Monthly Newsletter – Vía Orgánica
For organic regenerative agriculture, fair trade,
social justice, sustainable living and sustainable production
Ranch news
EDUCATIONAL RANCH VÍA ORGÁNICA
Another regenerative, transformative and biodiverse year
We completed a new cycle of seasons and despite the climatic irregularities, an increase in the amount of soil inoculated and recovered after rainfall is perceived, which is stored more thanks to the organic matter added throughout the farm. This encourages active microbiology and with it, grasslands and forest areas have been restored, increasing the amount of biomass each year allowing its transformation into proteins such as eggs, lamb, duck and rabbit meat, increasing the soil’s capacity as a store and water sponge, CO2 capture, among other benefits.
This year we remodeled the organic fertilizer station with the support of Germán, Diego and Don Nacho, a work inspired by CEDICAM (Center for Integral Farmer Development), which trains and shares experiences among farmers to produce living food and healthy soils by promoting the use of local inputs and beneficial microbiology. Jesús León Santos, leader of this organization and winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, trained us.
Thanks to the rescue of ancestral seed varieties by the team of the Alegria sisters, biodiversity has increased. The Alegria sisters have maintained and improved the seed house, which allows exchange with other producers.
If we could fly like the huitlacoche or the mockingbird that brighten up the park with their song every morning, we could notice a small green dot in the Jalpa Valley that vibrates from the ground and even the cosmos for the life that every day is expressed in different ways thanks to the ecological management and the hands and hearts that protect and maintain this Agroecological Park free of pesticides.
Packages
Billion Agave Project
The Billion Agave Project is three years old now and the project has already established a fermented maguey forage production station enriched with leguminous species, such as mesquite or guaje. The interest of producers has increased to generate reserve forage for the 8 months of drought. Forage that not only has reduced animal feed costs but also the pressure on grazing areas, allowing the recovery of landscapes with better soil retention and vegetation cover. A forage shredding machine designed by Engineer Jose Flores of Rancho Zamarripa was shipped to Oaxaca to CEDICAM assisting the network of more than 1500 farmers organized and ready to use the maguey for their livestock.
Finally, a production cycle of mesquite seedlings was completed, which are produced from January to September and planted during the rainy season in different research plots, reaching 90% of success in the establishment of the seedlings, along with the small seedling nursery, other native leguminous species with forage potential received from INIFAP in Celaya are also germinated. Thanks to its rapid establishment, the maguey has been the guest of honor this year and the only thing to do is to keep growing it, the plant will be in charge of doing everything else.
Seasonal Crop
Do It Yourself
November is gone, leaving us with cold weather and a little moisture left by a storm. This can be taken as an advantage to make a rotation of our crop areas and recover the balance of the soil. We recommend the following:
1.- Take the time to inspect your orchard: check which crops developed better, which ones adapted according to the sun, shade or season, take your general notes of the orchard, this will allow you to plan for the next cycle.
2.-Evaluate your soil, check how much it improved or if it is compacted and it’s worth repeating the preparation of the double digging or even incorporate more compost.
3.- Take the opportunity to plant something cold, remember not to repeat the same crop in the same place to recover the soil and break the cycle of some bugs or diseases.
4.- Direct sow radish, carrots, cilantro, arugula. You can also make a mixture of salad leaves and sow a section, usually salad leaves are adapted to cool weather. You can mix several types of lettuces, with mustard, watercress, arugula and you will harvest a delicious mix.
Water in the evenings and avoid losing moisture during the day.
Ranch Recipes
INGREDIENTS:
– 5 medium size cooked beets
– 3 oranges
– 2 shelled jicama
– 4 apples
– 2 limes
– 12 pieces of sugar cane, rind removed
– 1 cup of cleaned peanuts
– 1 split lettuce
– 2 cloves
– 200 grams of piloncillo
– 2 pinches of salt
– 3 tablespoons of honey
– 2 tablespoons of homemade vinegar or apple cider vinegar
– 1 teaspoon of coarse pepper
– Water, as needed
PROCEDURE:
Cook the beets with the piloncillo, cloves, salt and water. Leave a little bit of stem to the beets so that they have a good color.
Slice all the fruits. Remove the seeds from the oranges and limes to prevent them from turning sour.
Mix everything so that all the fruit is painted and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Surprise your family and enjoy this Christmas salad with your favorite dishes.
Inspirations
This month we have two important dates, December 3 is World Day for the Non-Use of Pesticides and December 5 is World Soil Day. Vía Orgánica is part of the National Campaign Sin Maíz no Hay País (Without Corn There is No Country) and our director in the CDMX, Mercedes López Martínez, is the representative of the class action lawsuit against GMO corn in Mexico. Through the lawsuit, a struggle is being waged that encompasses, among many others, these two issues: a struggle against pesticides and for the health of the soil. This month we share with you the documentary: “The World According to Monsanto” directed by Marie-Monique Robin, which has inspired many people in this struggle to continue defending our planet and our corn.
December Activities
January Activities
DON’T FORGET TO VISIT US!
Remember that we are open from 8 am to 6 pm
Carretera México/ Querétaro, turnoff to Jalpa, km 9
Agroecological Park Vía Orgánica.
For information on our products, seeds and harvest,
call our store at 442 757 0490.
Every Saturday and Sunday nixtamalized tortilla with Creole and local corn!
Enjoy our sweet and sour kale chips for children and not so children!
