Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

A point that needed to be made, humus and humification is a natural process
and Nature has always done it. Not rocket science. Yes, crop rotations,
green manuring, cover cropping, mulching - these have been practiced - and
promoted somewhat - by the experts for decades, esp since the Dust Bowl
days. 

But applying these proven techniques to the home and market garden hasn't.
And best practices are going to be mandatory in the new Victory Gardens we
need everywhere. 

We've lost millions of the small family farms  since the '30s. We're now
two or three generations away from those millions of people who knew enough
about growing their own. We got educated  so we wouldn't have to work in
the fields. 

So we know more today; we can do better. But - and here's the problem - if
we wait till groceries (and lots of other stuff like fuel for our whole
transportation infrastructure) are unaffordable then it's too late to start
learning how. Can you say "learning curve"??? One more major natural
disaster, war, or oil & gas disruption, and a lot of folks will wish they
started years ago. Or got out of the high-rise and got some dirt under
their nails. 

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 7/3/2006 at 11:01 AM Steve Diver wrote:

>Compost - the end product of organic matter decomposition
>and humification - is a type of stable humus. 
>
>This is widely accepted in composting science.
>  
>The terms "humus farming" and "humus management" are 
>decades old.  They describe a system of biological farming 
>practices -- crop rotations, green manuring, cover cropping, 
>mulching, proper tillage (or no tillage), and composting -- that 
>build soil organic matter.
>
>Soil testing methods can ascertain the percent organic 
>matter on a dry weight basis using acid digestion of soil
>samples.   This is the percent OM that is displayed on a 
>soil test.
>
>But there is a second test known as the Humus Value test
>which is available thru several labs or by using your own
>test kit.  It is a sodium hydroxide extraction, then determined
>by colorimetry.  It is expressed as a relative value from 
>0 to 100.  The higher the number the *darker* the color,
>and the higher degree that organic matter has undergone
>humification.   
>
>Humification -- the breakdown of complex raw organic matter 
>into basic molecular units, followed by the buildup, or polymerization, 
>of these basic building blocks into short-chain and long-chain
>humic substances -- is a universal process that occurs in soils. 
>
>Adding organic matter to soils in the form of crop residues,
>cover crops, and thick organic mulches results in humification.
>
>Bioprocessing organic matter through a compost pile
>results in humification.  The timeline is much faster
>and controlled through composting. 
>
>The practical results of adding compost to soils has been 
>thoroughly documented.  Farmers have raised the percent
>OM in their soil by several units using well humified compost 
>as a key component of humus management.  
>
>Steve Diver
>