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[Livingontheland] exporting fertility=phosphate & potassium import?
- From: l kelly <elkel@hotmail.com>
- To: "livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [Livingontheland] exporting fertility=phosphate & potassium import?
- Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2015 12:50:51 +0000
I've read about this topic before on this list. The idea that even the most carefully managed organic farm must import fertility to replace the produce exported.
I remember one list member reminding us that the equation also included the "free" input of solar radiation, and resulting photosynthesis, regardless of soil condition. I also remember reading Eliot Coleman's ponderings of how many acres of "green manure" does it take to support the fertility of an acre of produce for export. I own and operate a small market farm with only an acre (at most) in cultivation, including the 12-tree orchard, and I have about 20 acres of woods to provide leafy mulch fertility. My husband and I practice sawdust composting, or "humanure" as described at the humanurehandbook.com website. Weekly trips to the "city" always bring a truck-load of curbside compost, and the local sawmill dumps 10-ton piles of sawdust whenever I ask for it. I understand that phosphate and potassium deficiencies would still result if I did not supplement. Does anyone know of a more closed-loop method for those two minerals? Laura Windberry Farm, Arkansas |
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[Livingontheland] exporting fertility=phosphate & potassium import?,
l kelly, 07/21/2015
- Re: [Livingontheland] exporting fertility=phosphate & potassium import?, dhondt, 07/21/2015
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