Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

Paul: I don't recall ever seeing how "tall" you build your raised beds. Certainly you have said, but please repeat: You place amendments under/around transplants?  What about for seeds?

 

We've been unusually hot and dry here in May & June and my gardens are wanting more water than I expected, so it's clear that my soils aren't "there" yet.  I haven't found the perfect mulch for my situation and location (meaning nearly no effort or cost).

 

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

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

From: Tradingpost

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 12:33 AM

Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Ten Acres Enough

5 acres or whatever, some of his principles apply to smaller and larger parcels. Two Rodale Press books I have go into further detail on intensive growing. We misunderstand Jeavons if we think he was creating a one-size-fits-all model for the whole population. Ditto for Morris. For example, I work to adapt methods from all writers I've run into. But I don't double dig; I don't compost; I don't do cover crops; I don't use a tiller. But I do build healthy soil, use permanent beds, and concentrate amendments, water, and labor on growing beds instead of wasting it on aisles between. In those beds I plant intensively, mulch, and double crop, and I hold costs way down and get retail prices at growers markets. And we produce very large amounts on one-sixth of an acre. All by hand. With similar methods a younger couple could make a good living on one whole acre. And we're in a dry climate with a short season. And we're far from the only ones.

The point of these books is, we can do far more in less space than we once thought, if we don't dismiss the whole project as ridiculous and never try. The day is coming when those of us who do it will get ridiculously high prices for our work.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 6/15/2008 at 4:22 PM bruce smith wrote:

>the book was ok.. It doesn't deal within the natural world though.. 89% of
>people do not nor will the ever have 10 acres of land..
>Does anyone know of books that teach folks to grow on less..Not Jeavons
>books either, because he is 5 acres..that can't be realized in this modern
>age.
>
>On Sun, Jun 15, 2008 at 8:31 AM, TamesonOB <tamesonob@metrocast.net> wrote:
>
>> I LOVED!!!! this book. I have reread it 4 times. I think it's profoundly
>> better than anything the Nearings ever wrote (similar vein) IMNSHO. I
>> highly
>> recommend this book - I sound like I'm on reading rainbow or something
>but
>> it really is a super book.
>>
>> Tameson in NH
>>


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