Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jun 7, 2007, at 9:35 AM, Marie McHarry wrote:

>  It may be a flash in the pan because
> as is well known (I've been reading too much Alexander McCall Smith
> lately) you can't keep growing a crop on soil after it's depleted.

And that is something overlooked by the Pollyannas who say we can  
turn trees or any crop into IC energy. Some feel the ever-faster- 
growing hybrids will do the trick. I don't think so. Just as virgin  
forests (first cut) were bigger and better trees, so grains and  
grasses extract minerals and micronutrients from the soil. If all  
that is taken out by the plants is not replenished, then the harvest  
diminishes. The only free input is sun and rain.