5/ Step back. Think about what gardening and farming is. The ecosystem is a ruthlessly competitive Darwinian endeavor where the organisms that reproduce fast and fend off predators survive. Every plan that exists survives in that environment. Storing huge piles of calories >
-
Show this thread
-
6/ in convenient, ready-to-pluck form is a waste of energy that could be better spent reproducing, growing thorns and poisons to keep predators away, etc. Those things that thrive? They're what we call weeds. Also, trees. Few or zero calories.
3 replies 2 retweets 49 likesShow this thread -
7/ The things that humans call food are things that we willed into existence by (a) selective breeding, (b) ...for unnatural environments. Let me explain:
1 reply 6 retweets 50 likesShow this thread -
8/ Potatoes or corn or whatever waste their energy storing calories. There's no way they can survive in the natural Darwinian state. Mankind didn't just create these species, we created environments they live in * artificial irrigation * artificial lack of competition (weeding)
2 replies 3 retweets 50 likesShow this thread -
9/ The environment is crucial. Corn beats out weeds only in the environment known as "a farm run by a human". In EVERY OTHER ENVIRONMENT, weeds beat out corn. So farming and gardening is really "the science of creating artificial environments".
3 replies 17 retweets 82 likesShow this thread -
10/ <puts fedora on> ok, that sounds easy enough ! I just get a 50 lb sack of "artificial environment" and sprinkle it over the soil, right? No. Environment has a dozen dimensions: * sunlight * water * seed planting depth * fertilizer type * fertilizer schedule * weeding >>>
3 replies 1 retweet 41 likesShow this thread -
11/ Yeah, but still ... we could make a big box that has tubes coming out of it, and the tubs carry water and food and weedkiller to the crops, and ... well, OK, people try this. In the limit (zero soil), it's aquaponics ... and it requires a TON of equipment per calorie out.
2 replies 1 retweet 36 likesShow this thread -
12/ If you're still planting in dirt, then it's called "fertigation" ( fertilizer + irrigation). But how much fertilizer? How much irrigation? Depends. Also, the right solution isn't static. You have to have a human in the loop, inspecting plants every day or two.
1 reply 1 retweet 35 likesShow this thread -
13/ Are the plants a bit yellow? Too much water. A bit brown? Too little. White mold on the leaves? Gray mold? Rust colored specs? Small orange and black beetles? Failing to thrive? Holes in leaves? There's an encyclopedia of knowledge FOR EACH CROP SPECIES.
2 replies 1 retweet 40 likesShow this thread -
-
-
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
