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Comment by songzme | Hacker News Reader

There's a guy in Montana called Paul Wheaton who spent the last 6 years building soil rich in organic matter using no chemicals (pesticides & biocides) in his 200 acre plot of land. There were giant hugelkultur beds 15 ft high it was a crazy sight. He believes that in a decade the soil will be so rich in organic matter with healthy microbial activity (with no chemical history) could produce food that cures cancer. I believe that in an environment where human body is not weakened by the constant bombardment of chemical compounds, it could heal itself from cancer.

He has a bootcamp and I took 2 weeks off from work to try it out in January and I learned alot just by being there. https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp/

After that experience I couldn't focus on work anymore so I quit my job (I have 2 years worth of savings) and now my days are spent trying to restore the soil in my backyard.

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There feels like a deep truth to the constant assault of man-hand compounds in relation to our health. I recently started fasting every other day, and I've noticed odd issues just clearing up on their own.

I'd wager the down-votes related to the claims around curing cancer, but there is reason to pursue this. I'm self experimenting on myself and wife since the wife has an auto-immune issue (MS). She was on the anti-gluten train way before it was fashionable since there is an immediate cause and effect for her without celiacs.

We really should question all of our practices and values.

I think bodies are not meant to always be processing food. We are designed for downtime to process the backlog. The body would get to nagging issues if given opportunity to do so.

I also think this has a lot to do with our cancer rates.

I'd say that a less fraught way of putting this is that we have adapted to feast-and-famine since that was the ancestral condition of the species.

So I agree with you that, at least for me, eating less than I want to (or nothing) much of the time, and eating a lot occasionally, feels better than constantly feeding myself more calories (carbs especially!) than I need.

But most people on this site, myself included, don't think we were 'designed' at all.

Very cool seeing someone else on HN take on restoring their backyard soil. I've been at it for two years in my quarter acre plot and the results are starting to show, so keep at it! Very interested in your bootcamp link so thanks for posting that.

Personal tangent: The property I have was a typical Roundup maintained monoculture lawn without any insect diversity, bees, etc. Now it's teeming with all types of insects and different native species that have re-established themselves and I've been able to use about half of the property for fruit and vegetable production. It's awesome to see the progress that's possible even in such a short time.

Just bought a house surrounded by mostly lawn. I’m starting by sheet mulching my lawn with cardboard covered by a thick layer of wood chips. Hopefully the underlayer will be ready for planting next spring. Going to fill in between the food plants with clover, sweet peas, and lupine for nitrogen fixing. I’m looking forward to the transformation.

That sounds awesome. Best of luck.

You might have heard of this already, but for anyone else who might come across this comment, there's a site called https://getchipdrop.com/ where you can sign up to get a free truckload of wood chips from arborists that just did work nearby. Just beware that you can get a TON of chips dropped off so be ready to move all that matter lol.

Yes! Highly recommended. Took about two days for a load to show up, then the guy asked if I would like a free load of firewood too.

just tried it out in Santa Clara and found a neighbor giving it out 10 mins walk away from my house. Really cool, thanks!

I dont know about curing cancer but if he is using less chemicals than the risk of causing cancer is greatly reduced. Food from healthy soil is more nutritious which makes it more satiating but it isnt magic.

January in MT is no joke. Were the activities in that part of the year more on the theory end? Did you have to wait long between your reservation and getting a spot?

I registered in November and was able to get a spot for January. The winter was a really good time because there weren't there many people (because of weather) and I got to ask all the questions I wanted. We mainly worked on a greenhouse that keeps water from freezing in Montana winters using the earth's thermal energy and no electricity: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/greenhouse-...

Food that cures cancer. And what is the scientific basis of that?

There's no scientific conclusion that says cancer cannot be cured through natural means. I'm not against someone trying and I hope he succeeds.

Steve Jobs though he could cure his cancer through diet.

and it didn't work out for him, sadly. I don't get the point you are trying to make though.

what are you doing to your backyard soil?

The dirt in my backyard has been so neglected it has turned rocky.

first and foremost, I'm covering the bare dirt from direct sunlight by covering it with a layer of cardboard (empty amazon shipment boxes).

Next is some aerated compost tea to speed up the microbial activity and loosen the dirt and start the process of turning it into soil. Add some compost along the way

I'm documenting the journey on this forum if you want to follow along: https://permies.com/t/164053/Gardening-Journey#1286751

I checked out your post on permies. Using a garden fork or broad fork to loosen the compacted soil will speed up your progress. If you see dandelions or other long tap root plants they are trying to do the job of loosening soil. But, they can only go so fast. Forking the ground then covering with compost and watering in will jump you a few years farther in succession.

Really cool tip thank you! Found a garden fork on craigslist and will be picking it up later this afternoon.

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