Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[mtncats <mtncats@yahoo.com>]

Hi Paul,

 

I was registering some disagreement with Laurie Ann's post, had little to do with your original question.

 

Hadn't addressed that before as I don't have much to offer.  While I don't share your degree of despair with the current food production system, I'm quite certain you're on track.

 

I've recently had conversations with a local certified "master gardener", a neighbor I know well.  My soil is remarkably better than his.  My crops are healthier.  I use no commercial fertilizers or pesticides or herbicides.  He utilizes all, particularly proud of his toxic pesticide license.  Clearly, my production cost is far lower.  Not to mention what he's doing to his soil.

 

More disturbing, he has no interest whatsoever in doing things differently.  And part of his certification requires him to teach.  I pity his pupils/apprentices.  They would do better here, reading.  Then they'd have less to unlearn.

 

My elderly mother was farm-raised.  Her father was the first in the (Michigan) county to purchase a tractor.  I never met him, but her lessons to me were the first I had to unlearn.  She is continuously amazed when she visits us.  Unfortunately she didn't learn, or has forgotten, how her father farmed.  She learned her techniques from others.  Likely someone similar to my well-meaning neighbor.

 

Tom (in central Va)

TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

> Of course we can learn from books, websites, etc. Maybe I should have
> worded my original question differently. IF we intend to save any of our
> resource base for our
>  children and grandchildren, is there any other way
> but intensive organic no-till? Is there any other answer to soil and water
> depletion and declining productivity? 
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 2/3/2007 at 2:57 PM mtncats wrote in part:
>
> >I had a slightly different take. Everything that's worked for me came
> >from what I'd read. The hands-on experiences were something I needed to
> >unlearn, whether growing food or building a house. Depends on your
> >teacher.

---

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