[AGL] Work as ecology

[michele mason]

It all sounds good. In fact, I watched a piece on PBS (I think), last 
nite, showing the 'micro collector photo cells—fit in your hand.
I grew an acre of green beans: 1/2 in sandy loam, with cactus, fire 
ants and nut grass and 1/2 in black land where I dealt with Johnson 
grass. I actually got about 1000 lbs, mostly from the lower sandy 
field. By the time I got to the J-grass it was big enough to slit your 
palm open (if you were dumb enough to work w/o gloves. I actually had a 
group of ladies who drove down from Waco just to get my next bushel! 
Those beans  were very good and I avg'd about $1 lb. Used a small 
tractor to plow original start, then nothing else. Had it been my 
'black gumbo' it would have needed a heavy diesel. Ol' farmers are 
'L'-shaped, but I was skinny and had a great butt that year.—and plenty 
of tomatoes, carrots, greens in winter, cream peas, cukes, okra, 
pepper(s), etc. My berries grow themselves every spring—about 1/2 
acre—what a cobbler!!!  Enough,  Michele

On May 17, 2007, at 2:55 PM, Gerry wrote:


> Michelle says:

>  

> I have been trying to convince my sons and others for 15 stinkin' years

> to work on my place; help me make a real farm—get in shape and see REAL

> ORGANIC food growing—enough for all to eat and make a profit!!!! Deaf

> DEAF ears. So I did it myself and beat myself nearly to death, or it

> feels like. Now too crippled up to do it any more, but it probably gave

> me strength for a longer period than I would have had. Bad sentence

> structure—don't have time to make it nice.

>  

> Sorry to hear that all the work crippled you. Most of my old relatives 

> who stayed on the farm ended up with some kind of physical disability, 

> but no heart attacks or strokes...That's one of the reasons most folks 

> find agricultural pursuits to be undesirable. However, I can foresee 

> an agricultural movement in which good planning of infrastructure and 

> production methods (micro management) keeps a lot of the really heavy 

> work to a minimum without using petrol eating monster machines. I 

> favor solar and wind power on a small scale, lots and lots of 

> collectors to take the place of the electric grid, each home being 

> energy independent. The ag equipment would run on batteries, charged 

> on site from the collectors. I am presently replacing lots of plug-in 

> tools with battery powered tools. Now have a battery powered string 

> trimmer, a battery powered tiller, drills, etc. Looking at electric 

> bicycles, and waiting to the completely electric car, etc.  The 

> construction industry is moving in the direction of all electric 

> battery powered hand tools. Would like to see more electric innovation 

> such as small battery powered 4-wheeler machines to haul loads around 

> on the farm, about the size of Datsun Little Hustler pickups but 

> purpose designed so no cabs and a lot less power, and far less 

> expensive, each having a hydraulic lift installed.

>  

> My innovations include beds enclosed with agricultural fabric. This 

> year I bought a greenhouse kit (8'x10'x20') and will use it with 

> different covers for different times of the year. If it works out as 

> planned, next year I will add another (I have one acre to play with). 

> I am not cultivating a large area any more, about 3,000 sq. ft., 

> mostly growing tomatoes this year. The higher the yield the less land 

> needed and the less work required. Somewhere there is the perfect 

> balance of land use and efficient methods which push high yields 

> without resorting to petrol powered monster machines and chemicals. 

> New Zealand agricultural follows these concepts but they still use the 

> big machines. Anyway, I am always experimenting with the aim of 

> mastering desert agriculture using available technology and recycled 

> materials.

>  

> Medical Marijuana just passed the NM legislature. It will go into 

> effect later this year. So, next year's agricultural plan may be quite 

> different. I'm not sure how to act yet...I know I can get a 

> prescription as a result of a cancer diagnosis a few years ago. I 

> could lay back and have the government deliver my stash, not a bad 

> situation at all, let Medicare pay for it... Or I could be a 

> grower/distributor, growing stash for others with 'scripts. Since the 

> details of the distribution are not yet worked out (supposed to be 

> ready by October) I'm not sure what to do. I would like to see a plan 

> like Prop. 215 in California which allows all 'script holders to grow 

> 25 plants each year. Whatever happens I am at a crossroads with lots 

> of options and the promise of soon being completely legal, a heady 

> feeling.

> G

>

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