A Side Note About Agriculture

As we were touring around the countryside, Elder Rona talked a lot about the variety of innovations which the Israelis have invented to allow them to grow crops in this climate year around.  They have worked out ways to manage the soil, garbage, water supplies, and temperature to allow them to grow most things year around.  Most of the fruits and vegetables that we ate during our stay were probably only a day or two from being picked at a local farm.

I tried to get pictures of the tenting of fields but it wasn't until we were on the Sermon on the Mount location that I was able to get one not from a moving bus.

Taken through the fencing at the Mount

If you look carefully, you can see the tan tarp like fabric over the crop growing below.  They use this to control insects, temperatures, and provide targeted irrigation.  The fabric is biodegradable so when they have harvested the crop, it is pulled into the soil to add nutrients to the soil.  You see these covered fields everywhere.

Elder Rona told a story that the Muslims in the West Bank wanted to copy this method, but didn't want

 to pay the Israeli the cost for the tarps.  They found a cheaper source from another country.  Unfortunately, they were typical traps made of plastic which DIDN"T biodegrade and left a mess over the land for years.

Seeing and hearing about the Israeli agriculture success made me want to learn more about it in the future.  So much to learn and so little time!