Finca Verde -a Permaculture Farm

21/06/2018

On the farm this week!

Have you ever wanted to learn more about Permaculture? to be immersed in the cloud forest bordering the Amazone jungle of Ecuador? To know how to survive usi...

15/01/2018

Join us for our CHILL ADVENTURE.
visit our Web Site at http://www.permaculturecoursesecuador.info/chill-adventure
to read more about it! WE HAVE A LOCALS ONLY DISCOUNTED PRICE!! CONTACT US TO FIND OUT!

If you are looking for an outstanding learning experience or just a break from your normal routine – surrounded by unparalleled beauty, then this is the place!

12/06/2017

HERE’S THE SECRET FOR GOOD COMPOST

Put all of your best nutritional sources for soil and plants into your compost piles (more so than you garden).

All garden beds not being used for winter produce can become a surface compost pile of leaves, grass clippings, straw, alfalfa and garden scraps during the winter- producing exceptional results during the spring!

If you have access to a forest and can obtain decomposed wood softened from years of decay, you will be adding an excellent component of fungi and beneficial bacteria to your compost bin.

Layer the compostable scraps about 1-3 inches deep followed by an inch or two of amended soil mixture each time (speeds decomposition due to the extra microbial life in the soil, and keeps the smell & gnats away).

Cover the top of the pile with straw, or more leaves, a layer of moss, coconut fiber, fine bark mulch, or other suitable material that will shade the composting material below, hold in the moisture and become part of the compost with subsequent layers.

Continue with this layering process until the pile is 6-18 inches above ground level, then choose a new location for you next compost pile as you wait for Nature to do the work she does best on the first one.

When the time comes, either use this compost pile (which will shrink in height to close to level with the garden) as your next garden bed, or dig it up and spread this worm-abundant, mineral-rich, biologically active soil mixture about 1-2 inches deep across your garden surface as far as it will go.

When you are ready to plant seeds, pull back the top 1/2 inch or so, as per your seed depth instructions, lay out your seeds, then cover again with this topping soil (or simply cover your seeds with a fresh layer of aged compost mixture). Adding a small amount of coconut fiber.

If you are transplanting, dig your hole and place a handful of the worm casting soil blend into the bottom before setting the plant.

Additional Richness in Your New Soil Mixture
Here are a few suggestions for what can be added to your compost pile/soil mixtures to enrich their composition even further:
Rice Bran
Rice Hulls
Alfalfa Meal
Milk
Whey
Fish Meal
Kelp or seaw**d
Mushroom Compost
Roof Moss (worms love it!)
Dried (or liquid) Molasses
Pumice

W**d seeds that get buried 6-12 inches or more in your garden are less likely to germinate than those closer to the surface.

11/06/2017

HOW TO CREATE EXCELLENT SOIL WITH COMPOST

The following information comes from Peace Corps Intensive Vegetable Gardening, The Master Gardener Program, Idaho Master gardener, 50 Homemade Fertilizers and Soil
Amendments by Cindy Rajhel and The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Michael King, and his webcast -Dynamic Gardening Part3.

This is a diverse crowd, offering you perhaps different thoughts.

Organic gardening that is simply chemical free will not insure the most positive garden or farming results. You must go further to obtain dynamic effects in plant health and production – you must build your soil. Building the soil is the number one focus of a
true gardener. Farmers that go the extra mile to insure their soil is mineral rich and microbial active enjoy the rewards of fewer destroyer insects, more bees and other beneficial insects, greater disease resistance, later crop yields, and produce that both tastes better and lasts longer on the shelf.

The best soil for your garden is the soil you make yourself.
My next post will tell you how!

14/04/2017

COMFREY: A MOST AMAZING HERB!

Comfrey is one of the first herbs I introduce to my volunteers on the farm. It is also the most versatile herb I’ve run across. I use it extensively on my farm and garden. However, the most dramatic results I saw, was while using it for severe bruising. A friend had a serious bicycle accident, badly bruising her left shoulder. I washed the leaves in clean water, mashed them up in some organic apple cider vinegar, to act as a carrier (this is not required, though), and then applied the mush in a poultice, and wrapped it all in place with an Ace bandage. The next day after removing the bandage, I noticed that I had not covered a spot with the comfrey. It was the only place that showed the ugly colors of a bad bruise. All of the covered skin looked normal! It was quite dramatic. I’ve been a fan ever since that time. Over the years I have collected all the research I could find on comfrey. It’s been a great help.

13/04/2017

IF you want to VISIT, you must contact us via email at [email protected], Please DO NOT SEND MESSAGE ON FB as we are at the Farm and WILL NOT SEE YOUR MESSAGE.

13/04/2017

AN INTRODUCTION TO COMFREY

Most of this information comes from numerous Internet citations including: L D Hill’s book; “Comfrey, Past Present and future”.

Comfrey is an excellent w**d competitor due to its rapid and dense growth.

A word of warning: wherever you grow it don’t ever expect to eliminate it as its roots system is very hard to kill.

Climate:
Comfrey produces the highest yields in full sunlight and under cooler conditions. Unlike annual crops, the leaves do not readily wilt during extended periods of drought due to its deep root system. This crop is also very frost resistant.

Soil:
Comfrey is adaptable to many soils, but prefers moist, fertile soils.

Propagation and Germination:
Comfrey is propagated from root cuttings, crown divisions and transplants. Production during the first ear is greatest for a crop started from transplants and lowest for one using root cuttings. After the first year, comfrey yields the same regardless of propagation method. Root cuttings are the least expensive method of propagation, and thus used most often. Root cuttings re usually 1 ½ to 6 inches long and ¼ to ¾ inches in diameter. Smaller cuttings will also generate plants, but plants from longer cuttings emerge and establish ore quickly. Wilted cuttings should be soaked in cold water until they become firm before panting. Root cuttings develop bud about 3 to 6 weeks after panting.

Method and density of Planting:
Root cuttings should be laid flat and covered with soil. The cuttings should be planted at a depth of 2 to 4 inches. A 4’ depth is commonly used, but 2” is adequate with irrigation. Very small cuttings should not be planted as deeply as the longer cuttings. Young transplants should be planted upright with the crowns about 2” deep. Comfrey is planted in a checkerboard arrangement in rows that are 3 to 4 feet apart to permit cross cultivation for effective w**d control.

Fertility Requirements:

Comfrey is a high-protein forage that obtains all of its nitrogen from the soil. Older plantings with leaves showing a lighter green color will usually require broadcasting or sidedrsessing of nitrogen fertilizer. Rates vary fro 40 to 100lb N/acre. Manure is an excellent nutrient source for comfrey. Like corn, comfrey removes relatively large amount of potassium, phosphorus, and calcium from the soil. Comfrey is not very sensitive to soil pH, but highest yields occur on soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Soils testing in the medium range sho receive about 25 lb P2O5 and 120 lb K2)/acre.

Over the season you can expect to get three or four and sometimes five cuts from an established comfrey bed.

20/02/2017

13/02/2017

WHY MY FIRST CLASS IS ABOUT COMFREY

Usually the first two classes I teach to visitors, volunteers, interns, and course participants are about comfrey and charcoal.

I do this because; both have numerous benefits that can easily be used throughout life in most environments.

Comfrey is often cited as one of the top ten herbs. It is readily found in the Americas and Europe.

In the past two weeks I have used comfrey in the following ways:


In a salad
As a wound poultice
As a wound healing oil for two different skin allergies
As a poultice to reduce swelling
As a nutrient accumulator for my fruit trees
As a compost activator.
As a source of income, selling roots to neighbors
As a living mulch



Look for my next post on “MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH COMFREY”. … it was the most dramatic healing episode I had ever seen.

11/02/2017

Comfrey video from author of Gia's Garden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEHc_UzeT9w

Sign up for my daily-ish email, or my devious plots for world domination: http://richsoil.com/email.jsp http://permies.com Comfrey may be the most talked abo...