Laughing Frog Farm
Lamb, chicken, eggs, vegetables, plants and fruit trees
Permaculture Farming
Organic Principles
Pastured chickens and sheepNo GMOs
No hormonesNo synthetic chemicals
No tilling
www.thelaughingfrogfarm.com
AgrobiodiversityWe are raising only a very small number of species
* Since 1900, some 75 percent of plant genetic diversity has been lost as farmers worldwide have left their multiple local varieties and landraces for genetically uniform, high-yielding varieties.* 30 percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction; six breeds are lost each month.* Today, 75 percent of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and five animal species.* Of the 250,000 to 300,000 known edible plant species, only 150 to 200 are used by humans. Only three - rice, maize and wheat - contribute nearly 60 percent of calories and proteins obtained by humans from plants.
Source: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
Nutrition
Plants in the industrial agricultural system are grown for how fast they mature and how well they hold up to shipping, but not for nutrition
Organic agriculture"Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological
processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects.
Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair
relationships and a good quality of life for all involved."
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
Bill Mollison: "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful
observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather
than treating any area as a single product system."
Observe and Interact David Holmgren
Catch and Store Energy -sun-radiant & thermal/ water(hydroelec, retention in soil, ponds) / / wind(windmills)
heat, light, sound, magnetism, gravity, movement,
shading,
Design from Patterns to Details
Use and Value Diversity. heat, light, plants, photosynthesis, roots, soil types, day length,
Apply Self-Regulation and Feedback
Use and Value Renewables
Produce No Waste
Integrate Don’t Segregate- fruit trees, sheep&chickens,
Use Small, Slow Solutions
Use Edges and Value the Marginal
Creatively Use and Respond to Change
Obtain a Yield
Air
Water
Sunlight
Principles of permaculture
What can I control?Water quality?Air quality?Solar gain?Soil quality -
Plant choice and placement
Infiltration Water holding capacity Soil Organic matter Soil structure Soil organisms Available nutrients
As a farmer/gardener my job is to provide the conditions for plants and animals to thrive.
Soil is an incredibly complex substance. It has physical and chemical properties that allow it to sustain living organisms—not just plant roots and earthworms, but hundreds of thousands of different insects, wormlike creatures and microorganisms. When these organisms are in balance, your soil cycles nutrients efficiently, stores water and drains the excess, and maintains an environment in which plants can thrive.
Marianne Sarrantonio - SARE
Keys to soil health
• Disturb the soil as little as possible
• Keep the soil covered (crop or mulch)
• Diversity in plants, insects, wildlife
• Have living roots in the ground at all times
• If possible, integrate animals
Tillage releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas It also disturbs the biological structure of the soil.
Tilled soil 4 days after
a 3” rain in AprilSoil Same day across
the street
Digging a beddig swales and berms add 3” compost mulch with leaves, hay, bark mulch, aged wood chips
Sheet mulchingA layer of coarse fill sticks Soil A layer of carbon mulch, leaves A layer of nitrogen fresh grass clippings, manure, A layer of carbon A layer of nitrogen compost A layer of mulch (carbon)
Maybe cardboard or newspaper
basics of composting
• 30 parts C-leaves, sawdust, hay
• 1 part N-grass, food, coffee
• Some soil for bacteria
Nitrogen, carbon, air, water
Types of seeds
Hybrid—a cross pollinated seed F1 hybrid—do not grow true from saved seedOpen pollinated—grows true from saved seedHeirloom—open pollinated and saved for generationsGMO—modified the DNA
seed selection and sources
• www.rareseeds.com
• https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/
• https://www.highmowingseeds.com/
• https://www.kitazawaseed.com/
• https://www.growitalian.com/
Organic FertilizersNitrogen: Feather meal Blood Meal Liquid fish 5-1-1 Cottonseed meal 5-2-1
Phosphorous: Bone meal Rock phosphate 0-0-3
Potassium: Greensand 0-0-3 Liquid seaweed Hardwood ash
Composted manure has all three plus trace minerals Microlife, in Houston, makes prepared mixes
On prepared mixes look for the OMRI certification
Crops are to be rotated from different familiesSolanaceae:Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant
Crucifeae:Mustards, cabbage, broccoli, radish, cress, kale, turnip
Leguminosae:Bean, pea, peanuts, broad bean
Cucurbitaceae:Cucumbers, melons, squash
Umbelliferae:Carrots, parsnips, celery, fennel
Liliaceae:onions, leeks, asparagus,
Chenopodiaceae:Beets, Swiss chard, spinach,
Compositae:Lettuce, chicory, endive, dandelions, artichokes, salsify, cardoons, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers
Gramineae:Corn, cereal grasses, bamboo,
Malvaceae:Mallow, okra, cotton, cocoa, roselle, durian
Convolvulaceae:Sweet potato
Rosaceae:Strawberries
HerbsFlowers
sample 2 year rotation 1/2020 - potatoes after manure5/2020 - legumes 9/2020 - Brassicas1/2021 - carrots4/2021 - lettuce6/2021 - okra, roselle, sweet potatoes
2/2022 - tomatoes7/2022 - squash, cucumbers
11/2021 - peas
10/2022 - brassicas
Usual suspects in cover crops
Legumes: Winter - hairy vetch, crimson clover, Austrian winter peas, faba bean, spring lentils, berseem clover Summer - pigeon pea, peanut, sunn hemp, mung bean, soybean, lentil, cowpea, lablab Perennial - alfalfa
Grasses:Winter - cereal rye, triticale, winter wheat, ryegrass, barley, oats Summer - millet, sorgum/sudan
Brassica:rapeseed, collards, turnips, daikon radish, mustard
Broadleaf:Winter - chicory, flax, phacelia, sugar beets,Summer - sunflower, buckwheat, okra, sa!ower, Moschata squash
GoalsNitrogen fixation
Breaking up compaction
Weed suppressionStop soil borne diseases and insect pests
Nutrient cyclingIncrease soil organic matter
Lasting residue
Attract beneficial insects
DiversitySupplemental feed or hay
Nematode controlMycorrhizal fungi growth
Prevent erosionWildlife habitat
Increase soil infiltration and reduce flooding
Termination of cover crops• Till it
• Freeze or heat kill
• Mow it
• Roll/crimp it
• Graze it
• Cover it
Fruit tree planting
Never plant the tree lower than it was in the pot If it is grafted make sure the graft is a few inches above the soil line
Spread out the roots Mulch 3” deep to the fill line
Mulch should not touch the trunk
No till Farming Once the cows stomp everything down
the soybeans are planted into the stubble with a seed drill
Downward pressure on
wages,It has been taken for granted that farm workers and others in the food system should work for minimum wage. This makes it hard for a family farm to make enough money to survive on just farm income. The poorest people on earth, those with little health care, are the ones that grow, harvest, and prepare the food you eat. Many workers on farms require public assistance to supplement their income.