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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] And here's Ecology Action Books

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: emitch@att.net, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] And here's Ecology Action Books
  • Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 11:14:07 -0600


Yes, I have to agree no one writer has the last word - esp when they're
better gardeners than writers!

I wouldn't dismiss their growing in minimum space. Hard times are impacting
more of the population and the worst is still in the future. IMHO a lot of
people will wish they could grow more food in what little space they have.

That said, my own garden is a classic case making your point about
adapting. Double digging would be dumb here with hard subsoil six inches
down. And my knees won't cooperate. Plus I don't have three or four years
to let compost and cover crops do the job. Jeavons and Chadwick took years
to build great growing soil, and got a lot of free student labor. So last
fall I built UP instead, framing beds, mixing amendments and drenching with
manure tea, seaweed stuff, molasses, alfalfa meal, fish emulsion. Over the
winter these beds soaked up the snow and the little guys went right to
work. This is my adaptation, and it works here. Beds I built last fall are
turning into jungles as we speak. And I don't have to do it all again next
year. Mulch and the little guys will dispense with any need to cultivate.
No bad bugs of any sort have appeared anywhere.

My problem now is, each tomato bed has grown into one long, solid bush four
feet high and six feet wide, over the last three weeks. With three-four
months yet to grow. And the beds are only four feet wide. I can barely get
between them to water, and laying drip at this point is out of the
question. My biggest surprise is the Genovese heirlooms are setting fruit
in 90+ week after week.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 7/8/2007 at 7:31 AM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:

>I have acquired and read all these books, and would offer a caution or
>two:
>
>1) They are NOT well-written. These guys are gardeners, not writers, so,
>while the "gold" is there, you have to dig for it.
>
>2) The evolutionary nature of their work makes it hard to adapt to your
>own needs. They have spiraled in to a very narrow perspective: Feeding
>oneself from minimum space in a specific climate. While that is a useful
>perspective, I think it will not be implemented as described by many.
>
>Other methods, such as those supported by this list, Ken's Minifarm site,
>Elliot Coleman's approach, and even Square Foot Gardening, offer better
>ways to get started or, at least, communicate the methods better.
>Jeavon's work should be viewed more as an finely-tuned example (as should
>Fukuoka's, or Ruth Stout's) of what is achievable, rather than a recipe
>for what, and how, YOU should do.
>
>E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
>www.hillcountrynatives.biz
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: TradingPostPaul
> To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 11:44 PM
> Subject: [Livingontheland] And here's Ecology Action Books
>
>
>
> And here's Ecology Action Books
> http://www.bountifulgardens.org/products.asp?dept=113
>
snip







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