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Making more soil, that is, soil useful for human food, isn't as easy as you think. Or we would already have replaced a lot of low fertility soils with better so
by EdwardDiego 5y ago
Making more soil, that is, soil useful for human food, isn't as easy as you think. Or we would already have replaced a lot of low fertility soils with better soils.
To give you a hint of why you might be oversimplifying - 2m of top soil on a layer of clay functions far differently to 2m of top soil on a layer of sand, because the fertility of the top soil is directly related to the properties of the underlying soil strata.
(Also, the mineral soil you're using to create your top soil from may have issues you need to address... [0])
[0]: https://teara.govt.nz/en/diseases-of-sheep-cattle-and-deer/page-14 https://teara.govt.nz/en/diseases-of-sheep-cattle-and-deer/p...
- maerF0x0 5y agoYeah I completely agree it's harder than a short post by a software engineer on HN :grin: ... But you're right that it's amazing how many variables add to the optimal solution. I think part of what's hard is that it's a process that includes time as a variable. Who wants to hold onto land for 10 years while it prepares for productivity? I think in time we'll see a combo of a need for industrial scale soilless vertical farming to feed a huge population, and a return to extremely sustainable solutions for the aristocrats that can afford the fanciest "farmers market" food.