Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

It may be time to repeat my list description and purpose:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland

"Intensive, organic soil building is basic to growing much more in less
space with better nutrition, more profitable growing through less bought
inputs, less need for water, fewer losses from pests and disease, and less
vulnerability to fossil fuel problems now or in the future. What ways this
can best be pursued in different soils and climates leaves a lot of room
for discussion. We deal with the widespread problems of loss of soil
minerals, humus, nutritional content of produce, and loss of topsoil
itself, as well as the cost-price squeeze faced by real organic growers,
the shrinking supply of affordable land for growing and irrigation water,
and the need to increase the supply of nutritious food while making healthy
food more affordable in general. Our generation cannot continue to plunder
the soil capital of future generations.

"We include sustainable food growing from home garden to market garden,
fruits, nuts, berries, fungi, and vegetables, in addition to food and work
animals. This extends to management of the homestead, land, and forest as
it relates to sustainable food production, as well as sustainable use of
the land for human habitat." 

There's plenty of room for differing opinions so long as they are
sustainable as outlined there. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


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

On 12/15/2007 at 9:08 AM Phil Bunch wrote:

>Dieter and all:
> 
>When people get fixed in their point of view they start to fight with
>people
>who differ. It's human nature. I think that as long as folks listen
>carefully to what is said and choose options that work for them, the
>differing points of view are valuable.  Identifying with one side or the
>other is probably not worth much.  Since some of these ideas are new to
>many, sharing what actually works is critical.
> 
>Phil Bunch
> 
>  _____  
>
>From: livingontheland-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
>[mailto:livingontheland-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Dieter
>Brand
>Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 8:43 AM
>To: E. E. Mitchamore Jr; Healthy soil and sustainable growing
>Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO
>HELPWARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS
> 
>Mitch,
> 
>I think we may need a political perspective on this. There seems to be an
>ongoing
>war of words between the "organic camp" and the "no-till camp" about who
is
>best
>suited to save the planet from an imminent climatic meltdown. Others claim
>that
>chisel ploughing of grasslands will save the world and that planting trees
>is worse
>than useless. Still others see salvation in reforestation or in terra
>preta.
>Common
>to all, I suppose, is the hope of getting their hands on some of that
manna
>that 
>is expected to rain down in the form of carbon credits depending on how
the
>climate 
>thing will play out. Perhaps this is symptomatic of commercial agriculture
>as it is 
>practiced in the industrialized World, which seems to be first and
foremost
>interested 
>in how much subsidies you can get for what.
> 
>I believe nobody would contest that "organic no-till" is best, but it
isn't
>always easy
>to implement, and at present most no-till depends on herbicide-killed
cover
>crops.
>On the other hand, most organic farming, at least here in Europe, depends
>on
>
>ploughing under green manure, which can mean additional ploughing, hence 
>additional fuel and additional oxidation of nutrients. I think farmers
need
>to be 
>given technical assistance to make the difficult switch to organic
no-till.
> 
>Dieter Brand
>Portugal
>