> Hidden > or controlling pests, disease or weeds by cultural practices > rather than pesticides was "old fashioned gardening". He contends > that there is no documentation to support that claim. > > Here's one: > > "Before the days of artifical fertilizers there was an ancient > principle embodied in all farm leases. The rules of good > husbandry decreed that there were certain things the tenant > might not take off the farm: the hay and the straw had to be > fed to the animals and their manure put back on the land. If > they were carried off and sold the land suffered. No one knew > that essential potassium went with them. No one knew about > potassium at all." "The Principles of Gardening" by Hugh Johnson, > ISBN 0671508059, p. 24 > > Isn't it established that vigorously growing crops have a greater > measure of resistance to pests and disease? Couldn't this be > considered an ancient cultural practice that prevents or controls > pest or disease problems? >
Now the question that this brings up is, exactly how old is the concept of
the farm lease? What era specifically is he referring to? Also what
country/region is this applicable to? It is also more or less assuming that
the farm consists of a combination of livestock and grain, which isn't
necessarily universally true.
This sounds to me rather like 18th/19th century England. Too late by far to
be 'ancient', and well into the era of scientific agriculture. It's an era
that was rich enough to experiment with different farming techniques and
risk crop failures.