Standard 15 Use of Krsna's Properties

[Guest guest]

>calves are low on the priority list. First the calves should get all that

>is need for proper growth and then milk

>should be allocated to other uses. Weak calves means poor future herd, if

>you want good production first

>you must give full facility to providing all the needs of the cows.

 

This is like disease. Diseased young means diseased future generations.

These ailments both human and bovine are cumulative they take effect over

generations.

This is why this is such an important subject. Globally practically we have

exhausted our fertility for the last one hundred years (maybe 150). This is

why we have to do something drastic.

 

>One method is use your muscle to make compost, the other is to use your

>intellect to have the cows deposit

>it at the desired final destination. This second method requires increased

>control of the movement of the

>cows instead of the manure they produce. Regardless of what method you use

>to maintain or improve

>fertility there must always be sufficient forage available.

 

We've had this conversation before and I suggest that you have not seen the

contents of our book. Or should I say Howard's book. He reiterates again and

again in his different writings that cow dung slurry is only good for

grassland NOT for arable crops.

 

The Ancients knew this (Agricultural Testament) many modern day farmers do

not know this. Applying cow dung to arable land that is not in a proper

condition for that soil to digest will result in crops of inferior quality

and quantity and also be susceptible to disease and infestation. It must be

suitably 'friable' or 'properly synthesised' (in scientific terms) if you

will, to be able to be immediatley incorporated into that soil to give

immediate benefit to the plants you're trying to grow. [Again, as we said

earlier, if a young one gets a bad start in life, so the later results will

also be bad.] That is why Howard says properly made compost (which is

certainly not a lot of work) is about 3 (three) times the value of farmyard

manure! AND YOU CAN REALIZE UP TO 8 (eight) times the amount by the Indore

process. It's not a lot of work , it's how you handle it that counts. ie

as explained in great detail in our book under the section the Indore

Cattleshed Management System.

 

My research work takes me now into the realm of medicine for where does

health come from. It comes from Mother earth - the land. I am meeting at a

conference with some influential agriculturists next month in London,

including the famous author Nicholas Lampkin (Organic Farming). My

contention, which I memtion in our Satvik Indore Toilet leaflet, is that in

the chain of recycling nutrients there is a missing link and a very big

missing link and that link is the human element. This is ommited from the

currciculum of Permaculture, Biodynamics, Natural farming, many other

systems of agriculture and of course western farming.

My mission is to try and re-establish this missing link back into ORGANIC

farming. N.B. Unbeknown to most people contaminated city sewage

sludge is permitted to be put onto conventional agricultural land where

normal everyday food is grown. This product contains Heavy Metals which you

will be injesting along with all the chemical residues you get with that

kind of food.

 

ys Radha Krsna das

I don't mean to bore you but this is my subject; so you can click off this

now

 

To make a relevant quote, however; Howard wrote:

Practically none of our urban waste finds its way back to the land. The

wastes of the population, in most western countries, are first diluted with

large volumes of WATER and then after varying amounts of purification, are

discharged either into the rivers or the sea. Beyond a little of the

resulting sewage sludge the residues of the population are entirely lost to

agriculture.

>From the point of view of farming the towns have become parasites. They will

last under the present system only as long as the earth's fertility lasts.

Then the whole fabric of our civilization must collapse.

 

Of course times have moved on a little since Howard's time and at the end of

1999 no one will be allowed to tip sewage sludge into the sea (uk) so what

they have come up with is 'Biogran' (developed in Switzerland) a (concrete)

plant that dehydrates stool, pellets it, and sells it back to regular

farmers. This also contains the same heavy metals.

 

Coming shortly on Agriculture and the Environment:

How to avoid heavy metals in fertilizer originating from 'contaminated city

sewage'. (a multi million pound industry)

[Guest guest]

>How is this second method of composting implemented?

 

>ys,

>Madhusudana das

 

Hare Krsna,

 

Thank you for your enquiry.

Bhakti Tirtha Swami is very much interested to see this system of fertility

implemented at Gita Nagari. Every temple has a waste problem.

 

This method of composting all your cow manure is best acheived through the

INDORE method, as devised by Sir Albert Howard in India circa 1920-30, in

conjunction with other organic wastes.

So successful was his method that this system spread all over the world and

indeed was the success of many sugar cane and tea plantations in different

parts of the world. It was also of great impetus to the founding of the Soil

Associations of the world.

 

I first discovered this system myself, after being led to his original books

at Wye College, London University, on the Goshala-farm at Bhaktivedanta

Manor in England. I had made several bins of compost, out of general temple

refuse, garden waste from the devotees allotments a great deal of kitchen

waste and many boxes of gone off oranges, grapefruits etc., according to the

very simple instructions given in the book - no additives required other

than a cow-dung slurry and wood ashes.

I used one seventh part cow dung and urine evenly mixed with straw from the

cattleshed floor.

I had completed the first half of the process diligently, by performing a

couple of 'turns' (turning the compost). This only takes a short time.

I then had to go away from the temple for a month. Incidentally doing this

clearing the sheds daily is far less work than having to do it all in one go

after 3 or 4 months when it becomes heavey and compacted and strongly

smelling of ammonia, (nitrogen loss). This is supported by the fact that at

the Manor farm a mechanical digger is employed to get the dung out of the

pens every 3 months or so. It doesn't seem to be a job that anyone wants to

do manually all in one go. Excrusiating!

 

When I returned to my astonishment the compost heaps had 'gone' I thought

the life member director had had a change of plan for the grounds and had

removed the contents of these bins with a JCB. And replaced them with some

fine sandy looking earth. It dawned on me that actually what I was looking

at was fully synthesised manure made from the temple and goshala refuse, of

the highest manurial variety.

 

With the instruction book 'The Lost Science of Organic Cultivation' comes a

plastic re-usable chart which is the time scale for treating the Indore

heaps. All one has to do is follow the instructions.

 

The outcome is that the finished product is three times more valuable than

farmyard manure (Howard). It is readily assimilated by the soil into plant

food for the immediate use of any crop. There is no time lapse while the

soil struggles to digest ordinary farmyard manure which if planted upon

gives a poor start to growth and leaves the plant organism open for disease

and parasite. This amounts to overworking the soil and so Mother earth

protests and the results are the effects of her protesting.

 

We are also ready soon to ship out our specially designed organic/separator

toilet ie for use in the house or on the farm or garden allotment. The

contents of which can be turned into earth in 90 days in conjunction with

your Indore compost heap, another valuable renewable energy, which is again

a most potent fertilizer. We grew 11 inch broccolli on this the first year

and offered it to Sivarama Maharaja. All you have to do then is to add a

layer of finished compost to your garden once a year. No digging required.

(thus saving labour) In this way you will build up worm populations, a

fundamental bonus for maintaining fertility.

 

Sir Albert Howard wrote an introduction to a book by Charles Darwin on the

subject of earth worms.....If you can acheive 16 million to the acre, you'll

be doing fine. You will actually be adding to your soil storehouse. I think

it's 44% of organic farms in the UK are subject to soil erosion. (Dr. N.

Lampkin, Organic Farming)....I am meeting with him later this month in

London.

 

Your servant,

 

Radha Krsna das.

 

I was wrong

[Guest guest]

>In hilly places like West Virginia, most pasture land is on steep ground

>that would be very damaged by plowing. Although pasturing is viable some

>of the year, for much of the year pasturing is damaging and needs to be

>avoided. We really need to look at particular circumstances when we make

>recommendations.

 

Yes, one cannot take account of so many particular circumstances in a

discussion on a computer. How do I know yours is a Hill farm?

 

It's interesting you mentioning the chisel plough. By this name I take it

you mean a shallow chisel plough, rather than a mouldboard plough.

This is what I don't approve of for other than turning grassland into

arable. A shallow chisel plough is completely different. And what you use

may again be somewhat different to Balaram's plough, which is used in India.

 

This is called a PAPRI breaking plough. It is used for cracking the pan left

by the sun to allow the soil to be aerated.

 

Please Madhava prabhu, can you deliberate. dimensions and how deep you use

your chisel plough.

 

By chisel plough in England, it is meant a subsoiler an implement that is

only used once every eight years or so, or at the end of every double

rotation, every four feet apart, cross hatching the field. to crack the pan

of the sub-soil to release nutrients, especially on land that has been over

grazed for years. This implement goes into the ground about two feet deep

depending on your 'particular circumstances', this does however involve a

tractor or traction engine of some kind.

But I feel with good rotation and the right crops, without abmormal

conditions we (the devotees) my never have to use this implement after an

initial attempt to bring tired land back into good heart, quickly.

 

>>Yes, one cannot take account of so many particular circumstances in a

>>discussion on a computer. How do I know yours is a Hill farm?

 

I could go on......these are merely old texts

Another important point of shallow ploughing, or discing, according to the

depth of your humus layer is the aquired ability of the soil to collect and

retain water.. Soil erosion, even on fairly steep banks,(but Madhava, maybe

your bank is steeper than this fairly steep bank) when humus content is

high, does not occur. Moreover, where the top few inches are heavily charged

with humus, it is seldom to be seen that water 'runs off' either from the

surface or through any pipe-line in the soil.

 

>From every point of view it is desirable that humus should not be buried too

deeply, ie by the turning over of a mouldboard plough (as Abhirama prabhu

has so kindly stressed) The North American farmers have realized, I've

heard, after loosing millions of acres to dust bowls, and taken to surface

cultivation , as in parts of France also...but many big big farms in the UK

still plough to a depth of 8 -10 inches! Apart from the great fertilizing

qualities of humus, it's ability to feed and breed countless

micro-organisms, and it's many other faculties working for the good of the

land, one of the most important functions of humus is it's volumetric

capacity to absorb water. It has been estimated that one cubic foot of bone

dry prepared humus will absorb 60 lbs of water. It is just like a sponge and

will absorb it's volumetric capacity without any way altering it's shape or

physical characteristics. Thus it provides a continuous resevior of moisture

upon which the growing plant can draw........

 

In Croatia last summer. it was noted by Smita Krsna Maharaja and myself that

the one devotee who had run out of time to weed his field had in fact far

better results and less bugs and pestilence than those who went all out to

get rid of the weeds! and then didn't compost them!

We concluded in our own observation that these, (can and should be cultured

weeds among crops), protect the humus layer from the burning sun, thus

holding in moisture which is readily available to the plants. He also had

no time or necessity to irrigate. Howard called this 'earth's green carpet.'

He said no where in nature do you see a clean cultivated field! Only man in

his modern wisdom sees this as fit!

This is also the considered opinion of Fukuoka and Mollison. (and nmany

others)

 

Thus it is this aspect that is so valuable to Indian agriculture.

 

Also I spent hours cultivating a large field, about 20 acres with the

devotees tractor in Croatia. The field had been deep ploughed the previous

season and unfortunatley abandoned. The weeds were six feet high. If I got

off the tractor I was lost! However with the neighbors DISC harrow I smashed

all these huge undesirable weeds, which had unfortunatley begun to seed,

back into the ground, but only into the top 3 to 5 inches of soil, thus

creating a massive compost attempt.

If this field were subsequently treated appropriately I beleive it would be

extremely fertile.

 

One can cultivate, even undesirable weeds this big for the sole reason of

fertility making, BUT NOT letting them seed would be the correct step to

take to bring the field under control. This all may take a couple of

seasons, but I beleive this is a far superior method after which bulls could

easily keep the surface cultivation up without much difficulty.

 

Your servant,

 

Radha Krsna das.

[Guest guest]

>

>

> It's interesting you mentioning the chisel plough. By this name I take it

> you mean a shallow chisel plough, rather than a mouldboard plough.

> This is what I don't approve of for other than turning grassland into

> arable. A shallow chisel plough is completely different. And what you use

> may again be somewhat different to Balaram's plough, which is used in India.

>

 

The chisel plow I use is a 3 inch wide shovel spaced 1 foot apart on centers,

goes about 1 foot deep. Followed by a shallow discing.

 

> By chisel plough in England, it is meant a subsoiler an implement that is

> only used once every eight years or so, or at the end of every double

> rotation, every four feet apart, cross hatching the field. to crack the pan

> of the sub-soil to release nutrients, especially on land that has been over

> grazed for years. This implement goes into the ground about two feet deep

> depending on your 'particular circumstances', this does however involve a

> tractor or traction engine of some kind.

 

Yes, that is what I call a subsoiler. Mostly needed if there has been years of

moldboard plowing going on.

 

> I could go on......these are merely old texts

> Another important point of shallow ploughing, or discing, according to the

> depth of your humus layer is the aquired ability of the soil to collect and

> retain water.. Soil erosion, even on fairly steep banks,(but Madhava, maybe

> your bank is steeper than this fairly steep bank) when humus content is

> high, does not occur. Moreover, where the top few inches are heavily charged

> with humus, it is seldom to be seen that water 'runs off' either from the

> surface or through any pipe-line in the soil.

 

it is very steep in on most of the pastures so tillage is counterindicated.

[Guest guest]

Madhava Gosh wrote:

 

>The chisel plow I use is a 3 inch wide shovel spaced 1 foot apart on

>centers, goes about 1 foot deep. Followed by a shallow discing.

 

I am surprised it goes about 1 foot deep. Is this used every season?

 

And is the purpose of this simply to loosen and aerate the soil? or is there

more?

 

> Followed by a shallow discing.

 

Please also can you detail your disc harrow.

I prefer to use large wheeled varieties...

[Guest guest]

COM: Radha Krsna (das) ACBSP (GB) wrote:

 

> [Text 2167816 from COM]

>

> Madhava Gosh wrote:

>

> >The chisel plow I use is a 3 inch wide shovel spaced 1 foot apart on

> >centers, goes about 1 foot deep. Followed by a shallow discing.

>

> I am surprised it goes about 1 foot deep. Is this used every season?

 

Yes, preferably when the soil is quite dry. Sometimes if soil conditions are

too wet too late int he season, the chiseling is skipped a year.

 

>

>

> And is the purpose of this simply to loosen and aerate the soil? or is there

> more?

 

Yes, aeration and drainage.

 

>

>

> > Followed by a shallow discing.

>

> Please also can you detail your disc harrow.

> I prefer to use large wheeled varieties...

 

We have a large , heavy disc, capable of cutting heavy organic matter. It'll

roll right over corn stalks. Usually disc 4-6 inches deep which keeps the

organic matter in the top part of the soil.

[Guest guest]

>We have a large , heavy disc, capable of cutting heavy organic matter.

>It'll roll right over corn stalks. Usually disc 4-6 inches deep which

>keeps the organic matter in the top part of the soil.

 

Brilliant! can we get some dimensions of this implement that is suited to

Ox drawn power. I need one in the UK.

[Guest guest]

"COM: Radha Krsna (das) ACBSP GB (Great Britain)" wrote:

 

> [Text 2183101 from COM]

>

> >We have a large , heavy disc, capable of cutting heavy organic matter.

> >It'll roll right over corn stalks. Usually disc 4-6 inches deep which

> >keeps the organic matter in the top part of the soil.

>

> Brilliant! can we get some dimensions of this implement that is suited to

> Ox drawn power. I need one in the UK.

 

Alas, it is tractor drawn and too big to convert to oxen. The company that

made it was called Miller. The discs would be buyable as it is necessary to

replace them from time to time, so by using compnents available it would be

possible for someone who is good at machinery to fabricate one. It is

really heavy, so without use of hydraulics, transportation from field to

field would be difficult.

 

Although when I was young and use of hydraulics wasn't a given, we used to

have a very low slung, long trailer where the bed was at axle level. We

would disconnect the disc, then pull the trailor right in front of it, put

down some planks and pull it up on the trailor with a chain. that was the old

fashioned lighter disc of course. The Miller disc has adjustable angle,

double gang, so it is possible to cut deeper or lesser by changing the angle.

A really light disc can be straightened out and almost dragged from field to

field, but the heavy disc cuts even when straightened due to the weight.