Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

What we find is, there are ways of building healthy soil and growing
practices that can multiply our yields and  quality of produce, for a given
amount of space and input costs. Those interested can discuss these methods
and see what works for them. But I stress again, better production at lower
cost is the key to encouraging home growing and local markets. Growers are
squeezed by high costs and price competition, esp organic growers. Family
farms are now a tiny fraction of what they were fifty years ago, and are
largely at the mercy of the middlemen and chemical business. This is
intolerable, and with many others we're doing something about it. 

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net

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

On 7/8/2006 at 11:09 AM Pat Meadows wrote:

>On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 20:13:43 -0700, you wrote:
>
>
>>
>>I'm wanting to know how people would manage self-sufficiency with green
>manures,
>>whether harvest seed from such crops would/can be practical.
>
>Mark - the people at Ecology Action (John Jeavons and crew) have published
>several research booklets in this area.  
>
>I don't know if they have done research specifically on saving seed from
>cover crops (compost crops), but they have done a lot of research on
>self-sufficiency using compost crops.  So maybe seed-saving is included.
>
>http://www.bountifulgardens.org/shop/gb-research-papers.html
>
>NOTE:  I have no interest whatsoever in getting involved in a long
>discussion (or even a short one) as to whether Jeavons' biointensive
>growing is a good method, or whether double-digging is or isn't necessary.
>I just happen to have a possible answer to Mark's question and I'm
>answering it.  Period.  Full stop.  
>
>I won't discuss double-digging, or microbial inoculants, or 'Soil Secrets'
>or any other kind of inoculants, or no-till vs. biointensive vs. square
>foot gardening or any of that stuff.  Everyone else can discuss them until
>the cows come home, but I'm not answering posts on those subjects.
>
>Pat
>-- 
>In the Appalachian Mountains in northern Pennsylvania
>Blog (mainly gardening and cooking related):
>http://www.entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/
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