Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Harvey Ussery <harvey@themodernhomestead.us>]

On 09/25/2010 05:05 AM, Dieter Brand wrote:
> Importing organic matter free of charge is only possible in a wasteful society that considers 
> "organic matter" as "waste" to be gotten rid off.  I now live in one of the 
> poorest regions of Europe, if I were to ask my neighbor, who is a cattle farmer, for a load of 
> manure; he would charge me 100 Euros.  In Germany, most farmers would just give me a load of 
> manure free of charge.  ~Dieter

I just finished reading HOLY SHIT, Gene Logsdon's latest book (subtitle: 
How to Manage Manure to Save Mankind). Logsdon makes the prediction 
repeatedly that we will soon appreciate the value of manures as 
fertilizer--that their use will make *economic* sense as fertilizer 
prices continue to rise--that farmers will start seeing sale of their 
manures as a significant source of income.

There were aspects of the book I craved more depth in--particularly the 
whole microbial picture that joins poops to soil--but it was a fun and 
useful read.

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us

You can pray for potatoes, but you better pick up the hoe.