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Among others, there are two things truly both ‘physical’ and ‘mystical’ in nature…
Sticking your bare hands in warm dirt and eating food you grew…Agriculture is part of who we are — we all eat.
Some of us know first hand… The happiest days at work in Farmer’s life are the days he plows, the days he plants and the days he harvests… everything in between is real work, headaches and worry….
That’s one of those things that’s learnt in the field that permeates the rest of one’s life regardless of one’s choice of work… and that still today in the “Urban Land Grant University” remains part of our unique culture…
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For the last two years, I ran that 10 acre organic vegetable farm down here. The bosses at corporate decided not to renew the lease, so I moved back to the other side of the business — manufacturing and distributing organic agricultural products and the truth is I’m doing really good…. They were working the sh#t out of the old man physically and the warehouse is where the real money is…
I spent the winter going to Soil and Plant Science school at the University of Google and I’ve upgraded my Urban Farm in the backyard to about 1,000 sqft where I’m testing some new nutritional products that link soil fertility, plant fertility and human nutritional into one….
The bottom line there is that…
People need healthy food — Healthy food comes from healthy plants — Healthy plants need healthy soil.Plus I’m growing some kitchen garden stuff…
Cabbage, Kale, Collards, Radishes, Carrots, Broccoli and Cauliflower have been coming off all Winter and I got some Spinach, Leeks, Eggplant. Cabbage, Kohlrabi, more Broccoli and Cauliflower started in the last week or so… Taters going in next weekend on the dark of the moon….
So what ya’ll got going on?
I’m interested in hearing all of your backyard secrets…
Holler back!!
BOTB#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!I had thought I would putter in the garden this afternoon but then I took a long nap. Still a few weeks away from heavy duty gardening but coming quickly.
“warm dirt”-bill.onthebeach
Soil bill, it is called soil.
wirogers may kill you but I’m here to save you.
McCallum
The literary difference between the use of soil v. dirt is kinda the same as with vagina v. pu##y…. and No, they are not exactly the same things…
That said, one of the new products I’m working on is a SuperSoilBuilder product that converts “dirt” to “soil”…
It’a a blend of about 20-24 different natural sources of 18 minerals plus 3-4 different sources of humus, not mulch or compost, plus 50 or so trace elements and improves water retention and drainage simultaneously…
The general idea is to maximize soil fertility in order to minimize plant fertility needs/expenses…
Mr. Dog… What kinds of nightshades are you shuffling? It’s kinda early for ‘maters and ‘bacca…
RThomas… where’s your ‘mater farm?
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!Cooked some turnips from the garden yesterday (delicious) and started some early preps for this season. BOTB, the ‘soup’ sounds interesting. We need to talk.
Last year was pretty good with the raised beds so I’m gonna stick to that this year. Have a few mods for this season including a 30% shade cloth for the maters and a few other companions in the 16 foot beds. Interesting testing from U Texas and UGA found out that works best for July & August.
Doing some rain barrels for water conservation also. Also extending the 32 ft beds to 40 ft to allow a bit more room for corn and melons. Squash planting this year will coincide with preventing squash borers along with Hubbard squash.
Using row covers for early germination also. Had planned to turn two of the raised beds into a greenhouse but that will have to wait til this fall.
Smarter than the average bear
It’a a blend of about 20-24 different natural sources of 18 minerals plus 3-4 different sources of humus….
What, like you put on pretzel chips?
My goal this year is to not kill everything and have something actually fruit. Alternately, to have what fruit not be eaten by an animal other than me.
The relocation is for the eventual multiplicity of tomatoes and peppers…Time for new spots on the rotation. Conditioning new plots since first false spring.
Mr. Dog’s on top of his “Dirt”… don’t plant ‘maters and peppers in the same place two or three years in a row without fumigation of some sort….
RT… I’d like to come see your operations one day soon… It ain’t that far from Wrightsboro….
Paki… killing stuff is and 80% overdoing it and 20% underdoing it, except in extreme conditions… critters getting there first in another matter…
But an old Farmer told me 50yrs ago…
“It’s a damn sorry Farmer who can’t grow enough for him and the critters too…”
Yogi, Paki, and the rest…
try this channel… dontworryaboutit13 @ gmail.com if you want to go offline…#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!My cat killed his first lizard of the year today, so that officially marks my Spring (since I went townhouse and am a broken hull of a man who no longer can stand any yard work).
Beej. Mrs. CD, California, beach Blondie, still does not understand the benefits of leaves on the ground in February.
^ It’s good and natural, man!! Plus an older gentleman needs to save his back for more worthwhile pursuits.
an older gentleman needs to save his back for more worthwhile pursuits.
Oh, the humanity of that statement. It is the fate of an older man that he at least has his memory of younger days. I’ll leave it at that.
Smarter than the average bear
Major differences between soil and dirt.
Understanding the difference is a primary step in understanding the nature of soil physical properties and how those properties relate to all aspects of production and maintenance.
McCallum
Yes, McCallum… that’s right…
I developed a Soil Quality Index that measures the overall quality of a particular soil and the opportunities for improvement. SQI is based on seven components, CEC, OM%, Texture, Permeability, Drainage, Water Retention and Mineral Diversity/Balance.
On the other hand, nobody ever got soil under their fingernails….
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!I got an A in my Soil Mechanics class, at least I think so. My brain is pretty leaky now. Sure it weren’t one of my two shameful Cs, at minimum.
My grass always came back to life without watering, and without obsessive compulsive leaf-raking. People in the suburbs nowadays are just cray-cray. Let nature be nature. Plenty of grass in the woods, ain’t there??
Soil fertility and fertilizers by Nelson and Tisdale, 5th edition.
Excellent bedtime reading.
McCallum
^
“The eighth edition (2014) of this proven text has been substantially revised to reflect rapidly advancing knowledge and technologies in both plant nutrition and nutrient management.”
RT- will try to get up there middle of next week… email me your phone number…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!Rapidly advancing, I like that.
Has a humanist ring to it.
I’ll hang with the 5th edition. I’m rather old fashion so much so that I piss in the men’s shi.tter.
McCallum
*beware of snake oil. Just the facts please
At $160, I’d keep my old one too….
Re: Snake oil…
I grew up on the ‘bacca Farm, been in the “Green Industry” one way or the other, most all my life… Hooked up with the “Organic, Mother Earth News crowd” ’bout three years ago…
There’s a seismic, cultural business shift going on…
The end of the ‘cowboy” days of woo-woo science and the latest, greatest, save the earth days are over…. All those little businesses are ‘learning’ how to be professionally run businesses, how to back their ‘claims’ up with real science and how to “talk to” mainstream markets… Some businesses will prosper, some will get bought out, some will die…
The biggest problem is that lot of them got happy on fast money and never learned how to make slow money… Plus, some are really not all that interested in ‘making money’, just preaching….
At the same time, big business sees the market trends and are sticking “organic” on everything… Home Depot is selling “Organic Dirt” and WalMart is selling “Frozen, Organic Pizza” mostly to people who just don’t know any better… WTF…
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Our strategy is take the best of the “old ways”, the best of the “new” ways, to do the science and to talk plainly to folks and to make some money…
With those rules, for this old Farmer, it really cool… doing stuff you’ve done all your life on the cutting edges of the future of agriculture…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
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