there's a lot less solid infonnation in the last decade's how-to-do-it literature than meets the reader's eye. FOOD It's a wonderful idea to produce food with no salt fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides. But it's not easy, especially for those who haven't tried it before. I'm no fan of Earl Butz, but there's more than a grain of truth in his question, "Which 50 • million Americans are you going to pick to starve?" if we abandon agri-biz farming overnight. This isn't to say we can't work our way toward a system of food production that is healthier for humans and topsoil-perhaps America's most crucial resource in coming years. But kicking the agri-biz habit won't be simple and will probably come about only by economic necessity, such as the cost of fertilizer or ?il, anyway. Small-Scale Farming:· It's very difficult. Simply put, you need enough land to justify the proper equipment to farm • efficiently. Work horses-are gr~at for a very few farmers, but the others need tractors. And discs. And cultivators and seed broadcasters and weeders and harvesting equipment and so on. In farming, as in building and the other practical crafts, I've found that if something isn't being done, there's probably a pretty good reason. A few years ago several of us didn't see any reason why we couldn't gro.w grains here in our coastal climate just north of San Francisco, even though no one was doing it. So we tried it. Wheat, oats, rye, triticale, millet, even rice. Sure, it worked okay on a garden scale, with a lot of labor and watchfulness. But when we then planted larger areas, we found that along with the initial problems of birds and drought years, it takes an immense amount of time to get the grain harvested, dried, threshed, winnowed and ready to grind without an expensive harvesting combine. And that was if we were luc;ky enough to have it dry properly in the fields without going moldy in the summer fog. Experience taught us why they grow potatoes and artichokes, not wheat and millet, here. Many, many would-be organic farmers have found, as did ~e, and as did Bob Cooperrider, that it's a lot tougher than the visionary organic literature would have you believe. It may take years to get soil in condition for growing healthy crops without chemicals (if you are lucky enough to have the land in the first place); prices for organic produce are dep,ressingly low.compared to labor and energy expended; seasonal variations and fluctuating demand are factors unlike those encountered in other jobs. Small-scale organic farming can succeed, but it's going to take time, patience, dedication, more hard work than most people would believe, the right land, and luck. RAIN Page 7 Urban Food Production: A lot is being written about it. 'No problems? What about th~ effect of smog, lead, air impurities on urban vegetables? Chickens in the city? They are noisy, even without a rooster, and it might be a good idea to consult neighbors first (and perhaps let them participate by getting eggs in exchange for the noise). Backyard bees? Maybe, if the beekeeper is experienced and understands how to handle bees in t~at situation. Even if you start with gentle Italian bees, they can cross with drones from more aggressive colonies and become meaner. BACK-TO-THE-LAND It's a shame no one sees fit to write about the pitfalls of rural living. Instead, we have a host of books praising life on the homestead, often written prematurely, before the authors have been through enough seasons to know their stuff. Many homesteader-writers make a good part of their living writing about this kind of a life, and are not as qependent upon food and craft income as will be those inspired by their published work. Cou.ntry living is a lo~ more difficult and less romantic than most of those who dream about homesteading would believe. Many people find this out the hard way, often being driven . back to the city _by the rigors of the first winter. Others aren't • ready for the hard work or haven't developed the skills needed for growing food or caring for animals. Still others, who get things ·working well, find they're not happy away from a community of neighbors and intellectual companionship. George and Nell Abernathy, who built a home on 40 acres of forested land in 1959 and now, 20 years later, are moving back into the city, explained: " .. . ~anctuaries are one thing, but complete satisfaction for all your needs may not be found in a sanctuary. You can only take so big a dose of contemplative life. "1 WASTE The Composting Privy: Another great idea-saving five gallons of water, returning composted excreta to the soil, etc. But wait a minute: There are reports, either getting less media coverage or appearing in smaller print, of tropical parasites surviving, of fruit fly infestations, of insufficient aeration or too much moisture for complete decomposition. In theory privies and Clivuses sound good and we want them to work, but in practice they work only in special situations and require alert and conscientious tending. How many people can be trusted to deal safely with their own shit? Waste Water: What they don '.t tell you in most of the simple schemes for running grey water out into the garden is that your kitchen sink water becomes evil-smelling when it percolates slowly through a pipe into the garden, tends to block up with scum in surprisingly short order, or, if a filter is used, it must be changed frequently. It can be done, with care, but takes a lot of time to make it work propedy. '
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