Application of energy principles in ayurvedic farming

[Guest guest]

"Everything in the cosmos comes together

to bring about the presence of one Flower..."

-Thich Nhat Hanh-

 

In yesterdays post some cosmic principles used in ayurvedic gardening

based on energy principles were discussed. Today, we discuss how

these principles are applied in practice. Related issues are also

discussed. With the sale of multivitamins and food supliments now going out of

scope of OTC drugs, we should see if we can obviate use of the suppliments by

cultivating complete foods.

 

Traditional Knowledge

 

In Himachal Pradesh, 4000 metres above sea level, the farmers plant

their seeds according to the moon. Farmers all over the world observe

these natural laws. They all have some knowledge about how to harness

the position of the moon. But nowadays a lot of such traditional

knowledge is getting lost due to lure of easy life in cities.

Farmers believe that if they use fertilisers, the moon doesn't

matter. In simple words fertilisers cut off the cosmic influences.

Due to migration of children to cities, there is a clear loss of

traditional knowledge. Children are not trained in going back to the

countryside and asking the elder people: 'What do you know about our

environment?' Instead of learning from the old people about the

medicinal plants, etc., they generally say: 'Oh, the old people don't

know how to read, so they are ignorant'. That is the tragedy in which

a lot of traditional knowledge is lost.

 

We can observe that the younger generation rejects the oral

traditions because they clash with modern knowledge presented in

writing. If traditional knowledge is presented in a format that young

people can understand, they re-evaluate it. There is no school for

such knowledge. It lives with individual people , 'rural

scientists'.

 

Natural agriculture has been developed for the healing of the earth,

farm land and agricultural landscapes. It recognises and reinforces

the basic principles at work in nature. Hence natural agriculture

suggests working with the energies which create and maintain life.

 

To enhance the natural properties of medicinal plants we must

observe nature and consciously help it evolve. Agriculture should

normally bring about the fruitful combination of nature and culture.

Natural cultivation harnesses the life-giving forces of nature in

the development of healthy and productive landscapes. These

principles were developed as a farming practice and as a scientific

method by Rudolf Steiner at the beginning of last century. They are

based on intimate wisdom gained by long observation of natural

phenomena and their forces, as well as from spiritual research. The

methods seek to harmonise plants and animals with their archetypes

and farms with their landscapes and wider terrestrial and cosmic

environments.

 

Drawing partly from traditional agricultural experience and wisdom,

natural agriculture encompassing a wider potential than the organic

method, respects cosmic rhythms and influences and weaves them into

daily practical activity in order to call forth the subtle properties

that are the essences of plants and animals. Thus, it is very

suitable for the cultivation of medicinal plants, which depend on the

fine properties of healing active principles, usually drawn naturally

from the places where the plants grow. Our challenge is to help the

plant tune to its archetype both in and outside of its natural

habitat.

 

The natural habitats of many Himalayan/Tibetan medicinal plants, for

example, are the unique soils and clear starry nights of the stunning

heights of the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau. Bringing these plants

into cultivation poses a great challenge. Many formulations available

through medical practitioners or sold through pharmacies possess only

a fraction of their potential medicinal properties due to the methods

used in commercial cultivation. On the other hand, the existing trade

of plants collected from their wild original habitat poses the

dangerous threat of extinction and permanent damage to those fragile

mountain ecosystems.

 

Our aim should be to develop a cultivation system for medicinal

plants which will on the one hand ease the need for wild collections

and on the other hand preserve as much as possible of the medicinal

and healing value of cultivated plants. In last few posts we

discussed primary aspects of natural cultivation. Now we would like

to focus our attention on some of the important principles related to

the management of soil fertility.

 

 

Soil Fertility, Plant Nutrition

 

The question of soil fertility is so important since human and animal

fertility directly depends on soil fertility. What you eat, so you

become. The conventional approach to the fertilisation of soils has

been reduced to a very simplistic and mechanical formula: plant ashes

= `x' amount of nitrogen; phosphorus potash = chemical fertiliser to

be applied to the plant. The soil is considered a support substrate,

and the nutrition of the plant plus water is provided directly to its

roots. This has been at the basis of agricultural practices and

productivity since the beginning of the nineteenth century. Yields

have been raised tremendously, but mostly at the expense of the

natural energy accumulated in the soil. Now, worldwide productivity

faces an accentuated decline, which is not deterred by doubling the

doses of chemical fertilisers given to the soil. This is a symptom of

the reductionist approach that has permeated all aspects of life in

last century. It has led to large scale destruction of landscapes and

a decrease in the vitality and nourishing value of the food we eat. A

clear indicator of this situation is the worldwide, multimillion

dollar sales of complementary vitamins and minerals, now, at the turn

of this century. Furthermore, the fertility, temporarily and

inappropriately boosted by use of synthetic fertilisers, has

resulted in human fertility also needing similar boost through synthetic

hormones/donor eggs/sperms.

 

The Soil is alive

 

In the cosmic approach, soil and plant analysis of nutrients as a

reference is a must, but that is the extent of its significance. We

must understand the soil as part of the wider organism of the

landscape and of the earth, possessing intrinsic life, rhythms and

needs. The soil is not just a mineral substance but it is alive, it

breathes, it has to be fed with adequate food and it can also become

ill or malnourished. Certainly it can also die, when not given proper

care. Obviously, then, ill soil cannot and will not produce healthy

plants, able to maintain healthy human beings. It will produce weak

plants that need a lot of `remedies' to survive until they reach the

consumer's plate. The same will happen with medicinal plants

improperly cultivated, a fact which puts their use into question.

 

The question arises, how can we best feed the soil so that it will

give us food and goods full of vitality as well as the life forces

that are necessary for our physical, cultural and spiritual

development? Yogis in India say cowdung is the food of soil.

 

By enriching the soil with life, life will be given to plants, and

plants will then grow to their full potential. This will in turn

benefit human beings and animals. Given the state of the earth,

contaminated during the 20th century with chemical fertilisers and

pesticides, this approach might be viewed as an appropriate remedy -

a healing method of cultivation.

 

The Nature of Humus, the Humus of Nature

 

How can we simulate the soils found in the natural habitats of

medicinal plants? What is the best food for the soil? We can answer

this question by looking at how nature produces it, how it

is `cooked' in the forests and on the land. Plant and animal

residues, moisture, and air are broken up by fungi, bacteria and

small animals over a long period of time to produce the best food:

humus - a full and balanced meal for the soil. Humus can be produced

by composting. `Compost' means exactly what the word indicates,

a `compound', a `composite' of substances, a `composition' of

elements. It is very rich and has all the nutrients a plant wants:

nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, calcium and sulphur, as well as over

twenty trace elements. It consists of amino-acids, growth promoters,

natural antibiotics, humic acids, and millions of beneficial

bacteria, fungi, earthworm eggs, and so forth. Humus is the reserve

food of millions of soil organisms. A soil with the appropriate

amount and quality of humus enables plants to grow to their best

potential. In short, humus is a concentrate of life forces, the basis

for life, the sustenance of vegetation and thus for life on this

planet, including human beings.

 

The strategy in the natural system is not just to produce humus,

but humus of the best quality, permeated with healing life forces.

There is a difference between natural, organic and other types of

compost. It is like the difference between fermented milk and yoghurt

or fine cheese. In addition, we must think in terms of the long term

needs of the soil, not just the immediate needs of the cultivated

plant. We work to build up the reserves of humus in the soil and live

off the `interest,' as we might do from our savings account. This

means that the humus will be releasing nutrients to the plants as

they are needed, in the right proportion, on demand, instead of the

forced feeding done in chemical agriculture, where short term

thinking exploits the natural reserves without giving them back.

 

Natural Compost

 

As a complex substance, the production of good humus depends on the

composition of materials that go into its production. We must

consider the ingredients that go into our compost heap and the

environment that is needed to break them down. For a proper process

to develop, we must have the right carbon to nitrogen ratio. The

coarser or more woody a plant is, the more carbon it will contain in

relation to nitrogen, while the fresher and softer a plant is, the

less carbon it will contain and the more nitrogen. This ratio is

important because the bacteria and fungi that will decompose the

compost need sufficient nitrogen and water content in order to work.

Therefore, we must balance plants that have a higher content of fibre

with plants, such as legumes, that are rich in protein or nitrogen.

Or, we can also add nitrogen-richer materials, such as the residues

of animals.

 

In natural compost, cow manure has a special place. Cow-dung is a

very balanced substance, containing the fibre that the cow has eaten,

plus many nutrients, in an almost soluble form. The most important

factor is the millions of micro-organisms from the digestive system

of the cow that bring life to the compost and continue the

decomposition and breakdown of cellulose. When placed into a pile of

plant material with proper moisture, the fibrous substances are

digested the same way as in the intestine of a cow.

 

In the process of cooking food, it is heat that breaks down the

ingredients so that they are easily assimilated. A compost that is

properly built up should generate heat within the first few days.

Fungi and afterwards bacteria will start to break the carbon bonds

and thus release its stored energy for their activities. As this

multiplies, a chain reaction takes place, and the light and energy

that the plant has absorbed are released. A cold compost means that

something is wrong, in the same way that a cooking fire stops if not

enough air is allowed to penetrate to the stove. Thus heat is an

important indicator that the process is developing in the right

direction, that the compost has started `to cook,' that this new

digestive organ is alive. So, we must get the right balance of air,

water, plant and animal materials and even wood ashes and minerals

from the earth element. As with cooking, we must develop the right

sense for the ingredients, the amount of water, the length of the

process, the amount of heat required, and especially the amount of

salt and spices. There is no other way to become a good cook than by

doing it practically. Recipe books alone can never turn a person into

a good cook. Only practice - tasting, smelling, and learning with

mistakes - can accomplish this transformation. Some principles of human

digestion are applicable here too. e.g. Protein rich foods require more oxygen

in blood for digestion, since they go through aeronic digestion. Starches and

carbohydrates, on the other hand can digest in anerobic decomposition manner.

Since this digestion does not demand oxygen, more complete digestion is

possible.

 

Compost-making is an art which improves with time, and in the

process, results in improved `cooked' food for the soil. The more

experienced the farmer and gardener, the better the food that is

produced for the soil, and the better response we will get in terms

of healthy nutritious plants and animals. Moreover, we will be able

to cook special foods for different types of soils and plant

requirements. Thus, we may recreate the best conditions for growth,

also for our medicinal plants.

 

A good way of making a heap is to create a basis of woody material

which can allow some air to be stored, followed by a layer of 30 cm

of chopped green material, weeds, etc., sprinkled with wood ashes and

rock phosphate, and made wet by a `sauce' of cow- dung slurry. That

mixture is then covered with a thin layer of cow-dung from the

stable, mixed already in cow urine and waste fodder. That process

starts again with a layer of `chopped green vegetables, salt, spices

and sauce', and so on, until the heap is about 1.30 mtrs. high and

covered either with soil or mulch. Do not tread on the heap. If it

becomes compact, make some holes in the heap with a stick so air can

come in. The same compost can be prepared in boxes.

 

For the ingredients to cook, moisture must be available as well as

heat. To measure the heat, leave a stick inserted and take it out to

check the development. When the temperature in the heap decreases,

earthworms invade it from the soil, and finish the job done by the

micro-organisms. They really love the compost heap! During their

chewing, they mix the earth with plant material, which in turn

produces calcium in their digestive system. The activity of

earthworms in the soil is thus increased, further enhancing the

healing of the soil and aerating it. The indicator of a good compost

is that after 3 or 4 months, one cannot identify what has been put

in. It has become a uniform, dark brown substance that has a sweet

smell. A compost that is suitable for your area is developed by using

the materials which are found locally. This is similar to the

statement that foods/herbs available locally and seasonally are best

for human consumption. Author found near compost heap, presence of little ozone

also!

 

After finishing the heap, a set of the compost preparations is

inserted. These are made from specially prepared herbs that will

guide fermentation to achieve the best quality humus. They permeate

the compost with their qualities and processes related to specific

nutrients. The resulting humus will carry these qualities right into

the plant and help them in their development and metabolism. In

India, various types of composts have been worked out. A special

method which produces almost 150 kg of compost from 1 kg of cow dung

was invented by a farmer Narayan Hari Deshpande in Akola district of

Maharashtra. This method is now used by all Goushalas, and the

compost is named `Nadep' to honour him. Those who wish to learn the

process free, please mail this author.

 

Some trees are known to have very long life and they keep growing

over the whole life time. One example is Banyan tree. The soil

removed from the area around the roots of such trees is used to

insert the compost heap, especially to rejuvinate the soil that has

become nearly infertile. Horns of a dead cow is very rich manure.

Horns of one cow can be used for one acre land.

 

It is hoped that this information will help those of you who have agricultural

land and/or wish to venture into ayurvedic herb farming or adopt organic

farming. Or those who have some court yard space and would like to keep cows to

produce good quality milk, and use cow dung and urine to produce good compost

fertiliser. The farmer who invented the process of converting a kg of cow dung

to nearly 150 kg of compost said that one cow can yield Rs 75,000/- per anum

even without selling her milk.

 

The post will be continued tomorrow. Some of the inputs for these posts provided

by people at Panch Gavya goushalas in Maharashtra are acknowledged.

 

Dr Bhate