks associated with GMO's.

Systemic seed selection with specialist André Comeau

André Comeau, a researcher for the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture for 35 years, maintains that the systemic approach offers a sustainable avenue for seed selection, and increased food security in the face of climate change. In fact, he succeeded in ‘tuning up' a wheat plant to be all-around resistant. To achieve this, he simply applied the principles of traditional breeding and genetic selection, but with a systemic approach that takes into account as many factors as possible. The results have been significant.


Selecting wheat seeds

Glassy, shiny with a smooth surface… these are some of the characteristics of the wheat grains sorted by this cereals plants' specialist. His work consists of developing germplasms and mother plants used by breeders to produce the cereal varieties intended for farmers.

Typically, breeders asked the researcher for a plant possessing particular characteristics, such as virus resistance, short straw, or higher protein content in the grain. But after collaborating with the Brazilian researcher Vandelei Caetano, Mr. Comeau realised that we can't isolate one characteristic from the rest. “Everything is interrelated." For example, if we increase virus resistance to fusarium, we often decrease yields. "There are dozens of parameters. The systemic approach strives to integrate and correlate these multiple factors when it comes to selecting the best plants."

In the systemic approach, we use the same selection tools as before, while we consider the overall system: pest and disease resistance, morphology, yields and root system, also taking into account the agricultural system in which these plants are grown. “The simplistic approach - where we try to simplify the situation to achieve a specific result - ends up by taking one step forward, then one step back. A systemic approach, which encompasses a high number of parameters, gives us a positive result without any bad surprises. If we continue for several years, keeping many parameters, we end up with a striking increase in genetic material possessing the desired characteristics." When using the systemic approach, Mr. Comeau says researchers should use 10 times greater biodiversity of seed, and maintain 10 times greater severity of conditions than in traditional selection, while basing the tests on a high number of different parameters.

The Wheat Plant Example


A naturally selected super wheat plant

Knowing the desired characteristics required by breeders, the researcher submitted many types of wheat plants to different sorts of stress (poor soil, disease, pest, drought, soil deficiencies) and kept only the best subjects. In 2003, during his first attempt on 9000 plants, only one plant was retained. In 2006, the quantity of resistant plants this time was over 300. “We weren't able to make them sick. Resistant to every stress, these plants showed a good capacity to produce grains. The results: less farm inputs are required because the plants' needs are null or reduced in pesticides, and because the plants have a better capacity to take and make use of soil nutrients.” Besides that, the 2006 trials were mainly conducted without pesticides in soils that had never been farmed.

Comparison between GMO's and the systemic approach

GMO	Systemic approach
Addition of the desired characteristic by modifying the genetic code of only one plant.	By elimination: discarding the least adapted plants among a multitude of plants.
We start with a wheat plant coming from a renowned agronomic line. In laboratories, we add a characteristic by inserting genes (coming from other plants, microorganisms or animals) in the cell nucleus.	We start with many different strands of wheat in order to have a wide genetic diversity. We expose those plants to different environmental stresses, and we select the most resistant plants. We repeat this for many years, crossing over the better subjects from previous years and exposing them to new stresses.
Doesn't use the natural process of pollination. Rather, the gene is forced into the cell with the use of bacteria or by bombarding the cell with a particle canon (method called biolistic).	Uses the natural reproduction processes – pollination – but achieved manually.
The new plant has never existed before: it has a different genetic code than the original plant. Many fear unexpected long term effects on health or on the environment. There ought to be mandatory years of studies to validate their safety.	The resulting plant is a wheat plant, like the others, but corresponding to the desired characteristics.
The development cost is very expensive and involves hefty fees.	Prediction: Will become less costly to create new varieties that are resistant to all forms of stress.

Unfortunately, funds are orienting research toward biotechnology and focalised research, instead of a systemic approach. For 12 years, Mr. Comeau was denied many requests for financing on the the pretext that his approach lacked interest or sense. However, in 2003, a commercial producer federation backed Mr. Comeau's ideas and now a grain research centre is preparing to research organic wheat. The development of the systemic approach also faces a lack of interest in the academic domain. “As far as I know, for five years, no Quebec university has offered a practical course in Applied Genetics although this approach is five to ten times less costly than biotechnology and it's the only efficient method when it comes to considering several parameters at once.” Nor should we forget that genetic engineering requires significant infrastructure, and becomes complicated by issues of rights and patents granted to private companies.

Over time, Mr. Comeau's ideas have won ground and many breeders use his strands in order to create new varieties. New avenues also look fruitful. For the last two years, he has chosen not to sterilize his soils. Indeed, laboratory researchers always sterilize soil substrates to ensure no microbes or weeds interfere with the experiment. “We already find that wheat plants are able to compete with weeds, and we are rediscovering the beneficial action of microorganisms around roots, either to help plants resist disease, or to fix a bit of nitrogen (with the help of Azospirillum). During a drought period, a bit of nitrogen at the surface of the roots can be vital, because the plant has great difficulty in obtaining nutrients. As we face climate change, we must take that into account, especially with the arrival of extreme weather (wind, sleet, cold, heat, drought, and flood) where our present crops are at risk.”

In brief, Andre Comeau eagerly wishes to share with academics, scientists and the general public both the great potential and tangible proof of the success of the systemic approach to adapt our crops to climate change. Such an approach can be applied worldwide and is surely helpful for veganic growers, too.

Growing Green: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Stéphane — 2012-12-29T22:28:38Z

Graham Cole demonstrates how you can feed your family on your allotment and garden using vegetable compost and green manures to obtain good crops of high nutritional value. No poisons or artificial fertilisers are used. This method is the kindest to the environment and all Earth's creatures.

Presenter Graham Cole is head gardener at Holywell House, Hampshire. Graham has 20 years experience growing crops stockfree organically, sustainably and ethically.

Produced by David Graham. Made with a grant from The Movement for Compassionate Living.

View online : Growing Green: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Community composts

Meghan — 2012-01-16T18:01:20Z

Community composting is an option for composting collectively with others in our neighborhood. Community composts are especially suited to neighborhoods where there isn't appropriate space for individual backyard composts, such as apartment blocks or residential areas surrounded by asphalt. Community composts have the advantage of making composting accessible regardless of land access. They also reduce the overall surface area devoted to compost bins by using models with larger volumes where many people can compost together.

Types of collective composts

Collective composts can take many different forms. In its simplist form, you can begin a collective compost by gathering together a few friends or neighbours, and starting a communal compost bin in one person's backyard. Or collective composts can be run through an apartment building, a church or a school to offer composting options to this specific group of people. Community gardens often run collective composts, open to those who already garden at the site.

Though ideally, all citizens should have access to community compost projects in their neighborhood. We can start community compost bins in public spaces that are open to all citizens who choose to sign up. This type of project can be run by environmental groups, and offered to dozens or hundreds of citizens, with the possibility of receiving funding from the city or from grant programs. We've even seen community compost projects where the organic waste was picked up from people's homes by bicycle—there are many possibilities! Also, some collective compost projects are started by social enterprises, where the citizens pay a small fee for having access to the compost services and the resulting mature compost.

While many municipalities now offer curb-side pickup of organic waste, often this excludes apartment buildings and condos. Municipal compost also tends to accept animal products, diapers, etc., making the resulting compost less than ideal for aspiring organic and veganic gardeners. So even in cases where the city offers compost pickup, there are still compelling reasons to run community compost projects.

The following information gives the basics for starting non-profit community compost projects that are open to the public, though much of the same information applies to other types of collective compost projects.

Getting started

Community composts are often run by a local environmental group, a community garden or a neighborhood association. If you are interested in starting community composts, start either by approaching an existing group that may be interested in the project, or gather together a group of motivated citizens who would like to undertake and manage the project.

Managing a community compost project takes a group of active and committed volunteers, and larger-scale projects often require regular sources of funding in order to hire a project leader. When first embarking, ensure that the group has the passion and availability to start the project, as well as the intention to continue managing the site once it's up and running. Ideally, recruit volunteers with a mix of skills and interests: construction, fundraising, administration. You may have the most luck recruiting active gardeners, as they have a special interest in the resulting compost.

Finding a site

Scope out your neighborhood for locations where the land owners might be willing to accept a community compost project: churches, schools, non-profits, businesses, parks. Grassy surfaces are best, though asphalt surfaces are also a possibility. Community composts should be located in residential areas so that citizens can easily access the location on foot. Approach the land owners with a project proposal, being sure to emphasize the benefits of compost, and your plans for properly managing the compost site, free from odours.

Bins and materials

Look for funding opportunities and volunteer builders to construct the compost bins. You may find support through local businesses, the municipality, and environmental grant programs. You could run a fundraising event, or ask for a contribution from new members of the community compost.

There are generally three large bins per site. One is active, where people can add food scraps and dried leaves. One is in dormance, where the maturing compost sits for several months before being harvested. And a third bin or a shed holds all the collective materials: dried leaves or other carbon-rich materials, pitchforks and shovels, a log-book, etc. This could also take the form of one long bin with two or three separate compartments. Large wooden bins are especially appropriate, and can be repaired over the years. They will need to be changed every few years as the wood begins to decompose. Compost bins can be made out of reclaimed materials, such as wooden pallets. Though, attention should be paid to the workmanship and aesthetics of the compost bins to ensure they are appreciated by those who are lending you space. When deciding on the size of your bins, you may wish to perform a "waste audit" in advance to roughly anticipate the quantities of organic waste that will be added by the participants.

You will need sufficient carbon-rich materials for the entire year. Other people's bagged leaves are perfect: in the fall, you can collect enormous quantities of bagged leaves from the neighborhood. However, you'll need a location where you can store an entire year's supply of bagged leaves (a fourth bin, perhaps?) In the event that you don't have enough leaves, other carbon-rich materials are available, like cardboard and sawdust from untreated wood.

Members

The bins can be locked with combination locks. This way, the only people who have access are those who are registered members for the community compost. This avoids issues with non-members misusing the space as a garbage bin.

All new members should receive a basic orientation in how to compost, to ensure that they only add appropriate materials, as well as sufficient carbon-rich materials. You can leave an instruction list at the compost site clearly indicating which organic materials are allowed in the bins, as well as general guidelines about the do's and don'ts of composting.

Some community composts have log-books, where members indicate when they've brought organic waste, as well as when they've helped by aerating the compost. This gives a clearer picture of how many people are actively using or contributing to the site. Members can also be asked to weigh their organic waste with a scale in the materials bin. This can be helpful when searching for funding opportunities for community composts that are run by environmental organizations, to demonstrate the diversion of organic waste from the landfill sites.

The quantity of members should be regulated to ensure that the bins are neither significantly underused nor overused. You can add a sign on the bins giving a phone number or email address that people can contact if they'd like to join the community compost. Even if you've reached capacity, add their contact information to a waiting list in case space opens up.

Community compost bins often get completely filled with organic waste during the winter in cold climates, when decomposition is slower. Members will need to find alternative ways of dealing with their organic matter until the springtime.

Continued management

Community composts need active management in order to succeed, including registration, orientation for new members, and regularily managing the compost site. Ideally someone should aerate the compost every week or two (this is simple: take a pole or a compost aerator, and drive it into the compost to create air tunnels). A group volunteer-bee should be called three times a year: in the spring and the fall to turn and harvest the compost, and again in the fall to collect bagged leaves from around the neighborhood. While often one or two people are in charge of the administration, it's important to ensure that the members feel a sense of communal responsibility for helping to manage the site.

Further resources

The following resources show a variety of examples of composting initiatives offered at the community level. This includes guidelines for starting small collective compost bins, as well as examples of larger-scale initiatives from non-profit organizations and social enterprises.

City of Toronto: Starting a community compost

United Kingdom: Community Composting Network

Quebec City, Quebec: Example of a community compost project run by a non-profit in downtown Quebec (French only)

Montreal, Quebec: Example of a community composting project run by a non-profit in Montreal

St. Paul, Minnesota: Example of a pilot project for bicycle pick-up of organic waste by a non-profit in Minnesota

Craik, Saskatchewan: Example of a community composting project as part of an ecovillage and sustainable development plan in Craik in rural Saskatchewan

Winnipeg, Manitoba: Example of a community composting project run by a neighborhood association and community ministry in Winnepeg

Victoria, British Columbia: Example of a social enterprise for composting through residential pick-up

Courses and workshops

Meghan — 2012-01-07T03:12:00Z

Courses and workshops that teach veganic growing methods, including upcoming courses in 2012.

Upcoming talks

Veganic Agriculture
Saturday, February 4th, 2012, 8:30am-10:0am
Eco-Farm Conference, Pacific Grove, California
Speaker: Helen Atthowe, organic farming consultant, veganicpermaculture.com
Full talk description

Forest gardens: imitating diverse natural systems on a scale you can manage
Saturday, January 28th, 2012 - 1:30-3:00pm
Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph Ontario Canada.
Speaker: Shantree Kacera, veganic gardener and teacher at The Living Centre
Full talk description

Workshops, courses and certificate programs

The Living Centre - Ontario, Canada

www.thelivingcentre.com
Introduction to permaculture - February 25th/26th 2012
Four Season Permaculture Design Course - February 25th 2012 to November 26th 2012 - 7 weekends near London, Ontario
Varied workshops and training in permaculture, forest gardening and herbalism. Check for calendar updates, weekly series, correspondence courses, apprenticeship summer programs, and events.

Spiralseed - United Kingdom

www.spiralseed.co.uk
Introductory permaculture courses and permaculture design courses (PDC) with teacher Graham Burnett, a veganic permaculturalist and author of the book Permaculture: A Beginner's Guide.

Glyndwr University - United Kingdom

www.glyndwr.ac.uk
Glyndwr offers a two year program in Organic Horticulture Management, a strong element of which is learning plant-based stockfree agricultural techniques.
The Vegan Organic Network in England may have bursaries available for vegetarians and vegans who are interested in studying stockfree agriculture at Glyndwr University.