> [!summary] Progressive Summary More books should be written like this. Simple, unassuming, short, and personal. It's a remarkable feat to make Steiner's esoteric ideas on farming approachable. It's a good companion book to [[A Small Farm Future]], because it emphasizes Steiner's "humble" peasant farmer roots. # Structured Notes ## Definitions ## Chapter Summaries ### Chapter 4 - Who Should Talk About Agriculture > It appeared that the more organized the living entities were, the more energy they could gather. Life begets more life. Although material things displayed entropy, the running down of energy, living things worked together to accumulate energy. This is called syntropy. My machines broke down, but the gardens and herd built up. Nitrogen is not an agricultural input; it is the *result* of good agriculture. ### Chapter 5 - Nitrogen and Her Sisters Nitrogen's four sisters are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and sulphur. These atmospheric substances make up 95 to 98 percent of the substance of a plant. That's why it's important to maintain a loose soil structure which lets air through. ### Chapter 6 - Earth Elements > Any attempt to simplify chemistry or physics (or Steiner for that matter) quickly leads to mistruths because it is simply so complicated. # Quotes