Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

Passing over the exact numbers, let's keep in mind that manure or compost
does a great deal more for the soil than the N-P-K numbers found in
synthetic fertilizer bags. It's all about healthy soil structure and
feeding the microbe populations that feed the plants. I don't have a big
truck and there's no feedlot around, so I'm recycling what would go to
waste and feeding my soil far cheaper than buying bags (or truckloads) of
alleged organic compost or sterilized manure. YMMV. I also know what I'm
getting, and they don't feed their alpacas and churro sheep any strange
supplements or antibiotics. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 12/24/2007 at 9:33 AM Ryan Albinger wrote:

>A quick look at fuel effcientcy here:
>
>30 miles at 15 miles per gallon hauling 1500 pounds of manure = 2.66
>gallons of fuel per ton of mannure
>
>30 miles at 6 miles per gallon hauling 25 ton of manure = 0.2 gallons of
>fuel per ton of manure
>
>The large confinement operation can haul organic material at 10x
effcientcy
>or another way said, can grow 10 times the crop from the manure for the
>same input in fuel hauling.  OR even if the large confinement grows
>food/feed at 1/2 the effciencty of the smaller grower, the confinement guy
>is still producing crop at 5 times the fuel effcientcy of the smaller
>farmer.
>
>Just because there is less gallons used, in general, doesn't mean it is
>effecient.  We need to be cognizant of the means to the end result in this
>energy budget.
>
>On a another note, how many chickens are needed to supply yearly nutrient
>needs on 1000 square feet of garden space?
>
>Ryan
>
>
>
>> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>> [Original Message]
>...
>People will do what they need to when they find they have to. I drive 30
>miles to get loads of manure, but that uses a lot less energy than if I
>bought commercial fertilizer made from natural gas. When I have chickens
>even that will stop. 
> 
>paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
>
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