Komohana Research and Extension Center, Hilo, Hawaiʻi · October 1–3, 2015

Natural Farming Symposium 2015

A day of talks and hands-on skill shares in Hilo, a day of panels, then farm tours and a film. 25 recordings: nine talks including Drake Weinert's keynote, six demonstrations on the lawn, eight panels, a short ceremony and hallway interviews. Every one is checked line by line and boiled down to what was made, what was measured and what was only told.

Read what it all adds up to →

Also on the record: Konkuk 2016

Topics microbes soil economics policy health taro culture food pigs scale protectors research biochar fermentation minerals school gardens Clear

2 talks on “cover crops”

Ted Radovich, James Rushing, Josiah Hunt, Jana Bogs ·USA (Hawaiʻi) ·67 min

Four Scientists on Natural Farming: Proof, Biochar, Minerals

Four short research talks that followed Drake Weinert's keynote. Ted Radovich (UH Mānoa CTAHR) showed his lab's work on Hawaiʻi soils, cover crops, compost and compost tea; James Rushing (UH Hilo) listed what science does and does not yet know about natural farming, and said no top-tier peer-reviewed paper showed it working; Josiah Hunt (Pacific Biochar) explained biochar and read results from published studies; Jana Bogs, a nutritionist and soil consultant, argued for testing soil minerals and microbes, and warned about the sodium in seawater. Each talk got a few questions from the floor.

Found Weathered soil vs fertile soil: P 0.9 vs 480 ppm, Ca 38 vs 4,524, Al 142 vs 15

biochar compost cover crops microbes minerals research

Dr. Koon-Hui Wang ·USA (Hawaiʻi) ·34 min

Microbes Need Mulch That Rots: CTAHR's Field Trials

Dr. Koon-Hui Wang, a UH plant pathologist and nematologist, reports on her natural farming field trials in Hawaiʻi since 2010, using soil nematodes as her measure of soil health. Microbes (IMO-4) helped soil tilth and the soil food web on most farms, but yields matched or beat fertilizer only where there was crop residue or a mulch that rots easily; on a long-fallow Maui field with bamboo-leaf mulch and no seedling treatment, the natural farming plots yielded far less. Her conclusion: the Microbes need something to recycle, and they don't replace pest management.

Found Farm 1 soybean: KNF plots darker green, more biomass, higher chlorophyll and leaf nitrogen

cover crops microbes mulch nematodes pests research