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

Permaculture farmingOn the gulf coast

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/

As soil health goes down, diseases go up

Nutrition, soil health and human disease

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)

Core tenets of permaculture:Care of the earth

Care of the peopleFair share

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 report

This is a prescription that treats the disease,

not the underlying condition.

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

Typical plowed field after Harvey

Laughing Frog Farm after Harvey 50” of rain

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

Contoured beds move water where you plan

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

Hugelkulture

Wood provides carbon for a slow release Covered in soil, the fungi break down the wood

Growing on plastic mulch is becoming very popular, but it creates lots of waste.

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/

Tip Layering

Rooting a cuttingPlants grown from rooted cuttings:

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

Crop rotation or interplanting?

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

Three sisters planting

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

Cold frame

Row coverCaterpillar tunnelHigh Tunnel

High Tunnel

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

Easy fruit trees and bushes

• Blackberries

• Persimmons

• Figs

• Muscadine grapes

• Citrus

Fruit with challenges

• Blueberries

• Table grapes

• Stone fruit

• Apples

• Pears

Silvopasture

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.