“ THERE ARE over 20,000 miles of desert coastline worldwide that , if made habitable , could feed millions of people .”
“ There are over 20,000 miles of desert coastline worldwide that , if made habitable , could feed millions of people ,” he says . “ In most cases , edibles could be seeded directly into leached beach sand and , once growing , be irrigated with constant liquid-feed solutions of commercial-grade fertilizer . Current growth of food production will not keep pace with need unless we extend it into new areas and , toward that end , the day will come when the world ’ s deserts must be cultivated .” While noting that sand culture is “ not a new concept ,” Jensen says that “ with plastics and commercial water-soluble fertilizers now common , it appears to be both practical and economical .” His prescience has been proven true . “ There ’ s lots of sand in the world and we ’ ve proven we can grow plants in some of the harshest areas in the world ,” he says .
“ Growing in sand is a technique we might even be using some day on the moon ,” adds Jensen . “ In the interim , it ’ s allowing us to bring vitamins and minerals to some very harsh environments . We now have the ability to extend balanced diets in those parts of the world , places like the Gobi Desert , where Chinese farmers are already cultivating 50,000 hectares using sand or cinders .”
64 Maximum Yield