“John Jeavons spoke at Google in Mountain View on April 12, 2012 about his four decades pioneering biointensive farming and what we can do for food security in the future. He is introduced by Google Executive Chef Olivia Wu. About the Author: John Jeavons has been the Director of the GROW BIOINTENSIVE Mini-Farming program for Ecology Action since 1972. He is the author of How to Grow More Vegetablesand Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine, the primer on sustainable Biointensive Mini-Farming. Widely regarded as a food, soil, and organic farming expert, his food-raising methods are being used in 141 countries and by such organizations as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Peace Corps. John Jeavons website: www.johnjeavons.info Ecology Action website: growbiointensive.org His latest book, How to Grow More Vegetables (8th Edition) is available at: play.google.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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aprat says:
December 3, 2012 at 6:41 am (UTC 0)
I didn’t quite absorb everything about what the speaker is suggesting, so don’t want to be too skeptical to begin with. However, it seems to me that he is suggesting that a much larger portion of humanity should be involved in farming. This seems problematic to me because it would raise food prices, and fewer people would be available to become scientist and other for jobs that advance knowledge.
If someone disagrees I’m open to change my mind.
aryafeydakin says:
December 3, 2012 at 7:33 am (UTC 0)
Yes and we should all read chapter 14 of Yeoman’s book “the city-forest”.
What Jeavons is referring to is not that it takes time to regenerate soil. He shows it’s indeed fast to regenerate a soil, that’s what he did obviously, in one year he came from basically desert to a garden with his methods. It’s about building a stable humus content, and this is a very long process. You can get a 8% org. mat. soil instantly with compost or crop rotation with permanent soil cover, yet this is not stable.
tigerone1970 says:
December 3, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC 0)
(Continued…) Lastly, you can very quickly build soil by: 1) adding water to the landscape, 2) incorporate wood or charcoal to sandy soil, which massively increases water retention capacity, and 3) let fast growing weeds provide carbon for the topsoil.
Once topsoil has developed, continuous crop rotation (Fukuoka style) is going to do the rest.
tigerone1970 says:
December 3, 2012 at 7:50 am (UTC 0)
I disagree that soil can only be built slowly. There are very fast soil building methods, like PA Yeomans keyline system (read: Water For Every Farm, by PA Yeomans). Also check out Geoff Lawton’s video Greening The Desert, which saw a very rapid transformation of a salt desert near Nazareth.
aryafeydakin says:
December 3, 2012 at 7:52 am (UTC 0)
Actually this will not happen in 4 billion years but in 1 billion year “only”.
It will indeed help the biosphere if we choose not to destroy it. It will not be just fine at all if we destroy it. To be fine is to be sick ? This kind of orwelian way of thinking is a real concern. It seems it’s even the minds that become eroded.
It’s not because something can recover from a wound that stop wounding it is useless, it’s a real help rather than wound something, help it grow.
Jamie Somma says:
December 3, 2012 at 8:15 am (UTC 0)
Hey, John kinda looks the Lorax!
Jamie Somma says:
December 3, 2012 at 9:11 am (UTC 0)
Started our first 100 sq foot bed from the 2-bed plans in John’s Grow More Vegetables book and I can’t believe how much more productive this Biotensive bed is than the raised beds that we put into a local community garden. Still lots to learn but already looking very promising for a newbie. It’s fun to do with your kids/family too! Looking foward to learning more over the coming years. So if you are interested, grab his book, grab some friends/neighbors and just go to it!
Toni Thompson says:
December 3, 2012 at 9:54 am (UTC 0)
John Jeavons’ phrases about “helping the Earth” seems to be his way of saying “helping humanity survive”. With UN statistics showing that 1 of every 7 individuals on the planet is hungry, Jeavons’ techniques demonstrate how the fate of those people can be readily improved without further degradation of soils and environments.
TyrtaeustheHoplite says:
December 3, 2012 at 10:31 am (UTC 0)
Jeavons is a great man, and I don’t want to destract from his talk, but I have to quibble with his idea that the Earth needs our help. The earth was here before us, and will be here long after us. The Earth will be just fine if we kill ourselves by destroying the biosphere. Nature will just start the cycle over, as happened after the Chicxulub impact, until the sun burns the planet in 4 billion years and returns the atoms to the universe as cosmic dust.
rubbernecker13 says:
December 3, 2012 at 11:12 am (UTC 0)
This is probably the most important issue on the planet right now, I hope more people watch this.