Other than Farm Blog

When we talk about sustainability, we are too bound by our perception of sustainable and natural.  Many people choose hybrid or electric car over gas, or local foods over imported foods, but are they really sustainable. I have seen many farmers talking about local organically grown vegetables seeming more sustainable while using lots imported soil amendments, minerals, fertilizers, machines, tools, petroleum products and fuel.  If things are grown at right place, right time, it takes lot less energy and materials to grow. I am not saying that we do perfectly sustainable farming.  We use a tractor and fuel too.  I just want to say that instead of using our perception to achieve what it feels like sustainable or politically agreeable term of sustainability like whether to use plastic or not, or put a solar panel up.  we should be learning from natural world since nature is self-sustainable..  Perhaps instead of putting one extra solar panel to light another room, we can use natural l

"Nature has so many things that she is trying to reveal, but we just don't know how to look at them..."  I don't remember where I heard this, but every time I am out observing natural environment and can't figure out what is going on, it pops up in my head. Dry soil - first thing that comes to most minds are when soil goes dry, you have to irrigate.  Dry soil is generally considered not productive in farming.  It's true in common organic and conventional farming practice, but natural farming takes it quite differently In natural farming dry soil is natural consequence of seasonal changes.  There are wet season and dry season.  There are many plants naturally adapt the changes, but our vegetables and flowers cannot adapt this!?  Isn't there something wrong with us? I found this dry soil effect as part of fertilizer poisoning.  There was a seed germination experiment of brassica with moisture and fertilizer application and concentration of N level.