Seeded Crops and Living Mulch near Missoula, Montana

http://www.permies.com

http://www.veganicpermaculture.com

Helen Atthowe talks about green manures, no-till and minimal till systems. This is some video footage of sustainable agriculture experiments that Helen did a few years ago. The focus of this video is how seeded crops would fare with seeded green manures / living mulches. Previous (successful) experiments were with transplanted crops in living mulch.

Helen's expertise is with green manure, living mulch and advanced composting.

Many years ago Helen was an intern for Masanobu Fukuoka and she has spent her life attempting to extend Fukuoka's body of work.

Species mentioned in this video include: onions, dutch white clover, alsike clover, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants

Also mentioned in this video: fungi, soil food web, nitrogen immobilization, organic matter, residue, decomposition, nitrogen deficiency, record yield, field experiments, single shank subsoiler, tillage equipment, tiller, hand weeding, organic farms, vegetable production system, weeds, bare soil, annual weeds, germinate, germination, compete for water, soil fertility, yellowing to the older leaves, microbial process, bacteria, earth worms, soil microbes

Reduced Tillage in Organic Vegetable Production Webinar

eOrganic

This webinar will take you along Helen Attowe's 25 year journey to develop a reduced tillage organic vegetable production system.

Helen Atthowe: Living Mulch

Living Mulch Part 2


http://www.veganicpermaculture.com/living-mulch.html

Conservation Farming and Sustainability, Missoula, Montana

http://www.permies.com

Helen Atthowe, Missoula County Extension Agent (Missoula, Montana) talks about the farming techniques she used near Stevensville, Montana. She calls it "Conservation Farming".

Helen is well known in the Missoula area, not just as the Missoula county extension agent, but also as one of the most popular vendors at the Missoula farmers Market / Missoula Saturday market.

"The goal of our conservation farming is to increase farm profitability by decreasing labor and land requirements while striving to mimic the ecological principles that make native plant systems sustainable. The ecological principles we hope to mimic include reduced tillalge, increase species and genetic diversity, closed nutrient cycles, and creation of more diverse habitat. We look at our farm from a landscape or watershed level and hope to reconnect wild areas, agriculture and urban areas. Conservation agriculture is both biologically and socially a local agriculture."

"We're trying to develop an agriculture system, in this case a vegetable production system, that sponsors its own fertility."

Biological pest management: ".. mimic from a natural system is to sponsor our own pest control." "We're creating habitat for beneficial insects, parasites and predators ..."

"We are trying to provide habitat for birds, and pollinator insects and for other mammals that may be in the system. We're trying to create a link between natural systems and agricultural systems."

Includes footage of an all native hedgerow.

Helen talks about issues with voles and how the voles attracted snakes, coyotes and foxes.

music by Jimmy Pardo

Kleinman The Reckless Honey Badger

The "Quirkiest" honey badger ever known:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature6/assignment1.html

This is the full sequence of the Badger vs. Snake videos you may have already seen.The other versions fail to portray the reckless character of the badger in its full glory. Enjoy...

It's an excerpt from the documentary titled:

"Snake killers: Honey badgers of the Kalahari"

http://www.honeybadger.com/FurtherReading/Wildlifefilms.htm

"In 2002 this film won 1st Place in the Animal Behaviour Category at the International Wildlife Film Festival (Missoula) and was nominated for The Chris Award for Science and Technology at the Columbus Film and Video Festival. In 2003 it won best Animal behaviour at the Jackson Hole Film Festival, USA. It also won best Animal Behaviour at the Japanese Wildlife Film Festival and best Scientific Film at the FIFA International Wildlife Film Festival in 2003."

I also let the parts with the interesting mother-child relationship in, I think it's fun, didn't want to edit it out. I don't know their names though.

Congratulations and thanks to the documentary filmmakers for enabling us to get to know these cool animals. You can contact and support them through their website:

http://www.honeybadger.com/ResearchProjects/Researchers.htm

The Basics of Natural Farming

This video is about a garden I started in Preston Hollow, NY after reading Masonobu Fukuoka's "One-Straw Revolution" and applying those theories and practices to vegetable gardening.

To view part 2, please follow this linnk: http://youtu.be/0K8gn8R_Ino

Dr. Elaine Ingham - Soil Food Web

soilfoodweb.com interview by grassrootsgaia.org and Permaculture.TV

Dr. Elaine Ingham is an energetic, easy-to-understand speaker who explains what life in the soil is all about. Behind this "user-friendly" approach lies a wealth of knowledge gained from years of intensive research into the organisms which make up the soil food web. Elaine not only understands the soil food web, she has knowledge on how to ensure a healthy food web to promote plant growth and reduce reliance on inorganic chemicals.