Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Pat Meadows <pat@meadows.pair.com>]

On Fri, 7 Jul 2006 13:01:36 +1000 (EST), you wrote:

>
>With all the talk about good fungi and bacteria, and the realization that 
>not all helpful ones occur in a given soil (ie. innoculation is needed), 
>would it be a good idea to simply collect good soil samples when you 
>travel, and innoculate your own soil with everything you can find?
>
>Go on a hike, find some good soil, make some tea out of it and water it 
>in... travel to Idaho, find some good soil, do the same.  I'm thinking on 
>a garden scale, where a handful in your pocket would do.
>
>Crazy/dump idea or good idea?
>


I haven't participated in any of the discussions here for a long time (lack
of interest, mostly).  But I think these discussions have tended to give
the impression that gardening/farming is a lot more difficult than it
really is.

If you've got humus in your soil, if it's good crumbly rich soil:  you
don't need to worry about this or that bacteria.  You don't need to worry
about this or that micronutrient either (not in my experience anyway).
Everything grows great.  

I've had limited experience, but I have gardened in three USA states and
one Canadian province.  In one of the states, I gardened in two very
different areas.  I've gardened in clay (now), in sand, and in decent loam.
My advice:  Get lots of organic matter into the soil, and don't worry about
the rest.

Pat
-- 
In the Appalachian Mountains in northern Pennsylvania
Blog (mainly gardening and cooking related):
http://www.entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/