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NaturFarming ™
“Healing
The Earth; Healing Ourselves”
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While we are
fortunate to have several farms in Ventura County growing organic food, the
majority of farms in our community adhere to the chemical-pesticide practice of
growing of crops. The continued use of pesticides and insecticides has
questionable effects on our food, soil, air, and water. Our physical health and
our planetary health are at risk today more than ever before.
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A recent article in the Whole Life
Times (March 2003) titled Pesticide-Tainted Kids, cited a University of
Washington study analyzing the concentration of pesticide-breakdown products
(metabolites) of organophosphorus pesticides (a class of insecticides that
disrupts the nervous system) in the urine of pre-school aged children.
Thirty-nine urban and suburban children aged 2 to 4 years were tested. They
found that children eating organic fruits and vegetables had six times lower
concentrations of pesticide metabolites than those children who ate conventional
produce. The article also reported that an earlier study cited by the authors
looked at the pesticide metabolites in the urine of 96 children, and found
organophosphorus pesticides in the urine of all but one. The one child’s
parents had reportedly bought organic produce exclusively.
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Our solution to pesticide-insecticide use is the
practice of Naturfarming,
a method of growing delicious fruit, vegetables and
grains free from pesticides and other unnatural substances, first advocated by
Mokichi Okada in 1936. Naturfarming
brings out the power of the living soil in a way that sustains the earth and
supports true health of the human family. The Naturfarming method can be applied
to container gardening, backyard plots, and large acreage farms.
Our present nature farm for growing crops, education and training, is
located on 5 acres in Lockwood Valley, California, and is directed by Taka
Hayakawa.
In 1953
Japan, Okada was concerned about the farmers and peasants suffering from a
scarcity of crops. He printed up one million copies of a newspaper on Nature
Farming, and distributed it to all those involved in food production in any way.
In this paper he stated that for a long time human beings had polluted
the living earth by using artificial fertilizer and pesticides, that these
poisons had brought about damage to crops by blight and noxious insects, and
that some serious human diseases had been caused by these poisons. While growers
may produce large crops using pesticides temporarily, in the course of time such
synthetics will cause plants to become diseased and will result in poor or
ruined crops. Also, that with continued use of fertilizers and chemicals, the
land will become exhausted and will not be able to produce good crops of any
kind.
Okada urged growers to immediately adopt the Nature Farming
method of growing food according to natural laws, which would offer the most
beneficial foods to humankind.
Are
you plagued by insects in your garden?
Okada on
insects:
Farmers…
use more and more kinds of chemical fertilizers that, in turn, give rise to more
and more toxins and noxious insects. Different types of insects appear as
different chemical fertilizers are used. Farmers, to combat these seeming pests,
then use poisonous insecticides, which give rise to insects of a more vicious
nature. This tendency is increasing with every year. The physical world is
governed by self-regulatory laws. Wherever questionable or harmful matter
accumulates, a corrective activity automatically strives to eliminate it. By the
law of Nature, noxious germs or insects appear spontaneously as plants absorb
the fertilizers that are toxic to them. According to the same law, the toxins
must be eliminated. To accomplish this, Nature relies on their being consumed by
[insects], However, the insects not only ingest the toxins but parts of the
plants as well, and the plants then weaken or die.
Have you noticed an increase in whitefly in your area? Here are some
suggestions:
Natural
solutions to white fly:
1) Planting
Marigolds in your garden is reputed to discourage whitefly.
2) Place 2
Tbsp. Vegetable oil and 3 large cloves of minced garlic in a covered container
overnight. Strain the garlic oil into a spray bottle, add a little hot chili oil
(no seeds or skin), a few drops of non-toxic dish soap, and 15 ounces of tepid
water (not even warm or hot or plants will suffer). Shake and spray the
underneath side of the leaves that have whitefly. The next day thoroughly spray
the underneath of all infested leaves with clear water from a hose. When the
plants are dry spray again with soapy solution. Next day, spray with water.
Repeat for about 1 or 2 more times. What you want to do is break the cycle of
egg-laying.
3) Make a
dilution with 1 part of EM* and 200~500 parts of water. Spray it over the whole
tree/plant thoroughly on both sides of leaves. Repeat the spraying every
week until the fly is gone.
*EM
(effective microorganisms) is a combination of various naturally occurring
microorganisms mostly used or found in foods. It is not a fertilizer nor does it
have mineral or nutritional value. Its use on soil is to improve its microflora
and make organic materials into fertilizers. EM is used to enrich the soil and
produce quality, healthy crops at a greater yield with decreases in pests,
diseases, and the need for weeding and tilling, and without the use of
agricultural chemicals. EM has been used in creating living soil on land that
was not previously able to grow crops.
EM has also been shown to have beneficial effects on
livestock and water treatment.
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