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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Get big or get small ?

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Terry Wereb <frosted-acres@sbcglobal.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Get big or get small ?
  • Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 07:58:47 -0800 (PST)

This brings to mind that even before farmers had
tractors, that spacing between rows permitted room to
walk for hoeing and picking.
I find myself designing planting areas based on my
arm's reach-- I want to be able to reach just over the
half way point. At Mom's place-- I permit room for a
chair for her to sit in- and this is where raised beds
come in especiallt handy-- they bring the ground up
closer to the worker! So, At Mom's, I take a chair,
and pretend my arm is about 7 inches shorter-- this
accomodates for our height differences!
I remember stories about people laughing at "lazy
gardeners-- those that gardened from chairs, only to
find out that the person had no legs or other such
'disability' My ex's grandmother gardened from a
chair-- it was the only way she could do it, but she
managerd to put up enough food every year to get
through the winter.
Many years ago, a "big" farm meant the family had a
lot of family hands to work on it-- you know-- large
numbers of children! The hired hand was rare- a luxury
in some cases. With today's understanding of soil
biology, intercropping, successional planting, and
hosts of other minutia, we can stay small, while still
producing more than we need--our profit margin, so to
speak.
My brother is still very much in to the "green
revolution" mindset of tractors, tilling, waiting for
the ground to dry up, etc. His one concession to
"safe" agriculture is no chemicals. He does at least
understand that process. Meanwhile, I am looking for
old rolled hay bales!!!


Terry W





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