Soil is where life interacts with life and where life interacts with its environment. It is my sincere belief that we have not yet realized the full potential of soil. We are, in fact, still peeping through the keyhole.
Vegetables remove far more earth minerals that grains, pastures and fruit trees – by a factor of 2-10 times. This difference in crop removal has to be accounted for by increasing fertility inputs.
Bryan O’Hara intensively farms three acres of market vegetables in Lebanon, Connecticut, at Tobacco Road Farm. He began his career in 1990, and over the years, through observation and experimentation, has developed a very successful no-till, pesticide-free system.
There are 2 types of SOM: Stable SOM, often referred to as humic matter; and Fresh SOM. Stable SOM is composed of small particles of well-decomposed organic matter (plant and microbial). This portion of the SOM is protected by soil particles and is difficult for microbes to access.
As I learned the principles of Reams teaching, I began to make a connection. Everything he taught in the abstract with detailed theory ultimately led to specific actions and inputs. What started in the theoretical always ended up with practical application. After more time listening to Dr. Carey Reams’ audio courses it dawned on me that all these actions and inputs could be consigned to 3 basic ideas.
Developing a plan to mitigate the effects of difficult field conditions is essential for the farmer to survive and crops will need all the help they can get at the very start.