Kathryn wrote:
>No Paul - he had students doing most of the weeding right from the
>beginning of his experiments -
In one of Fukuoka's books it said most of his idea were
borrowed from an older generation of farmers. His experiments
and writing were an attempt to explain and give credence to
an old art. I think this is also what happened in organic
farming, in biodynamics, and with Robert Hart. Probably to a
lesser extent with Hart because some of his ideas combine
non-native plants in new ways. It has always bothered me
when someone is called the "father" of organics. The actual
development took hundreds of years and many farmers. Even,
the intensive methods such as square-foot-gardening have
roots from the past. I can remember reading old articles
with the same ideas 30 years ago.
Don't know where this thinking leads... Maybe that the art
of farming usually precedes the science. Or that the bigger
issue is between those who want to dominate/constrain
agriculture and those who see it as a ever changing art form.
jeff (starting to get spring fever)
