I recently had Steve Solomon on The Ruminant Podcast. The man has been growing veggies for eating and seed for over forty years; he has a lot to say that young farmers can benefit from. Part one of our conversation just went up:
In this long-form interview, we discuss his new book, The Intelligent Gardener, which he co-wrote with Erica Reinheimer.
I read the book a month ago. It’s really good. In it, Steve argues that the key to growing healthy crops is to combine the return of organic matter to the soil with a practice called remineralization, which involves assessing the mineral content of your soil and then adding the right mix of amendments to ensure they are in proper balance (Steve’s contention: few soils are). Along the way, Steve provides an excellent beginner’s entry into soil science, and challenges some of the organic movement’s tightly held assumptions about sustainable crop production.
Part II of our conversation will be up later this week.
