Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

Throughout history it seems hard times fall hardest on the poorest and most
vulnerable. Few would believe it but Los Angeles already has 80,000
homeless. You mention increasing your land's productivity. For many of us
who have a little land, that's more realistic than trying to get more land.
It keeps our land costs down and concentrates inputs where they'll bring
the best return, and that's my own strategy at this point. We are going to
have to feed more than ourselves, and what's more do it at prices most
people can afford. That could be difficult. 

The fable of the ant and the grasshopper comes to mind. But for many in my
area, to start growing to supplement their groceries could also be
difficult. The key is going to be getting the most out of the least growing
area. Because water is not abundant, and thin, dusty topsoil needs organic
matter, it's far more productive to improve a small area than struggle on
and on to till, water, and weed a larger area. 

Yes, the country survived the Depression in the '30s but much has changed -
for the worse. More than half the people lived and farmed in rural
communities then and fared better than the jobless in the cities. The Dust
Bowl was the obvious exception, and taught us hard lessons about plowing up
the prairie in times of drought. 

We can argue later generations have become far too self-indulgent, spoiled
and lazy to cope with physical work and loss of our toys and constant
entertainment. True, a lot of people still know how to do hard, skilled
work and pinch pennies. But witness the explosion of fast food, huge plasma
TVs, McMansions and Hummers and monster RVs. It's going to be really hard
to feel sorry for them. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 1/10/2008 at 8:51 AM bruce smith wrote:

>This Country lived through many a horrible time.. We as a people are not
>going to lay back and simply roll over and die.. What we did before can be
>done again..
>Some folks are going to hurt worse than others.. The Truly poor and
>infirmed, mentally imbalanced, and socially illiterate..  Those are the
>ones
>that will die off or be killed off through neglect.  Or worse case > turn
>to
>crime for survival..
>I for one, plan on getting my act together and increasing my lands
>productivity. I Also will be working every weekend at a local food
>bank/soup
>kitchen.  Driving less and fighting for better public transportation..
>
>On Jan 8, 2008 12:29 PM, TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Let's see: we're going to save agriculture with "More fertilizer, with
>> genetically modified seeds, and with advanced machinery and technology"?
>> With more and more of the same that got us into this mess? What's wrong
>> with this picture?
>>
>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>> -----------------------
>>
>> Forget oil, the new global crisis is food
>> http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=213343
>> Alia McMullen, Financial Post  Published: Monday, January 07, 2008
>>
>> BMO strategist Donald Coxe warns credit crunch and soaring oil prices
>will
>> pale in comparison to looming catastrophe
snip