On Monday 11th May, we began the wheat harvest. The harvest usually takes place nearer the beginning of May, but it was postponed due to wet weather. The wheat seems to be strong and healthy. We are cutting very high, about 7 or 8 inches from the head, leaving long stalks. We are doing this to protect the soil, and the soy and mung bean growing in
Ramesh
Ramesh
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The Natural Farm Weblog
Explaining and detailing the on-going process of changing from a normal, organic farm, into a Natural Farm.
Ramesh
Articles :
48
Depuis :
03/01/2009
Categorie :
Lifestyle
Articles à découvrir
On Thursday 14th May, a group of young farmers from the local area came here to look around the farm, and learn about Fukuoka. There were about 12 in the group, and they were led by an English lady who volunteers at the youth group center where these young farmers assemble. We began by giving a talk on Fukuoka, his life, philosophy and methods. The
On Wednesday the 20th May, we sowed more vegetable seeds in four different patches. The seeds were: cucumber, bean, various squashes, radish, corn, and amaranth. These vegetables are suitable 'companions'. The first patch is small, about 6 feet by 5 feet. There was a profusion of alfalfa growing there, which we cut back to allow the seelings to rec
Ayurveda doctors have prescribed Black Rice (which we grow here on the farm) as treatment for the baby daughter of a lady who lives locally. The lady was married, and the couple had a daughter. Soon after the birth the baby developed Jaundice. The father was unwilling to allow the baby to have treatment for the disease. The Jaundice developed and a
We are pleased to announce the arrival of a new brood of chicks. We will raise these here at the farm, and let them wander around the fields and vegetable patches, eating pests and delivering good manure!
On Thursday 21st May, we began preparing a plot for sowing corn and two types of daal (lentil). Before we started, the field was covered over with various weeds. We decided to remove the two tallest and most invasive of these: a weed with a blue flower, and a thick weed of the crabgrass family. We are leaving all the other weeds in place. The corn
I'm very sad to be leaving the farm. My five week stay here has been a great experience. The farm itself is incredibly beautiful, set in a valley of jungled hills, a river running by, snowy peaks in the distance. The local workers, too, are extremely nice people, very friendly. Maddhan has a huge knowledge of plants and farming, and is constantly a
I arrived early morning March 4 on an overnight bus from Delhi. Despite bus-lag, the rain, the low, grey skies, and bone-chilling cold (just the previous morning I’d been basking in the Karnatakan sun), I could still tell how beautiful the grounds were and what a special location this is (yellow, blue, white, purple flowers dot the edges of the w
On Tuesday 19th May, we decided to conduct an experiment in growing vegetables in the area under the bamboo lattice. When we started, the area was covered over with various weeds and grasses. Firstly, we cordoned off a section of about 8 feet by 4 feet. In this section, we sowed a mixture of radish, cucumber, and a kind of bean, directly among the
The caterpillars are back. For the last three years, the tomatoes we nurse in the greenhouse have been subject to attention by a specific caterpillar. Just when the tomatoes have reached ripeness, this caterpillar bores a hole in the fruit and enters in. The fruit then rots and falls to the ground, ruining the crop. It has been a real problem, and