TSM, when was last in Baghram, gave me a copy of the book “The Rodale Book of composting” by Deborah Martin and Grace Gershuny. I’m only on Chapter 4, but I never would have believed how little I know about the dynamic universe that lives in good soil. The complex chemical, biological and mechanical processes that transform organic matter into useable form for the surrounding plant community. The complex dance between bacteria, fungi, protozoa and how they are affected by salinity, acidity and temperature.
If you don’t compost, my only question is, why not? It is basically free, if done properly without smell and enriches everything it touches. The largest, by volume, export of the US is topsoil. Something that takes, at a minimum, decades to replace. One reason I love Permaculture is, it is as much about healing the land as it is anything. It recognizes and places in primacy the inter-relationship between care of the earth, care of people and getting a return of surplus.
So, get out there and make yourself some Black Gold!
Survival Gear Bags
CPT Caveman's Cave 
I just watched a segment on soil from Martha Stewart the other day. She had a guest on who does an amazing thing. She goes to dead soil that is unfit for planting and adds all of the microbes, worms, minerals and makes it alive again ready for planting. One of the most interesting things to me was the fact that she said the soil will not stay alive unless it has the symbiosis relationship of plants growing in it.
Yep, it is a dynamic system that is worked against, directly, by modern ag practices of tilling, spraying and fertalizing.
Just wait until I show you Humanmanure and the wonderful ways to use Sh*t to enrich your soil even more. The US throws away about 90 tons of compostable material every single day. It is truly sad..
That is one I really want to read. I also love the idea of taking black water waste to make methane for cooking/generating.
The guy at 1234solar.com has some definitive works on it.
CPT C. I think a “burned out farm” will be easy to find when you settle, then start community composting in windrows, in order to reinvigorate the soil through leaching,returning it to tillable land and productive agriculture with the compost providing the topsoil initially A mix of hardwoods, grass land, vegetables and orchard to provide balance for people and nature. (TSM)
.