Perhaps organic farming is the future of agriculture, or it may just be a fashionable trend. Today it is impossible to give a definite answer. For the full analysis is not enough data. Farmers who use organic for a number of years, will give a definite positive answer.
But for a clear scientific substantiation, much more statistical data on soils, crops, areas and composition of fertilizers are needed. But it is already clear that ecological farming makes it possible to get rid of the use of chemistry, to grow clean products, which has a positive effect on human health.
The article will discuss the Manor of the Dervis family from the US state of California.
Unusual immediately noticeable - the estate is located near Los Angeles in the small town of Pasadena. It’s not so easy to imagine a village idyll close to the modern metropolis.
The farm not only provides the family with safe food, but also allows you to earn on the surplus, which are supplied to city restaurants.
Just imagine - more than four hundred varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers of greenery annually bring sowed areas. If translated into useful mass, it is almost three tons from four hectares.
Such yield is not always possible with the use of modern fertilizers. In monetary terms, the profit is not very large, about $ 20,000. But in conditions of almost complete self-sufficiency - this is an excellent result.
The proceeds are spent on the purchase of products that the family can not produce: flour, sugar, cereals, salt, oil. Agree that on a small allotment you will not be able to grow everything you need.
Difficult start of the journey
Having learned about such results, everyone wonders how the Derviss were able to achieve similar results. The answer, if not strange, is simple - everyday, sometimes very exhausting work and patience. The first attempts were made by the head of the family in New Zealand, but circumstances forced him to return to the States.
The entire life of the older family members was spent on the ground, surrounded by orange trees and spacious pastures. All my life, the Dervis family has been growing products for itself.
From the very beginning, the head of the family led the processing of the plot according to the principles of ecological farming, had an apiary, was engaged in gardening. Sons helped to care for pets.
And again, circumstances make you move, now finally, to Pasadena. That's when the main difficulties began. How to create an environmentally sustainable system in the city? Is it possible to combine the purity of products and the environment of the modern city?
Problems began to arise almost immediately. There were mistakes, failures, annoying blunders. Neighbors considered the family crazy. There was no question about any sales, to feed yourself. Heavy land, minimal rainfall, heat made the cultivation of vegetables unrealistic task.
But the power of the spirit was stronger than nature. In small steps, people moved forward, applied new methods of restoring wastewater, learned to create composts.
Not everything old needs to be forgotten.
It turned out that the ancient Greek method of processing is effective in our time. In the middle of the zero, the Dervis began to use non-glazed pots for watering. The past millennia did not affect the success of the method. Plant with a lack of water reaches the source of the roots. This biological feature was not affected by the past centuries. The technology resembles drip watering.
Clay capacity is buried in the center of the bed. The vessel is filled with water. Water is not many acts on the walls. Plants feel moisture and are pulled by the roots to the vessel. Evenly buried tanks allow you to evenly distribute water between individual plants.
Biological farming - the ergonomics of life
Create a self-sustaining farm will not work without reducing energy costs and failure to connect to the power lines.
In their household, the family decided to bet on the energy of the sun. Installation of twelve solar cells significantly reduced energy costs. Otherwise, in sunny California could not be.
The next step was the re-equipment of vehicles. Waste oil from restaurants is processed into a biological analogue of diesel fuel.
Attempting to create a closed loop allowed us to solve the problem of waste. On the farm, mulching is used, high ridges are made, and waste is processed into compost. A few years later the head of the family came to the conclusion that half measures could not do.
The farm refused to use microwaves, food processors and other similar equipment. Almost all types of work are done manually.
The transition to vegetarian food has solved the problem of getting meat food. A small amount of living creatures are bred for eggs and milk, which they sell to restaurants.
Neighbors and the majority of specialists considered subsistence farming a regress, a reversal to the past. "Radical Gourmet" is the most innocent characteristic of Dervis Senior. A person just cares about the health of loved ones, refusing products with GMOs and grown with the use of chemistry.
The family does not seek self-isolation, does not close on events in the city, state or country. The pioneers were able not only to successfully raise their farm, but also to attract many like-minded people. At the beginning of the 2000s, the site of the Urban Manor starts up - urbanhomestead.org, where the family shares ideas, advises, consults.
Volunteers are immediately involved, master classes, virtual excursions are held. Dervisi try to promote their lifestyle, speaking on television and radio.
Life sets its priorities and not everything is in human power. Not so long ago, Jules Dervis, who died of a pulmonary embolism at the age of 69, did not. He left behind a unique experience, a profitable economy and an understanding of the fact that a lot depends on a person. The family did not give up and continued the work of their father. The project is not only not closed, but is successfully developing. Children successfully continue the family business.
If you are interested in the experience of Dervis, there is a desire to find out more, then visit the project website or Facebook page - facebook.com/urbanhomestead. You can find useful information, especially if you speak English, but even an automatic translator will help you understand the basics of the unique technique of the American family.
We also offer you to listen to the video about the Dervis Manor:
