RE: [compost_tea] How Healthy and Self-Sufficient Can a Garden Get?

From: John Cowan <vivax_at_northlink.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 10:31:52 -0700

Bob

I am glad to hear this kind of question being asked. In Fukuoka's book, The
Natural Way of Farming, he details many years (decades) of research and
experimentation. He approached this with a very strong, heart-felt
philosophy and was very stubborn about sticking to his conceptual ideas. He
was an unusual person to say the least.

I think the only way we are going to know the answer regarding your question
is to start doing it. I don't think there is anybody out there that can say
with confidence that they can achieve such as situation in a wide range of
circumstances. Each climate and bio-region is different. Each soil type is
different.

I think the key to creating such a situation is in diversity such as in the
rainforest or the old-growth temperate forest. I thought that some
permaculture sites around the world had attempted to create this kind of
plant diversity. The problem that I see is that what you harvest from such
as situation is not "normal" in terms of a farm operation. It is more like a
custom created food gathering situation. Most people would not be happy with
such a circumstance.

I wonder why we would want to go "there". Modern life is not about
self-sufficiency, like it or not. If you need to buy small quantities of
kelp, fish, etc. to help keep crops in a high state of health, is this a
undesirable thing? As water and good land begins to be more a limited
resource in certain areas around the world, growing food as efficiently as
possible will become more and more of an issue. Low pollution and high
nutrition will become more desirable (hopefully). I think that the
biological growing programs that are starting to become mature are the wave
of the future.

John Cowan
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Robert Monie [mailto:bobm20001_at_yahoo.com]
  Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 9:08 AM
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Subject: RE: [compost_tea] How Healthy and Self-Sufficient Can a Garden
Get?
   -snip

   So, we are full circle back to the original question: how sustainable can
gardening and farming become (and what is the role of compost tea in that
syle of gardening--is it a stop-gap, a further improvement, or an essential
part?)

  Bob M.




Received on Sat Jan 03 2004 - 13:01:41 EST

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