Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Soilsecrets@aol.com]

Marty,

 

Making our farms and landscapes mycorrhizal  is a wonderful concept and one more tool for the tool box that we all need.  We should all  be looking for those opportunities to help our environment that is within our reach.  The average American uses in paper goods each year of their life the equal of one 100 foot tall tree.  If you live to 80 that's 80 trees 100 feet plus in size, as the 100 footer that was used when you were 1 year of age will be much taller by the time your 80.  So my question for you is how many 100 foot tall trees have you planted to help undo this damage caused by your need to use paper?  Well in my case I've sown from seed and planted over 1 million trees since 1980 and in my own yard in Los Lunas New Mexico I have over 1500 trees including more species of oak than any botanical garden in the United States.  I have oaks that I planted the seed in 1998 that are 35 feet tall today and a type of redwood started from seed in 1989 that is 60 feet tall today.  The real excitement comes from the history of the soil on this site.  When I started in 1987 the soil was barren sodic and saline clay with huge cracks.  In the winter the site would turn white as the sodium would precipitate out on the surface, it looked like it snowed.  The pH was anywhere from 8.3 to 9.2 and my associates who were USDA affiliated soil scientists told me I was crazy, it could not be fixed and to put a for sale sign up and move!  Today, I live in a garden of Eden surrounded by Redwoods, Oaks, Maples and Giant Timber Bamboo and you should see the soil, oh the soil is a rich crumbly brown and full of life.  The site is visited by scientists from all over the world on a regular basis and it never fails to amaze even those that have seen it every  year.  Today I can grow almost any plant I want as long as it can tolerate our zone 6 winters. 

 

Dr. Michael