Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
One of the stories that hangs in the back of my mind from years ago is that of an ecologist who discovered a bush bean in Central America that not only produces a nutritious bean crop, but provides a microclimate for the growth of other crops such as maize and, when they have been cropped, provide food for goats which then fertilize the area for next years cycle.

Was this a figment of my imagination ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue May 6th, 2008 at 01:55:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Hello Helen. Sorry for the delay of this reply, caused by a busy schedule.  A number of crops (beans, peas, etc.) belong to the leguminous plants, known for their ability to stock nitrogen from the air and to transform it into proteins, which are then broken down to nitrates, fertilizing the soil.  Such nitrogen fixating crops are very useful indeed.  They should be grown at a larger scale to fertilize the soil, particularly in the drylands.  So, it is not your imagination !

Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem Beeweg 36 - B 9080 Zaffelare (Belgium)
by willem vancotthem (willem.vancotthem@gmail.com) on Sun May 11th, 2008 at 05:59:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series