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Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:18:13 -0700

From a Market Farming discussion list I enjoy:

(This contribution was made by Alex McGregor of
Walden Ridge, TN)

Don't know of any graphs- probably because carbon loss after tillage differs
because of different tillage methods, depth, bioactivity of the soil... But
there is carbon loss after all tillage. Tillage incorporates relatively
oxygen rich atmospheric air into the soil. This causes a population
explosion in the soil biology and carbon compounds get processed at a faster
rate than in untilled soil. The end product of carbon compound processing
for food is carbon dioxide a gas.

Simplified, carbon compounds are processed by the soil biology and at the
end of this chain it is converted to carbon dioxide, a gas. The CO2 in the
soil readily leaves the soil through a number of mechanisms- gas dispersion,
heating and cooling of soil, displacement of soil gases by water, etc.

As for your second question, mulching will not prevent carbon loss. Mulching
has other benefits I'm sure you're aware of- preventing soil crusting.
suppressing weeds, retaining soil moisture, slowing soil heat/cool cycle,
reduce erosion, food at the surface for the soil ecosystem.

I also practice no till gardening- double dug beds one time 24 years ago and
only do surface cultivation. And I've grown sweet potatoes in beds- it hurts
me to tear up the beautiful soil structure diggin' taters, but they sure
taste good! The only thing I know of to heal the soil (rebuild structure and
replace lost carbon) is to add finished compost at or near the soil surface
and plant or transplant a cool weather crop that will overwinter. Then
adding mulch would help protect the soil from crusting and erosion until the
soil biology can rebuild a stable structure.

I hope I haven't gotten too technical, but my thinking is that I have to
know as much as I can about the soil and soil biologic processes to be able
to manage it.

Enjoy those taters!

Alex McGregor
Walden Ridge, TN

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Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:47:16 -0700

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." - Wendell Berry

"Without power over our food, any notion of democracy is empty." - Frances Moore Lappe

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Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:00:19 -0700

Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

John Maxwell

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Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:50:46 -0700

When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.

Tuli Kupferburg

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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:08:55 -0700

Baha'u'llah and the New Era, Pages 105-107: gr1

We live in a world, however, where from time immemorial obedience to the commands of the Prophets has been the exception rather than the rule; where love of self has been a more prevalent motive than love of God; where limited and party interests have taken precedence of the interests of humanity as a whole; where material possessions and sensual pleasures have been preferred to the social and spiritual welfare of mankind. Hence have arisen fierce competition and conflict, oppression and tyranny, extremes of wealth and poverty--all those conditions which breed disease, mental and physical. As a consequence, the whole tree of humanity is sick, and every leaf on the tree shares in the general sickness. Even the purest and holiest have to suffer for the sins of others. Healing is needed--healing of humanity as a whole, of nations and of individuals. So Baha'u'llah, like His inspired predecessors, not only shows how health is to be maintained, but also how it may be recovered when lost. ...

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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:06:12 -0700

Baha'u'llah and the New Era, Pages 107-108: 108

Fear, anger, worry, et cetera, are very prejudicial to health, while hope, love, joy, et cetera, are correspondingly beneficial. ...

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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:03:24 -0700

The security of the family and the home, the ownership of property, and the right to privacy are all implied in such a trusteeship. The obligations on the part of the community extend to the provision of employment, mental and physical health care, social security, fair wages, rest and recreation, and a host of other reasonable expectations on the part of the individual members of society. ...

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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:54:50 -0700

Baha'u'llah and the New Era, Pages 101-102: gr1

The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Baha'u'llah. Our physical health is so linked up with our mental, moral and spiritual health, and also with the individual and social health of our fellowmen, nay, even with the life of the animals and plants, that each of these is affected by the others to a far greater extent than is usually realized. ...

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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:52:13 -0700

Baha'u'llah and the New Era, Page 114: gr1

Baha'u'llah gives the assurance that, through harmonious cooperation of patients, healers and the community in general, and by appropriate use of the various means to health, material, mental and spiritual, the Golden Age may be realized, when, by the Power of God, "all sorrow will be turned into joy, and all disease into health." `Abdu'l-Baha says that "when the Divine Message is understood, all troubles will vanish."

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Sat, 02 May 2009 05:30:50 -0700

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." - Wendell Berry