Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>]

Can't resist this one, one of the all around best posts I've ever seen 
anywhere. I'm sending this on from the Gardeningorganically list at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GardeningOrganically/ .

paul@largocreekfarms.com
http://medicinehill.net
---------------------------------

"Doctorate in Organic Gardening"
(recommendations of Organic Gardening books, presented in a humorous
format)

A recent post on G.O. revealed the contents of the textbook for the
Arizona Master Gardening program.  In my disappointment over how
little this mainstream book had to offer in areas such as organic
vegetable gardening, soil building, waterwise irrigation, seed
selection, I decided that a "Doctorate in Organic Gardening"
designation should be made available for G.O. readers. <grin>

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The Doctor In organic Gardening program (acronym DIG) would
*  Expand your Organic knowledge and skills
*  Improve your harvest of delicious and healthy fruits, vegetables,
herbs and flowers
*  Increase your understanding of your community ecosystems and world
environmentalism

ADMISSIONS INFORMATION:
1)  Application:  Complete our "online application" by subscribing to
the Gardening Organically elist : )
2)  Field Experience:  The DIG program is not a theory-based
program.  Practical application is necessary.  Dirt under your
fingernails is necessary.
3)  Transfer Students:  If you are transfering from another program,
for instance the Deadly Gardens Programs sponsored by Monsanto and
Kellogg, realize that you will have some un-learning to do.  Life
patterns in your garden will undergo significant change.  Transfer
credits are NOT available.

COURSE MATERIALS:
*  You will need to have ongoing access to any combination of the
following - a garden plot, a community allotment, a flowerpot, a
farm ...  You will need it in order to experiment with the course
materials, but you will come to need it as an addiction, a soul
necessity.
*  You will need access to a public haz-mat disposal site, to
responsibly dispose of all the toxic wastes from your pre-organic
days ... chemical sprays, petroleum based fertilizers, GMO seeds,
weedkillers, general neurotoxins ...
*  A Scavenger Attitude is useful.  This will avail you of
opportunities you never believed possible - free mulch, harvested
rainwater, recycled and re-purposed tools and containers.
Possibilities Thinking, and Bartering, are elective courses, not
required but recommended, under the DIG program.
*  An open mind is indispensable.  In entering the organic world your
perception of the everyday will be incrementally changed.  You will
never again see a SUV in the same light, particularly after exposure
to professor fraggle's series on Current Events in World
Environmentalism.  "Dirt" will become "soil" in your hands, following
Professor Gloria's comments on sheet composting.  Your views of food
and medicine will likely change for the healthier.  Ornamental
hybrids in your garden may be eclipsed by open pollinated Edibles,
and Beneficials and Herbs.  Each incremental attitude adjustment
brings you (and our planet) one mini-step closer to the idea of
sustainable living.
*  Internet access is a plus, for regular connection to fellow
students in the DIG program, and connection to DIG-related websites,
organic materials supplers, etc.

BOOK LIST FOR SPECIFIC COURSES:
The following "textbooks" may be utilized in the DIG program.
Several may be available in your local public library.  Many are
available through Amazon.com in either their new or used book sales.
You may find better prices on used books via other online services
such as BookFinder.com , which also sells many out-of-print books,
and those published overseas.  The online books are free, but giving
a donation to each site would be a good thing, to support their noble
cause.
--------------------
Course name:  Gardening 101 - Introduction to Organic Gardening

_ Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Vegetables_
A basic overview of most areas of organic gardening, from soil
building and composting, to integrated pest management, rotational
and companion planting, plus a brief encyclopedia of cultivation for
most of the typical garden veggies.  There are also Herbs and
Fruits&Berries titles available in the same series.

_How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less
Land Than You Can Imagine_ by John Jeavons
This slim book is so all-encompassing it's hard to describe it.  It
covers intensive plant spacing, soil building, composting, yield
calculations, seed starting, seed temperatures, crop rotation,
compost cropping, and much much more.  Fully organic and
sustainability focussed.

_The Frugal Gardener_ by Catriona Tudor Erier
Rodale Press ISBN: 0-87596-801-5
Most likely the finest primer to those just learning about organic
gardening. Not only an introduction to organic ways and effective
practice, but gives fine overview of reasons for same.  Covers
everything from propagation, to scavenging
free stuff, to garden design, to companion planting, to recipes for
soil/plant food; and Beyond. Even us old hands will find good info in
it. Easy read, clear and fun.  Has the "Earth Safe Gardening" Seal.

_McGee & Stuckey's The Bountiful Container_ by Rose Marie Nichols
McGee and Maggie Stuckey
This is a great guide to edibles-in-containers.  The authors assert
that nearly everything can be grown in a container of some sort.
While they do not use fully organic methods, their book is useful in
realizing the possibilities and cultivation needs for growing veggies
in pots, which information is not typically covered elsewhere.

'Embracing Organic' and other articles under "Philosophical
Reflections" under "Files" at the Gardening Organically's Yahoo
website http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GardeningOrganically/files/

--------------------
Course name:  Soils 101

Chapter 3 "Soil: The Most Important Crop"
_Gardening for the Future of the Earth_ by Howard-Yana Shapiro

Soils section in Gardening Organically files
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GardeningOrganically/files/
includes tips on sheet composting and other topics

'The Fundamental Reality that Underlies Fukuoka's Principles'
By Emilia Hazelip
http://www.fukuokafarmingol.net/foverfound.html
online article about soils

_The Plowman's Folly_ by Edward Faulkner, 1943
available as an online book via soilandhealth.org
A ground breaking text on soil management. (pun intended, because
Faulkner's whole point is a no-till approach!)  This is a book to be
read over and over throughout your gardening career.

--------------------
Course name:  Landscape Design 110

'Companion planting' by Professor Stuart B. Hill
http://gardening.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?
site=http://eap.mcgill.ca/Publications/EAP55.htm

_How to Make a Forest Garden_ by Patrick Whitefield
garden design imitating a natural woodland with layers of plantings -
a tree layer of fruit and nut trees, a shrub layer of soft fruits and
nuts, and ground layer of perennial veggies and herbs

_The Permaculture Home Garden_ by Linda Woodrow
Contains among other things the most detailed description of Guild
Planting, where plant species are selected for grouping based upon
what they do for each other:  Legumes with high nitrogen users,
climbing vines with upright structural plants, etc.

_The Art of French Vegetable Gardening_ by Louisa Jones
Imagine a "coffee table book" of breathtaking photos of vegetable,
fruit and herb gardens.  Here it is, and quite an inspiration.

_Gaia's Garden:  A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture_ by Toby Hemenway
The Ecological Garden - details on everything from basic layout, to
water resources, beneficial critters, food forest and garden guilds
and more.

--------------------
Course name:  Gardening 199 - In depth Methodology

'Synergistic Gardening' by Emilia Hazelip
http://www.seedballs.com/hazelip.html
online article describing how Emilia pulled it all together:  soils,
rotational plantings, layout, and more.

_One Straw Revolution_  or
_Natural Farming_  or
_The Road Back to Nature_  all by Masanobu Fukuoka
hard to find...but worth the effort...and available somewhat online.
Excerpts from One Straw Revolution are available free online at
http://www.soilandhealth.org/copyform.asp?bookcode=010140

--------------------
UPPER DIVISION COURSEWORK - after a short time of gardening using
organic methods, the DIG student's outlook naturally broadens from
simple chemical-free gardening to more sustainable ways of growing
food and living in general.

--------------------
Course name:  Gardening 201 - Broadening Horizons and Sustainability

'Permaculture, a Beginners Guide'
http://www.gburnett.unisonplus.net/Perma/
A short online booklet which opens your eyes to the
interconnectedness of organic life.

Path to Freedom
http://pathtofreedom.com/
an urban homesteading project of amazing proportions: what one family
has achieved on a small city lot.  lots of links.

_How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less
Land Than You Can Imagine_ by John Jeavons
Return to this classic to review the sections on growing your own
compost crops;  even composting can now become a sustainable practice

--------------------
Course name:  Environmental Studies 202 - Water in an age of Climate
Change

Oasis Design's Greywater Site
http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/misinfo/index.htm
perhaps the most comprehensive and practical greywater information to
be had for free.

Waterwise gardening tips at Gardening Organically's Yahoo Website
files
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GardeningOrganically/files/

--------------------
Course name:  Political Science 215 - Current Events in World
Environmentalism

_Restoring the Earth: Visionary Solutions from the Bioneers_ by Kenny
Ausubel
Entry into organic awareness quickly leads you into awareness of the
larger environmental problems our world currently faces.  And reading
about world environmentalism can rapidly get deeply depressing.
Ausubel's book is a bright glimmer of hope - each chapter highlights
a person who is working on new approaches and tecnological solutions,
from sewage treatment via bog plants to green money in economics.

--------------------

THESIS AND FINAL DEFENSE

After advancement to candidacy, the culminating step of the DIG
doctoral program begins: the Thesis.  While DIG studies to this point
have been in-depth reading and practical application, the final
defense consists of sharing your knowledge with others.  Gardeners
everywhere are yearning for this knowledge, and are experiencing
great difficulty in finding it.  There is much mis-information out
there, and the media campaigns of the chemical companies aim to keep
it that way.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to
wear your Organic Gardener's heart on your sleeve, to proudly share
this information wherever possible, to help gardeners large and small
reach for more sustainable practices.

CONFERRING OF DEGREE

Under the DIG program, no conferring of degree seems necessary.  By
the time a DIG student attains this advanced level of study, he or
she realizes that refining sustainability is an ongoing, lifelong
process.  A bountiful cornucopia of healthy produce, a deep soul
satisfaction of living wisely upon this earth, and the rich rewards
of sharing this essential knowledge with others - these are the real
DIG degree.  May they be yours for for a lifetime, and seven
generations beyond.

[The above spoof "Program Description" will be retained for future
reference in the Gardening Organically files at our Yahoo Groups
website.  The above booklist has been snipped for brevity.  For
expanded booklist, please refer to GO files.]

Joanne
Los Angeles