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Farming Solutions - the Future of Agriculture
treehugger.com — Farming Solutions brings examples of successful, environmentally responsible farming systems to life from all over the world, illustrating how farmers can protect the environment while at the same time increasing food supply where it is most needed.
coolenigma- 263 diggs
- digg it
- ragsmaloy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9What a badly put together piece of *****.
The actual site reviewed http://www.farmingsolutions.org/ has some pretty interesting information but unfortunately just stealing a random selection of statistics from it coupled with some poor science (how much better is that natural nitrogen compared to the artificial stuff?) doesn’t really produce a good article, or indeed provide any “farming solutions” whatsoever.- aukxsona, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Natural N can be found in legumes which add a bumper crop to poor farmers or can be used as grazing land as clovers are grown. The manure plus the clover add not only N but organic humic acid and plant matter which helps biological growth with in the soil in the form of microscopic fungi, and helpful bacterial. Most people who use only chemical fertilizers do not add plant matter. Plus chemicals added to the soil react quicker adding salt to the soil quicker, kill natural helpers like the good fungi and bacteria, and tends to lead to poor water retention due tot he lack of plant matter to keep it in. Add to that the possibilities of soil run off due to improper care and soil compaction and you have a very unhealthy manner of gardening.
- donwilson2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's environmentally friendly -- shocking.
- Hal3000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0We used to plant legumes as a winter cover crop to hold the soil in place and 'fix' the nitrogen in the soil. It seldom got cold enough to kill the plants but it did not matter anyway. We plowed it under when it came time to plant cotton or maize anyway. Now we could harvest the legumes for biodiesel and get two crops a year and plenty of fertilizer at the same time.
- lucidapathy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7How does this ***** get dugg anyway?
- neferiousrich, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2Why is farming on digg?
- nycmac247, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4farming in on digg b/c once the ***** hits the fan you will need to know how not to die.
Actually, a better place to start would be
Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance (Paperback)
the last great depression a lot of people died b/c they ate contaminated food or did not know "the basics." Suggestion: learn them. protect yourself and those you care about. I have little doubt that bushco _will not_ "go gently into that good night"- CiXeL, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3better yet. find out what parts of local weeds (because many many weeds are non poisenous and quite edible in north america) you can eat and also what sorts of fruits and vegetables you can grow in your state so you have something to fall back on when the dollar collapses and we suddenly are unable to import everything.
research hydroponics techniques. not because you'll be using hydroponics but because they have very innovative methods to squeeze the most vegetable/green production out of a small space. (like a backyard, patio or porch) see the garden they have at the antarctic research center for example.- Rikkochet, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Right on, man. It took me a few years to get used to new European immigrants in my area picking dandelions from the street to make salad.
Apparently stinging nettle can be boiled to make a nutritious soup. Maybe not delicious, but...- CiXeL, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1this plant grows everywhere (we'll ive seen it all over california and florida so far) and is very edible
http://www.toronto.ca/wes/techservices/involved/outreach/vsp/images/purslane.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea
- CiXeL, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1this plant grows everywhere (we'll ive seen it all over california and florida so far) and is very edible
- Rikkochet, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Right on, man. It took me a few years to get used to new European immigrants in my area picking dandelions from the street to make salad.
- CiXeL, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3better yet. find out what parts of local weeds (because many many weeds are non poisenous and quite edible in north america) you can eat and also what sorts of fruits and vegetables you can grow in your state so you have something to fall back on when the dollar collapses and we suddenly are unable to import everything.
- SwissCamel, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3This article gave me and my cat AIDS.
- ATHEISTinHELL, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I think the man who's work saved a billion people has a better idea.
Norman Borlaug
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1970/borlaug-bio.html- kinerry, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"unless you and your own are starving, you need to SHUT THE ***** UP!" - Penn
GMO will save the world, that is unless the organic kiddies get their way
- kinerry, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"unless you and your own are starving, you need to SHUT THE ***** UP!" - Penn
- aukxsona, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Natural Fertilizer is essential to growing healthy soil. Plants can only be healthy with healthy soil. The beneficial fungi that can be killed off by chemical fertilizers help ensure crops make it through dry spells. The beneficial bacteria help brake down plant matter into digestible trace minerals for plants, which are essential for having perfectly healthy plants which can with stand drought, disease, and bugs. The only way to ensure your soil has these items in it are to use 100 percent natural fertilizers, and to impregnate the soil with these items if you have ever used chemical fertilizers. Natural fertilizers are also cheaper and can be value added products, such as rotating a tomato fields with clover. When it is covered in clover bees can collect honey off of it, and animals can graze on it. It also adds to the tops oil a little more while it and the manure add Nitrogen. Top soil erosion is the number one cause of desertification, and is caused primarily by poorly managed chemical farming practices.
- bpmanning, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3OK - I'm a farmer and none of my fields are over fertilized (that's wasting money). My soil fertility is tested every year on every field, so I know what the plants need to grow. In fact, my lab analysis lets me know what the next three years will require but I test every year anyway to account for the free fertilization I get with rain and manure. I farm extensively to promote soil health and good soil structure - my own personal measure is the number of worms in my soil. Each year when I take a crop off the field (because I'm a farmer and the land provides my income), I'm removing nutrients. Food contains these nutrients. Unless you feed the soil, these nutrients disappear. I would simply love to know where you think all these magic trace minerals come from. Let me know where a good source of magic K is hiding, because that's getting expensive.
- aukxsona, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Sure, the minerals can be replaced via manure, a natural fertilizer like I said before or the nitrogen that is fixed in the root nodules of legumes. If you grow clover or field peas and till them before they fruit you will get a much better yield in the Nitrogen area of fertilizer. K is hard to find, but can be found in Green Sand a Natural fertilizer, wood ashes or crushed granite. Wood ashes lower the acidic nature of your soil so be careful. For 100 square feet you would need 1.5 lbs of wood ashes max or 8.5 lbs of granite max. (This is if your soil is very deficient)
Trace minerals can be brought up from the sub soil as well by planting extremely long rooted plants. Also Kelp meal has trace minerals in it, 50 dollars for 50lbs by freight roughly (includes shipping). I also plant, although my income doesn't depend on it, my children's does. I help them all the time. We use the book, "How to Grow More Vegetables than you ever imagined in less space" by John Jeavons. We don't over plant as his methods suggest, but we do follow his formulas for Compost and Fertilizers. Also on a large farm it may seem impossible, but do you compost any of the "excess" or is it used for fodder for the animals.
- aukxsona, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Sure, the minerals can be replaced via manure, a natural fertilizer like I said before or the nitrogen that is fixed in the root nodules of legumes. If you grow clover or field peas and till them before they fruit you will get a much better yield in the Nitrogen area of fertilizer. K is hard to find, but can be found in Green Sand a Natural fertilizer, wood ashes or crushed granite. Wood ashes lower the acidic nature of your soil so be careful. For 100 square feet you would need 1.5 lbs of wood ashes max or 8.5 lbs of granite max. (This is if your soil is very deficient)
- bpmanning, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3OK - I'm a farmer and none of my fields are over fertilized (that's wasting money). My soil fertility is tested every year on every field, so I know what the plants need to grow. In fact, my lab analysis lets me know what the next three years will require but I test every year anyway to account for the free fertilization I get with rain and manure. I farm extensively to promote soil health and good soil structure - my own personal measure is the number of worms in my soil. Each year when I take a crop off the field (because I'm a farmer and the land provides my income), I'm removing nutrients. Food contains these nutrients. Unless you feed the soil, these nutrients disappear. I would simply love to know where you think all these magic trace minerals come from. Let me know where a good source of magic K is hiding, because that's getting expensive.
- jongam, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This is the future of agriculture.
http://verticalfarm.com/ - NoTiG, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The solution to farming would be solved if we simply used all of our urine that we end up flushing into the rivers/oceans... which is high in nitrogen and virtually the perfect sterile fertilizer
- IndicaDreams, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Organic, hydroponic nutrient solutions are the future.
- TruthforAll, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1As far as eating healthier foods with less pesticides, support LOCAL organic farms. I joined a co-op in my area and get real organic produce from non-profit group that is dedicated to sustainable farming. The FDA doesn't regulate organic very well and the crap in your grocery store that says organic could be from overseas, thus creating a huge amount of energy to get it here. Plus this way you can visit the place yourself if you want to see where your food is coming from. This site is pretty good to find a place near you.. http://www.localharvest.org/
- kinerry, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Organic is just a different way of saying "I want more expensive, genetically inferior crops that are so labor intense that they have literally take the human race back 20 years and lowered farming yields, and in turn killed people"
- IndicaDreams, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Vertical gardening, using organic hydroponic nutrient solutions... that is the future.
- hydroplane, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Powerade instead of old fashioned water, obviously
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