Gregory Louie's List: Farming

"Saving Melon Seeds

Scoop out the seeds from a ripe melon and put them into a wire mesh sieve, then with running water over the seeds rub them gently against the mesh, using it to loosen and remove the stringy fibers. Next place the cleaned seeds in a bowl of water, stir it a few times. Some seeds will float to the top....these are immature or sterile melon seeds, they are hollow and/or light-weight and will float to the top of the water. Skim away these bad seeds and discard them. Stir a few more times and repeat the process until no more sterile seeds float to the the top. Drain the water from the remaining seeds.

Afterwards, line a heavy plate or baking pan with waxed paper, spread the seeds out in a single layer onto the waxed paper and place it in sunny spot to air-dry.

Stir the seeds occasionally during the next few hours to make sure all sides are exposed to fresh air, this facilitates even drying. After a day in the sun bring the seeds into the house where they continue to dry for another week or two, stir them daily so they dry evenly. If you've got rainy weather the increased humidity can prolong the drying process another week or so.

Melons have thick seeds so be sure they are thoroughly dry before packing them for storage. I like to store my seeds in paper packets. "

"How to best grow Charentais melons?"

"I can see one ray of light. There is a Biodynamic preparation called Barrel Compost Preparation that has Basalt and egg shells, among other things, that can be applied to the ground. This has been shown to minimize nuclear contamination. At the time of Chernobyl, it was found that Biodynamic farms that used the Barrel Compost Preparation had no contamination. This was discovered when airplanes photographed the affected land and found intermittent dark spots showing no contamination. When a ground crew checked how that was possible, the land turned out to have been farmed with Barrel Compost Preparation. Unfortunately, I am told that the researcher involved believed he’d be ridiculed if he shared this information. Subsequently, the scientific research that was done on this disappeared."

"Community-Based Food Systems Resources"

"Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

The U.S. agricultural population is poised to make a dramatic change - half of all current farmers are likely to retire in the next decade. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators was 57 years. Farmers over the age 55 own more than half the farmland in the U.S. But the number of new farmers and ranchers over the age of 35 is increasing, as does the number of smaller farms and ranches nationwide. A similar trend is evident for tree farmers nationwide. To address the needs of this changing generation, Section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234) amended Section 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and made available in FY 2009, $17.2 million to fund a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). According to these legislations, a beginning farm is considered to be one that is operated by one or more operators who have 10 years or less of experience operating a farm or ranch. In 2007, approximately 21 percent of family farms met that definition."

"Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

For the 2011 grant cycle, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Agriculture is provided $18 million in funding for the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Grant Program. Grants are provided to community-based organizations, universities and nongovernmental organizations to train, educate and provide technical assistance for beginning farmers with limited resources. "

"bk farmyards is a new Brooklyn-based farming network providing locally-grown healthy & affordable food to Brooklyn residents and education opportunities for youth and adults interested in food production."

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About this project

Food. We love it and can’t live without it. It keeps us happy, healthy, and smart. We’re making local, organic food available to everyone, one yard at a time. And we need your help to keep the dream alive.

We are starting a Youth Farm in Partnership with the High School for Public Service in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The students are required to do 200 hours of public service before graduation, but on average, they do 700 hours! They are focusing their attention on health and nutrition in the community, and they are ready to get their hands dirty."

"New River Organic Growers (NROG) is a nonprofit cooperative of farmers located in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina. Our goal is to provide fresh produce and humanely raised meats to consumers in North Carolina, to help preserve farmland by improving the success of our own farms through the pooling of resources for marketing and transport, bulk purchasing of farming supplies, sharing and coordination of information, and to educate the general public about the benefits of sustainable, local farming and consumption."

"Seedstock is the blog for sustainable agriculture focusing on startups, entrepreneurship, technology, urban agriculture, news and research."

"Our primary business will be permaculture design consultations with suburban and in-town landowners, including some help with installations.
Also, we will be selling useful plants and access to community garden/orchard/small livestock space. We will work to provide educational experiences and materials for learning permaculture."

Vietnamese herbs

Start Your Own Farm Business
With more and more consumers interested in natural, organic products, there’s never been a better time to make your initial foray into a local foods venture.

Based on “Sunset” magazine’s One-Block Diet blog, this book details how to raise and produce everything you need for completely made-from-scratch meals, starting in the garden and ending on the table. The book includes seasonal garden plans, recipes and several do-it-yourself projects to help you move to a new level of complete food self-sufficiency. 

"Fruit and Vegetable Market News disseminates detailed information on marketing conditions for hundreds of agricultural commodities at major domestic and international wholesale markets, production areas, and ports of entry. Using direct contacts with sales persons, suppliers, brokers, and buyers, Market News reporters collect, validate, analyze, and organize unbiased data on price, volume, quality and condition, making it available within hours of collection at no cost to you."

""How To": Mail us proof of accreditation of Non-Governmental Organization status, non-profit status, or church status, along with a letter from your Board of Directors with your name in it and some phone numbers we can call to verify, as well as a check (with the organization's name on it) paying for the $250 discounted price; to Friendly Aquaponics, Inc., at PO Box 1196, Honokaa, Hawaii, 96727. We will immediately mail off your DIY Commercial Package.

Also, if you wish to participate in our Aquaponics Technology Training we will only charge $495 to cover course materials, room space, and refreshments for the first person at the course (this is a 50% discount from the regular rate of $995). You need to supply airfare, accommodations, and all other needs for your participant. This is normally a $995 course. If you wish to participate in an Aquaponics Commercial Training we will only charge $995 for course materials, room space, and refreshments for the first person at the course (also a 50% discount from the regular rate of $1,995), or $1,249 (also a 50% discount) if you wish to sign up for both. If you want to add a second person to either or both of these courses, the cost for that person is half the first person cost. The same conditions to prove you are non-profit apply as in the previous paragraph.

If you are a non-profit and wish to register for the Aquaponics Technology and/or Commercial Trainings, DO NOT use the regular training page, as it is NOT set up for non-profits to register there. To register, simply mail us proof of accreditation of Non-Governmental Organization status, non-profit status, or church status, along with a letter from your Board of Directors with your name in it and some phone numbers we can call to verify; then add up the discounted costs for your participants explained on this page and cut a check for that amount (with the organization's name on it) paying for your participant(s) at the discounted price; to Friendly Aquaponics, Inc., at PO Box 1196, Honokaa, Hawaii, 96727."

"I was exploring this briefly last summer and ran across a couple resources. I'm attaching a Guide to Developing Business Plans for Farms that came from the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Ag. Also Crop King has out a sample plan that you can purchase for a hydroponic business that was moderately helpful. Nelson and Pade go through some of what you need in their workshops, and they also offer a package deal on a customized plan, or at least they did a year ago when I was exploring all this. Hope this helps!"