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Overheard a guy at the nursery in Boise tell his friend 'fertilizer is just plant steroids' and honestly, it tracks.
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skyler_smith26mo ago
That comparison falls apart if you look at organic farming. My cousin runs a small farm in Oregon and their compost program builds soil health for years, not just a quick boost. Steroids force growth in one direction, but good fertilizer feeds the whole soil ecosystem, including microbes and worms. It's more like a balanced meal than a shot.
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lisa_ross166mo ago
But what about the cost? Organic farming like that takes a lot of land and labor. Your cousin's compost program sounds great for a small farm, but try doing that for thousands of acres. Most people can't pay the price for food grown that way. It's a nice idea that just doesn't scale up to feed everyone.
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pat_hart5mo ago
You're right that scaling is the big question, @lisa_ross16. My cousin's method works great on 40 acres, but I've seen organic operations get clunky once you push past a couple hundred. There's a middle ground though, some folks are mixing cover crops and minimal tilling on bigger farms and getting decent yields without the full price tag.
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