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>turns their compost according to the phases of the moon. Weird. It might not be so weird. While not as noticeable as ocean tides, aquifer tides[1] cause the
by schiffern 5y ago
>turns their compost according to the phases of the moon. Weird.
It might not be so weird.
While not as noticeable as ocean tides, aquifer tides[1] cause the soil to "breathe" twice per day. Spring tide vs. neap tide (which is a function of Moon phase) would change the magnitude and diurnal timing of this "breathing" pattern, which could have a significant effect on soil biology.
As you learn more about Earth Science, it's interesting to discover that (some of) these "crazy" ideas start to look not-so-crazy.
One of my favorite examples: how do you stop vermin in your garden? Make a small pile of rocks off in the corner, of course! Sounds like superstitious gobbledygook, right? And it is, right up until the moment you realize that all you really did was make a happy undisturbed snake habitat.
[1] https://theconversation.com/squeezed-by-gravity-how-tides-affect-the-groundwater-under-our-feet-74928 https://theconversation.com/squeezed-by-gravity-how-tides-af...
- judge2020 5y agoIt sounds like doing that might encourage the snakes to reproduce and you’ll just end up with more snakes. Even if you’re fine building a few new habitats every year, at a certain point would you encounter some sort of snake breeding law/regulation?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- schiffern 5y agoLeave it to HN to go immediately from "provide a sun-warmed refuge for snake basking" to a full-on snake housing crisis. :'D No need to overthink this. Just pile some rocks and enjoy the benefits of ecosystem services.
- cutemonster 5y agoYes, more stones, don't mean more food for the snakes to eat (shouldn't be many more of them). But won't they bite you? Hmm maybe snakes that feed on insects, don't usually also eat humans
- mateo1 5y agoAquifer tides sound like a fascinating concept that didn't occur to me before, but tides require a lot of fast lateral mass transfer thats usually not possible in most aquifers.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- schiffern 5y agoYes, the math is totally different. In this case, the effect is largely due to the overburden itself expanding and contracting with varying tidal attraction. These mechanisms force atmospheric gases into and out of the soil, like a piston. https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/105/06/0842.pdf https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/105/06/0842.pdf
- Arnt 5y agoAll that suggests that turning the compost once per moon cycle makes sense. I've no problem with that. But turning the compost at specific points in the cycle… and yet, these are the farmers with the best produce.