Dad Hartzler's Dream Part 2 - The Soil Harold Hartzler had no governmental help, no professional advice and no research supporting what he was about to do. Nevertheless, he felt strongly that he had to do it. "We went total turkey in 1964 when I made the decision not to use any chemicals, herbicides or pesticides on my crops," he says. Harold read voraciously. But not only did he study printed materials, he also began experimenting with his own soil.

"You know it all ended up being very simple, once I started figuring it out," Harold says. "The life in the soil is much like the life in a human being. It depends on air, water and sunshine. It doesn't matter whether you are growing a tree, cabbages or corn, they all have to have these three things," he adds.

Other important and interesting things Harold learned included:

• Insects don't particularly like healthy plants, they prefer to eat unhealthy plants
• Weeds are not all bad and actually return vital trace elements to the soil when plowed under
• Soil must be in balance in order for earthworms to hatch

"It only took me a few years to get my worms back," Harold says proudly. "Their castings (manure) have five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorous and 11 times more potassium than the soil does before they process it. They are like having a fertilizer factory on your property for free. That lowly, little worm works day and night while I'm sleeping," he laughs.