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Download the Permagardening for the Market Chapter
The Permagardening for the Market chapter of the Facilitators Manual provides the detailed instructions (and support materials) you need to implement the mobilization meeting. Download the chapter here.
Summary
Goal Farmers will meet new market opportunities by expanding vegetable production, increasing garden diversity, and scheduling planting and harvesting to meet demand. Learning Objectives- Learn appropriate land preparation and planting techniques for the vegetables selected during the current season.
- Learn how to time planting and harvesting to meet market demand.
- Learn improved planting, harvesting, and post-harvest processing and storage techniques.
- Chapter 5: Seedling Propagation (Soils and Caring for Your Seedlings in the Nursery sections)
- Chapter 13: Permagardening
- Draw seasonality chart on flip chart paper (empty, to be filled in during workshop).
- Fill in important holidays in the correct months, to help farmers better understand the agricultural season during which each holiday falls.
- Purchase vegetables – identified in Module 5 – at the market to bring to the workshop to use for the opener activity. There should be at least one vegetable from each of the four rotational planting groups.
- 5 hoes
- 5 shovels
- Wheelbarrow
- 1 wheelbarrow of finished compost
- 1 bucket of charcoal powder
- 1 bucket of wood ash
- 3 watering cans
- Bucket
- String
- A variety of vegetables
- Roll of flipchart paper and tape
- Markers
- Families of Vegetables for Crop Rotation Planning
- Types of Vegetables for Crop Rotation Planning
- Seasonal Crop and Market Analysis Chart
- Market Opportunities
- Garden Design
Agenda
Opener: Sorting vegetable types (30 mins)- Explain the different categories of vegetables and relevance to crop rotation
- Farmers sort vegetables by type
- Ask farmers about what they grow now to sell in the market
- Use happy face, neutral face, and sad (disappointed) face pictures to discuss current market prices for select vegetables
- Create seasonal market analysis chart for the selected vegetables
- Group selects top three vegetables from the seasonal market analysis
- Small groups create a plan for how to sell that vegetable at market when the price is highest
- Small groups present plans and get feedback
- Group discussion on which vegetables to produce and sell together
- Discuss best practices for planting and harvesting the select vegetables
- Prepare garden beds in the Forest Garden
- Practice transplanting seedlings from germination beds to sacks, trench and/or bareroot beds
- Debrief permagardening best practices
- Instruct farmers to transplant slow-growing fruit trees in the nursery (if it has not yet been done)
- Follow-up
What you need to know
Whether you intend to sit the FG Pro certification exam, or lead Seedling Propagation module extension activities, you must be able to answer the following questions to succeed.Soil types, amendments, compost & mulch
Soil Type
- Why is soil quality important?
- What are the different types of soil?
- What are the drawbacks of clay for nursing trees?
- What are the drawbacks of sand for nursing trees?
- Why is loamy soil best for nursing trees? What is the fourth important medium for healthy soils? What is humus and where does it come from?
Simple Soil Test
Soil Amendments and their Benefits
Permagerdening: Year round vegetable garden
Site Selection & Planning
Constructing a Permagarden
- What are key steps in constructing a Permagarden site?
- What is double digging? How do you perform double digging for permagardens? Why is double-digging critical for permagarden beds?
- What amendments should you add to the soil in your nursery beds? In what proportions?
- What do you do after double digging the beds?
- What are advantages and disadvantages of raised and sunken garden beds?
Vegetable Propagation
The Germinate and Transplant Method
- How do you prepare the germination bed? How do you protect the germination bed? From goats? From pests/ants? From the sun?
- How do you plant seeds in the germination bed? What is the spacing between seeds in the germination bed?
- What are some reasons seeds do not germinate?
- How do you care for plants in the germination beds? How often do you weed? When do you thin?
Transplanting
- How do you transplant your vegetable seedling from germination beds to permagarden beds?
- What are some tips or precautions to keep in mind when transplanting seedlings?
Direct Seeding
- What are benefits of direct seeding, what are its drawbacks? What types of vegetables benefit from direct seeding?
- What are three benefits of using the germinate and transplant method over direct seeding?
Triangular Spacing of Seeds and Transplants
- How do you maximize the number of plants you can grow in a bed without planting them too closely?
- Is it best to line up plants evenly in rows or to stagger them like triangles? What benefits do you get from triangular spacing?
- Why is it critical to get the spacing between plants right when using triangular spacing?
- What technique can you use to dig holes in the correct triangular pattern?
Convenient Spacing Tools
Maintaining Your Permagarden
Maximizing Productivity in your Permagarden
- What are some strategies for intercropping crop types so that you can harvest throughout the year?
- What are some advantages of intercropping?
- How does crop rotation minimize pests and disease?
- What are the four main types of vegetables? Which types do not take as many nutrients from the soil? Which types give back nutrients to the soil? Which types need the most nutrients from the soil?
- In what order should you rotate different types of vegetables?
- What is cover cropping? What are its benefits in the rainy season? What are its benefits in the cold season?
- What are companion plants?