Re: A strange visit

[Hugh Lovel]

Dear Merla,

Your nemisis, Randy, seem to exemplify many good, as well as misguided, qualities. His land is in his family and farming is in his blood. He is open enough to share with you what he is doing and he really believes in it, works hard, makes it pay, pays his bills thereby, etc. He uses a spader and cover crops, for crying out loud.

Taking a page out of our native son, Jimmy Carter's book, appreciate his good points and simply acknowledge his short commings. That keeps the exchange going and you can discuss little things that might lead to bigger and better things. It's a non-judgmental, step-wise approach, and admittedly it doesn't always work. But sometimes it produces astounding results.

The bare soil really bugs you? Well around here grasses and clovers in the Christmas tree orchard is the only way it is done. This involves mowing, but still it pays back in moisture and nutrient retention, because as long as the level of biology is kept up in the soil living organisms keep these things inside their cell wals where they are not so easily lost.

Is there some reason he keeps it bare? Does he know that in other places such plantations all grow grass? Has he been observant of what happens to his soil and the living organisms that support it when it spends several years bare?

It is always better to ask questions than to give information. This is quite interesting. Education has come to mean, particularly in our public schools, informing people. But if you look at its root, educare, this means to draw out. In older times they knew that true education was a process of drawing out of people the realizations that go beyond mere information.

Best luck,
Hugh




> out of state somewhere. Then he starts his green manure cycle
>again.
>
>I can't manipulate nature that much. I love our beautiful snowberries
>and the crush of native grasses and wild rose bushes. I like to leave
>chickweed and sorrel and plaintain in the garden. I like volunteering
>borage and hollyhocks. I think it was all that bare ground that haunts
>me.
>
>Best,
>
>Merla
Visit our website at: www.unionag.org