Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Harold and Sue Karber" <karber@pldi.net>]

We also have learned to grow out of season with greenhouses, grow tunnels 
that even in dead of winter with solar gain used at night even in Oklahoma 
winters spinach, lettuces, etc. even tomatoes can be grown and if sold 
locally no added transportation costs.   I love dried leathers and even 
excess cantaloupe or watermelon can be dried and eaten in winter.    dried 
fruits are wonderful.   In season eating only would lead to some 
deficiencies like vit c. in the diet.    When fiber optics were new one of 
my sons ran a tube of fiber optics from outside to the basement and grew 
tomatoes all winter as a school project.    The light from the fiber optics 
worked great.   True it was just one plant but it worked.  His Science 
project was a mock space station with centrifugal force rotation, fiber 
optic growing of a closed system for food which had fish for protein to 
consume the worms that composted etc..   He even allowed for some fiber 
optics to be used for repairs so their storage was in use growing food until 
or if ever needed for repairs.  He also discovered that dirt was lighter and 
easier to manage than hydroponics.    He never worked out all the bugs but 
then he was just a pre-teen.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
To: <emitch@att.net>; <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 11:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Eating Seasonally


> I'm going to stick my neck out and say seasonal is overrated. Seasonal is
> good - eating what's produced when it's fresh picked and all - but we've
> long ago learned to preserve certain foods for winter when fresh food in
> simply unavailable.  Societies have traditionally used root cellars,
> storing root crops in the ground or damp sand, salting or drying meats,
> pickling, fermenting, and so on.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net