Jose, Hedleys, anybody, When I read all this about Brazil BD not working, it makes me wonder about what I am doing on the road right-of-way. It sounds like it might not work to just spray Pfeiffer Field Spray on very sandy, dry soil. Right now, my ability to use it is in question and I'm waiting for a resolution. Should I actually get a soil test of the road right-of-way and try to add soil amendments? We are trying to grow native plants and grasses and discourage plants that have been named "noxious" by the state and county so they won't spray us with 2,4-D and Clopyralid. You wouldn't want to have garden soil, would you? Anyway, how could you accomplish this on 8 miles of road? We wanted to use the Pfeiffer Field Spray so that we wouldn't have to make all those trips down the road with BC, 500, 501, 508, Horn clay. I need to learn how to make preps myself so no one has to pay the state a fee to register a BD prep as a soil amendment. We have peppers for all the weeds and wanted to spray them in BD preps. The Hedleys suggested three sprayings a long time ago when I first started on this list. I still haven't firmed down what we're going to do, but I feel we should do something to help the soil, especially since the county sprayed it in 1999.
We are planning to plant allelopathic plants--rye and oats--to compete with the weeds and then eventually seed native plants we do want. Merla Jose Luiz Moreira Garcia wrote: > >From what I have seen there was very little > Composting operation with regard to the size of > the whole farm. > Secondly, one can enhance natureīs way by adding > some key minerals that are in short supply in our > geologically old and eroded tropical soils. Lack of nodulation > in legumes could very well be a lack of Molybdenum, > as I have noticed there. > In a soil without a good microbial life one can expect little to > no transmutation and therefore I see no chance to correct > any defficiency without adding what is missing. > This strategy is highly criticized as being " non sustainable" > by those fanatics and the situation goes on and on. They regard > adding outside farm supplies almost like a sin. They want to free > themselves from the "system" and so do I but in a situation like > that I donīt think it is intelligent to condemn your soil to > starvation simply because they decided that this is "non-sustainable" > In my oppinion there should be a another way to face the situation. > Some criteria has to be found like level of microbial activity, level > of nutrients, etc... > Finally, BD is a proven system worldwide and if it does not work in > a particular farm or particular region it should be seen simply as > incompetence from those who are running those places and in our > particular case the official Demeter people. > > Jose > > > > > On Friday, March 8, 2002, at 07:07 AM, Rural Center for Responsible > > Living wrote: > > > > > Dear Bonnie, > > > > > > Rudolf Steiner made it very clear in the lectures to farmers that the > > > preparations were meant to enhance a sound animal based compost > > > fertility > > > management program. > > > > Thanks Christy. Yes. This was my understanding. > > > I am a little confused at the Brazilian practices described by > > > Jose, since most of the preparations are to be added to compost, and to > > > think of adding compost for 27 years and see no results? Were they even > > > composting? > > > > That is why I was confused about him telling of folks using the preps > > alone. It sounded like they might not even be making compost. > > > > Bonnie York > >
