Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Liz <liz@allslash.org>]

At 04:08 PM 5/21/2008, you wrote:

> Anyone who wants to learn something can find a book, a person, an
> internship, an e-list, or some way other than a pricey weekend
> workshop.

Sadly, there are a lot of people who think the only way to learn 
something is to pay for a class. I've run into this time and again. 
"I might not be doing it right. Suppose I invested all that time and 
energy into [knitting, gardening, cooking, substitute whatever you 
want] and I made a mess of it. I need to pay people who are 
professionals at this so I'll know for sure I'm learning how to do it 
properly."

I don't know whether it's this ridiculous worship of "professionals" 
that is a societal problem ("Don't try this at home, kiddies"), or a 
need to have someone else to blame if you fail on the first attempt, 
or what. But I'm tired of hearing that you can't learn something 
without taking an expensive class.

It is true that there is less of a safety net now if you spend a huge 
amount of money on a big garden and get a handful of tomatoes and 
some moth-eaten cabbage out of it.

</rant>

Liz in SW VA
http://life-as-a-spectator-sport.com