ISSUE 32044 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
What is it and
How Practical is it
in a Survival Situation?
By Phillip MeeksR
arely do we daydream of less-than-perfect soil. We
fantasize about our rural retreat — a picturesque
cabin equipped with solar panels. We own a well with
pure water, a stocked trout stream just a few paces
out the backdoor, and a mature woodland with excel-
lent hunting. We have a milk cow and two stands of honeybees, and
every plant in the vegetable garden is green and thriving.
In reality, few locations have garden soil that doesn’t need some ad-
justment. We’d be lucky if the only requirement is 100 pounds of lime
to raise the pH or perhaps organic matter applied to the top. But it’s not
always so simple. What if the land on our dream acreage has thin (or
nonexistent) topsoil? Maybe we’re too far from a quarry to have reliable