Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[<pbunch@cox.net>]

On one level I am thinking out loud about our local conditions. On another I 
am trying to understand the implications of our methods for long-term global 
sustainability. I don't mean to sound argumentative in a negative way. 

Clearly importing nutrients from neighbors is a mid-term solution but what 
will the situation be if everyone in a given area is recycling the nutrients 
present in their systems? I suspect they will not give them up at a 
reasonable price. While good soil structure and a healthy flora and fauna 
provide optimal condition for local nutrient cycling, nutrients are 
inevitably lost to leaching and where produce is sold they are exported from 
the farm with the vegetables and other products. Sustainability is a 
long-term project and things like potassium and easily leached trace minerals 
may become limiting factors. Calcium also can be a problem in high rainfall 
areas. The natural geochemical cycles are the ultimate constraints on what we 
can do. Mass is conserved.

Eventually, and perhaps sooner than later the throughput  via the human 
population has to be addressed. I doubt if 6 billion people, with 9 billion 
in the near future, can be supported even with the best methods. 


---- Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote: 
> 
> Intensive gardens can also be the cash crops, as it is with us. Since we 
> don't have fields we import free amendments and mulch for intensive. In 
> both cases nearby farmers have excess to get rid of and it gets recycled. 
> The sources don't have to be esp fertile. Fertility - the crumb sructure 
> and biologicals - is built up in the beds. 
> 
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> 
> 
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