O. De Schutter, world agricultural model is running out!

Agriculture and soil. Pollution control, soil remediation, humus and new agricultural techniques.
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Forhorse
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by Forhorse » 02/05/17, 22:54

Question con, but why you hay and not straw?
Because of the straw, more than 3/4 is crushed at the same time of the harvest. And even if it adds organic matter to the fields, it would probably not be wanting much if a little more was used for the gardens.
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by izentrop » 03/05/17, 08:56

The functions are the same http://www.gerbeaud.com/jardin/fiches/p ... ,1221.html

The difference is in the C / N which can reach 150 for straw and 20 for hay. The c / n acts on the speed of decomposition and can be corrected with clippings added to the straw. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapport_C/N, but also to a lesser extent by the nutrients it contains.

A mulch is also Straw, Mowing, Wood chippings, Dead leaves, Crop residues, Spontaneous vegetation, Green waste compost, Manure +/- straw

Mulching therefore also has the role of a surface compost.
It releases nutrients directly assimilated by the roots of the plants (particularly with each rain and watering).

Since the compost needs air and humidity to work, only the part in contact with the soil is active. Closed, well-moistened compost produces humus more quickly that can be incorporated into the soil.

Because of the straw, more than 3/4 is crushed at the same time of the harvest. And even if it adds organic matter to the fields, it would probably not be wanting much if a little more was used for the gardens.
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No agricultural land lacks humus. Today's wheat has been selected to increase yield at the expense of straw. Cultivation practices with deep winter plowing promote the mineralization of organic matter and reduce the humus level, making the soil much more susceptible to erosion.
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by Did67 » 03/05/17, 14:26

Forhorse wrote:Question con, but why you hay and not straw?
Because of the straw, more than 3/4 is crushed at the same time of the harvest. And even if it adds organic matter to the fields, it would probably not be wanting much if a little more was used for the gardens.


There is no "dumb question". The answers can be - just see the political answers!

Most gardeners "mulch" with straw.

When I thought about what I called the "Potager du Laesseux", that is to say a way of producing a lot of vegetables (as much as in a conventional garden) while working very little, and way "more than organic" (without pesticides, including without some which are authorized in "organic" but which I think they are harmful even if they are natural), I came to the conclusion that the ground cover, besides blocking weeds, besides fighting against evaporation, besides protecting the soil from the impact of raindrops, had to nourish the living organisms of the soil which work in my place and, through its decomposition, to fertilize the soil. ..

Well nourished, soil organisms produce glue, which contributes to "soil aggregation": the soil "becomes loose on its own!"

So, I could do nothing more than plant / sow and harvest (en masse) ...

So straw in the garden has the same disadvantage as straw for fodder! It is poor (since we removed the richest, the ears with the grains). Consequently, it feeds poorly the living organisms of the soil, in particular the worms, which are very rich in proteins (they are real "steaks"). Its decomposition brings few mineral elements to the soil (cereals do not "waste" these elements to build a hollow stem!), So the fertilizing effect is limited ...

So I came to the conclusion that if I want to "boost" the living mechanisms of the soil in my vegetable garden, it was better to feed my soil organisms well. So cover with hay ... I consider myself a "breeder of living soil organisms" and not a gardener. These are the organisms that garden for me. So like any breeder, I must feed my "herd" well!

The results, without any tillage (not even grelinette), are spectacular. See photos in the thread agriculture / gardening-more-than-bio-by-plant-live-without-fatigue-t13846.html or my videos on Youtube (type "Potager du Laesseux" in the site's internal search engine).

But this results in the ethical debate we have above: is it "sustainable", "reasonable" to "destroy fodder" in your garden ...? Question to which I bring the answer indicated above.
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by Forhorse » 03/05/17, 22:38

izentrop wrote: Today's wheat has been selected to increase yield at the expense of straw.


Yes and probably irrelevant here, but you should know that we chemically treat crops with a product that farmers call "a shortener" which in addition to the selection helps to have the shortest stems possible ... therefore less straw (but the goal is not to have less straw but simply so that the crops do not "shed" under the weight of the ears)
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by izentrop » 04/05/17, 01:20

Forhorse wrote:
izentrop wrote: Today's wheat has been selected to increase yield at the expense of straw.
Yes and probably irrelevant here, but you should know that we chemically treat crops with a product that farmers call "a shortener" which in addition to the selection helps to have the shortest stems possible ... therefore less straw (but the goal is not to have less straw but simply so that the crops do not "shed" under the weight of the ears)
Ok, but also because of nitrogen overdoses. But OK! The main focus was on mulching. And so mulch with the means at hand and the correct dosage, that's good too.
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by Did67 » 04/05/17, 08:46

Forhorse wrote:
... but you should know that we chemically treat the crops with a product that farmers call "a shortener" which in addition to the selection helps to have the shortest possible stems ... therefore less straw (but the goal is not to have less straw but simply so that the crops do not "pour" under the weight of the ears)


And conventional cereals are systematically treated with fungicide at the head, so shortly before harvest. This is also why I don't like straw in my vegetable garden ... Natural meadows are never treated ... Temporary meadows, on the other hand, can bear traces of previous cultures ...
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by izentrop » 05/05/17, 00:53

Did67 wrote:And conventional cereals are systematically treated with fungicide at the head, so shortly before harvest.
A good month, the time for the synthetic product to disappear, which is not the case for copper treatment in organic, so choose ...
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Re: O. De Schutter, the worldwide agricultural model is running out!




by Did67 » 05/05/17, 10:21

For this reason, I have totally banned copper from my vegetable garden. And fertilizers of mining origin. So, I'm talking about a "more than organic" vegetable garden (in the sense of "labeled" organic AB).
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