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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] new ideas in growing
  • Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 22:08:37 -0700

I'm all for new ideas in growing, and I use some myself, some from successful growers like Eliot Coleman/Barbara Damrosch (Four Seasons Harvest book). But we need to hear how some trending systems actually work out in practice - minus the hype about them. Like community gardens, how many participants stayed with it to harvest anything worthwhile. And biochar - where's the scientific analysis of inputs and effects? Organic hydroponics - but don't they find the organic solutions need changing too often? How about aquaponics? Do startup costs doom any hope of profitable outputs? Or not?

What almost all wannabe experts skip over is the basic principles of how to grow sustainably and profitably, whether for home use or market. Not surprising if they just don't know how themselves. It's called getting the cart before the horse. Like anyone else we've had to refine marketing strategy for ourselves, little good advice out there to be had. I have a whole library on growing and see endless articles online, but only a very few turn out to be very useful for my own work. Top two techniques for us: growing in permanent beds, from Jeavons, and covering winter beds (with plastic sheeting) INside a greenhouse, from Eliot Coleman. I've added one trick of my own just now, light bulbs under cover to add a little heat at low cost to inside beds. So far the spinach, kale, arugula and Asian greens look luscious. Test comes this week when outside hits single digits (or lower by New Years).

paul tradingpost@lobo.net








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