Sorghum recipes

[silverseeds]

I'm also concerned about our soils wearing out, and just not providing enough mineral as it is. So, better to get maximum nutrition out of grains. Remember, according to blood types, I'm supposed to eat a lot of grain anyway! Oddly enough it seems very natural to me. If I haven't had a hearty bread to eat, I feel like I haven't really eaten.

It depends on your set up, and soil type and many other factors. how much land you have and other things... but there are many ways to address that. one is having a circular system, like humanure. it can be done safely, but yo HAVE to do it right, or can have issues, and meds and heavy metals can be issues so this isnt always good. essentially you could ensure that little to nothing actually leaves the field like that....

There is also using deep rooted perennials and trees and bushes. These are the things that pull the things from deeper in the subsoil. even breaking down rock long term. use a range of things to try to cover all the bases. Take organic matter from non garden areas from these types of things and put it where your garden or compost is.

Using animals also concentrates many key things in their bones and such, wastes useful as well, but so are the rest of their bodies when the time comes. Or various things like clams and snails that live within my fish systems....

also one night it occurred to me, different plants including weeds concentrate various things. You could purposely sow those plants, let them be and collect them for the compost, thus concentrating these things into the gardens.... This could be a science onto itself really. Obviously you cant pull things from the soil that arent there, but depending on your growing style, you could certainly concentrate key things where they are more needed.

there really is NO need for outside inputs if you set up a circular system. if you have it now, you can keep it. If you have to little of something you can concentrate it where its needed. most systems are not circular and eventually the lopsidedness will show just like any other topic. Even if you start out depleted, you can pull those thing up from the subsoil with trees given enough time, or composting parts of already established things. Un fortunately it isnt easy to find the value for all of these things, or you could set up a simple math problem and regulate it well. but if your concerned about it, just make sure you use things for compost from those types of plants, heck thats how those things got to be there for your annuals to use to begin with....

[Lady Lilya]

Some gums are made from legumes.  I have no idea what sort of processing, though.

[Beeherder]

just type "green manure" into your search engine and you will find that very science. Its been around for a long time and can be the best way to ensure the quality of your manure products, imo. Probably more than one solution for any given climate type or region.

[silverseeds]

just type "green manure" into your search engine and you will find that very science. Its been around for a long time and can be the best way to ensure the quality of your manure products, imo. Probably more than one solution for any given climate type or region.

Well what I was talking about was much more then what is generally referred to as green manuring though related. green manure is used where you will be planting crops, it can help loosen soil, build biomass, add nitrogen, and hold things in the soil while farrow. not much more then that. you wouldnt however be concentrating any minerals, or pulling things up from deeper atleast as it is commonly used. It can though help make such things more soluable though, but that is a slow process, and takes leaving a growing area fallow for some time to have any accumulation. This isnt a new idea o anything, but it hasnt evolved into a science yet. Different plants are capable of concentrating differing things, so you could then pull those plant and put them in annual beds, and with the deep rooted things bring the same from deeper and bring more of those things into a accessible place for your system. Such things would be used differently in different soils, depending on what was needed. With the right set up within an orchard, pasture or ranchland perhaps, you could keep good levels of such things in your annual beds and fields where your staples and the like are grown.

[Beeherder]

It was once common practice to mow the rows between the trees in orchards, this allows the things like dandelions to bloom and feed the bees when the fruit or nut trees are not offering nectar or pollen. And the dandelion is an example of a plant that will send a deep root to break up soil and even the underlying rock bringing those micronutrients up into the area of the topsoil. Unfortunately now it is common practice to use roundup instead of mowing. So what it kills the bees, after all the profit manager of the agri plant is only concerned about the monocrop delivered from the trees.

SS your idea of developing this embrionic study into a full participant and contributor to the holistic management of the land is fantastic.

One definition of a weed is a plant whose properties have yet to be appreciated. What do you want to bet lots of what we now consider weeds would fit well into a holistic management system?

[Ozark Lady]

To increase the copper that my goats get on their pasture, on land that is geologically in a copper deficient region is to grow:  sunflowers and dandelions.  It seems that they can produce copper?  Or how would they increase the copper if grown on copper deficient soils?  This is what I was told in a goat keeping forum, where copper deficiency is a major player in disease in goats, wonder if it is in plants too?

I need to look at some more geological maps and dig deeper.  Perhaps there are more plants that can address issues with deficiencies?

[Dame]

I cannot see a plant generating an element, although the subsoil may be in way better shape than the topsoil.  Some plants, certainly not sunflowers, have root systems that go down to depths few other plants reach.  I am often surprised at how deep many grasses root.  Leaves me thinking that sunflowers concentrate copper and/or make it more bio-available.

[Dame]

I agree with what SS is saying about soil/plant sciences and research.  Makes me tired just thinking about it though.

[silverseeds]

I need to look at some more geological maps and dig deeper.  Perhaps there are more plants that can address issues with deficiencies?

If a soil is 100% lacking of something then, no i dont believe so. Though if it is just deficient, then either things that concentrate that particular thing and/or bring up from deeper in the subsoil can help in certain applications. Like the goat one you mentioned. Dandelions have really deep roots once they are a few years old, plus im guess they concentrate copper at the same time. Other plants in the same soil Id guess might not be efficient at  concentrating it at the lower levels. If you needed more copper in your annual beds then, you could grow many such plants in the orchards or other places and compost them for the annual beds. Or perhaps grow variables wilder greens or something that concentrate particular things in a lacking soil for the diets of animals as you were saying. I think such concepts could be used to great advantage within certain types of cropping systems. Not that there arent often easier ways. but we might not always have the option of readily available outside inputs, so nderstanding ways to balance what we have where we need it, can be very prudent knowledge.

[silverseeds]

I cannot see a plant generating an element, although the subsoil may be in way better shape than the topsoil.  Some plants, certainly not sunflowers, have root systems that go down to depths few other plants reach.  I am often surprised at how deep many grasses root.  Leaves me thinking that sunflowers concentrate copper and/or make it more bio-available.

Yep thats exactly it, they dont make anything, only concentrate it, or pull it up from deeper, and also slowly make it more available in various ways... Usually with the symbiosis with bacteria in that case. The only thing that plants can legitimately add to the mix is fixed nitrogen, as far as I know. Although that isnt to negate their role in furthering the break down of various things within a system. some trees can grow in rock dust in a crack in a boulder even.