Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

And don't forget the "monetary crisis".  Though largely imaginary, our financial system nevertheless has the ability to affect everything we do.

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz

----- Original Message -----

From: TradingPostPaul

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 10:44 PM

Subject: [Livingontheland] The convergence of crises

For months we've been repeating that there's a water crisis brewing, and
that food prices would start rising due to ethanol and oil costs among
others, and that farm inputs like fertilizer would outstrip supply for the
same reasons. (We aren't even counting unpredictable local effects of
climate change.) As you see these things are happening. We had early
warning from various sources.

We've been over the ways to cut water use in food production. Intensive
growing that uses less land, permanent beds that don't require irrigating
wasted space between rows, mulch and closer plantings, and above all higher
levels of decomposing organic matter that builds humus and makes soil more
moisture retentive. Of course none of this can help the struggling big crop
farmers with grains and corn and feedlots and such, who can't give up their
addiction to fossil fuel inputs and government subsidies.

And then there's fertilizer prices, right on schedule. With globalization,
shortages elsewhere come home to roost in hours, not days. And the law of
supply and demand works its ruthless way. Ethanol crops in Indonesia cut
into fertilizer stockpiles and raise prices in the U.S. We know we can
recycle organic wastes, cut out artificial fertilizers and cut costs, and
make money at it, and revitalize the land in the process.

We're way beyond organic here. Whole Foods still has a loooong way to catch
up.


paul tradingpost@lobo.net




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