Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

What I'd like to know is what kind of soil was she trying to improve to
begin with, was she just adding compost and nothing else, what kind of
compost, was she mixing it with the soil, was she keeping it moist enough
to "cook" and get the biologicals going, and did she ever try grasses or
legumes to build mycorrhyzal activity for humus building. Her use of your
biologicals isn't the problem, but the photo shows about three inches of
topsoil built over 4 or 5 years. In my book that would qualify as years
totally wasted. Again, I don't question the effectiveness of your
biologicals, just the futility of trying to make productive soil
economically out of dead alkaline desert sand or caliche. Frankly, I'd just
move somewhere else. Anywhere else!

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


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

On 12/4/2006 at 9:32 PM Soilsecrets@aol.com wrote:

>Hi Bob,
> 
>The picture I sent showing a farm in the desert of Northern Arizona is not
> 
>really a commercial farm, but rather is a CSA Organic farm.  They grow
>only  
>for members!   It's about 1 difficult hour drive outside of Snowflake  as
>the 
>roads are extremely rough.  The farm is completely off the grid  which is
>why 
>they use solar powered well pumps to get water.  Another  interesting
>point 
>about the site is that for 15 years this person practiced an  intensive
>double dug 
>lasagna technique to try and develop the soils.  And  in fact even
>developed 
>a DVD and a class for the local community college called  'Double dug
>lasagna 
>for building your soils'.  She did this and also had  huge compost piles 
>always in the works, adding the finished compost to the  soil.  She also
>used 
>Compost tea faithfully.  But after 15 years there  was still not that much
>humus 
>soil formation found on the site.  Her  production was ok, but not great
>and her 
>water needs where high.  She has  now used our protocol on the site for 4
>to 
>5 years and there is now a thick A  horizon of humus rich topsoil and her 
>watering needs have dropped  significantly.  While this is exciting for me
>to see, 
>it does not surprise  me as we've replicated this success in desert areas
>all 
>over the world.   Check out this photo of the soil. I'm sorry if the image

>does not email across  for you, it's the only way I know how to send
>pictures.  
> 
>Michael Martin Melendrez
>_www.soilsecrets.com_ (http://www.soilsecrets.com)  
> 
>
> 
> 
>
>
>
>
>
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