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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Marty Kraft <martyk@allspecies.org>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] power tools & bought inputs/ Wheat is the new oil
  • Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2006 10:36:35 -0500

Paul

Watching your progress can instruct us all. Got a digital camera? Tell the story.

Marty Kraft
On Jul 29, 2006, at 10:49 PM, TradingPostPaul wrote:


My situation is I'm having to start from scratch this year, having
relocated recently. Not even planting this year, just building soil and
beds. After this, no-till. And all the compost and mulch are coming from
this property, no bought inputs. I'm 62 and if I can do it, not being an
expert or as widely experienced as some on this list, then almost anybody
can.


paul tradingpost@lobo.net

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
--Henry David Thoreau
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 7/29/2006 at 9:39 PM TradingPostPaul wrote:

As it is I'm working without any powered machinery. The day will come when
we need to do without, and plenty of people now need to grow who can't
afford a thousand dollars here and a thousand dollars there. We have a
tremendous advatage with the knowledge from so many sources, so we should
be able to do much better than our forebears, shouldn't we? Shouldn't we
be
able to feed ourselves on an acre or less, without power tools?

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
--Henry David Thoreau
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 7/29/2006 at 2:47 PM Art Corbit wrote:

Hi Paul,

A good riding lawn mower with a grass catcher on it and a large compost
pile
are worth their weight in gold. It is really good for the raised bed
gardens.


----- Original Message -----
From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Wheat is the new oil



Think that needs to be stressed. You can't make two and two equal five.
Returning all available organic waste to the soil was the prime
directive
Sir Albert laid out back in the '40s. It was his demonstrations and
lectures that prompted J.I. Rodale to start pushing organic growing.

We were scouting around the other day looking for sources of soil
amendments when it dawned on me (or was it the sunrise), we have half
an
acre of green weeds growing on our new place. If I cut all that and
compost
it before it goes to seed, we'll have more than enough to loosen the
clay
and cover the beds. Also found plenty of native clump grass to dig up
and
add to growing beds. Unless I heard wrong, that's a lot of root mass,
green
growth on top, and mycorrhizae-formed humus underneath. It's virgin
soil,
grows a lot of rabbit brush and when monsoon comes, a lot of native
grass.
I figure the trick is to avoid working it anymore after placing it in
the
beds, so as to keep it from the air as much as possible. Starting
over's
no
picnic, but the best possible growing soil is the only way I know to
the
best production - and the only way to make it worth doing at all.


paul tradingpost@lobo.net




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