Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Art Corbit" <art_c@cox.net>]

This is one area we need to do a lot of study. This is a big problem with
the farm land in this area. Far too many of the plants grown in this area
take up the minerals from the soil and are then clear cut. They are hauled
off taking a bunch of the minerals with them. Our soil is badly depleted of
it natural minerals. The only possible way to replace these minerals is to
harvest green plants from other lands, compost them and then till the
compost into our soil.

Most county extension offices can test your soil and tell you exactly what
you need to add to it. They can also give you a list of what different
plants use different minerals. This will give you an idea of what plants you
need to gather to put certain minerals back into your soil. It has been a
long time since I had soil tested but then they charged a couple of bucks
per test but it may be $20 or more now.


----- Original Message -----
From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 10:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Wheat is the new oil: Nutrient Cycling


>
> We haven't talked much about minerals here.  Remineralize The Earth
website
> is at http://www.remineralize.org/ .  There are controversies.  I've used
a
> little greensand but nothing else in the way of rock dusts.
>
> It's my understanding minerals are best chelated right in the composting
> process, by humic acids. I'd like to know more.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
> --Henry David Thoreau
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 7/31/2006 at 9:34 PM Mark Nagel wrote:
>
> >This is one issue where we should focus the use of machinery and precious
> >energy: mining for minerals.  As John D. Hammaker spelled out, we've got
> >remineralize the earth!
> >
> >
> >NOTE: Hammaker's underlying concern was with climate change.  He felt
that
> >we had to create more biomass, and that this couldn't be achieved with
the
> >current mineral state of our soils.
> >
> >
> >-Mark Nagel
> >Everett, WA
> >
> >
> >=====================
> >From: Phil Bunch <pbunch@cox.net>
> >
> >Sunlight is useless without the mineral nutrients. Mineral "mining" using
> >any method is a short term fix. Once the mined nutrients are exported
they
> >have to be replaced or crops will fail.
> >
> >Phil
> >
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>
>
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