Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Uriel <uriel@nasalam.org>]

I agree with the philosophy of not tilling the soil, but I wonder how 
far we follow "nature's example" by allowing organic matter to stay on 
top and not put it into the soil.  Do you go so far as to not disturb 
the soil to plant seeds?  Do you just broadcast them by the many 
thousands like nature does and hope some come up?  I think it realistic 
to recognize that we are farming the soil and expecting to harvest food 
from it in greater quantities than nature would normally produce.  We 
are already disrupting a natural cycle.  We need to find a balance that 
works with nature while also meeting our needs.
Uriel / SW Missouri

TradingPostPaul wrote:
> I think you'll agree that no method works for everyone whether it's
> building adobe or hog calling. Ken's point is no-till works, period.
> There's a right and a wrong way to do anything. If I do no-till and don't
> get good results, it certainly doesn't mean no-till didn't work. It means I
> didn't *make* it work. There's a great deal more to it than just not
> plowing and cultivating. Good growing has  a learning curve. It takes time
> and practice, and certainly good information. And I think that's true of
> all agricultural practices. 
>
> As they say, the Devil is in the details.
>
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes. 
> --Henry David Thoreau 
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 7/5/2006 at 11:28 AM Greg and April wrote:
>
>   
> > A couple of small disagreements.
> >
> > First.    Nature does till, just not the way we do.    Moles, gofers,
> > shrews, rats, mice, earthworms, rabbits and a host of other animals and
> > insects bring dirt ( including subsoil ) to the surface and take organic
> > matter below the surface.    I could show you some big rocks in my sisters
> > yard that had almost been buried by the action of gofers in the last 3-4
> > years.
> >
> > Second.    Not everyone will have the same success with the same method,
> > and saying that someone failed and the system didn't, is disrespectful.   
> > Some methods work for some people, other methods work better for other
> > people.    So just because No-Till didn't work for someone, is by no means
> > any reason to say someone failed.    Even the son of the Japanese farmer (
> > I couldn't even begin to spell his name ) that made a No Till method
> > popular  couldn't get the same results that his father could.
> >
> > Greg H.  
> >
> >  ----- Original Message ----- 
> >  From: Ken Hargesheimer 
> >  To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org 
> >  Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 17:36
> >  Subject: [Livingontheland] composting, no-till, etc
> >
> >
> >  Dear oganicites,
> >
> >  As far as I am concerned, there is no debate concerning, organic,
> > no-till, mulching, etc.  I have seen this in 7 states and 18 countries and
> > there is no place on earth that organic, no-till is not the way to do it.
> >     
>
>   
> >  All the technical talk is worth little; what happens in the garden/field
> > is what is important.  Nature does not plow or dig, add amendments, etc. 
> > I am a "neighbor" to 20 villages on www.nabuur.com and one guy today said
> > that since there are different climates and conditions they need to see
> > what works.  No, organic, no-till works everywhere. I know a farmer in AR
> > who did it for five or so years and stopped.  The system did not fail; he
> > failed.  It works!!
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Livingontheland mailing list
> > Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland
> >     
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Livingontheland mailing list
> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland
>
>
>