>>455339No, you can source it from compost. There are massive operations that do just this very thing. they use organic waste products. It gets composted and turned into soil. This can be done on your own farm or you can buy it, if you can afford to buy it. It is a very simple procedure. Just pile up organic stuff into rows and let it compost until it turns to soil. You have the option of turning it once in a while to speed it up, but that isn't needed if time isn't an issue. Compost sources can be manure, yard waste, farm waste, silage, etc.
You even have the option of using the heat produced from your own compost piles to heat greenhouses, homes, and household water.
However, one common form of building soil for massive areas is known as "Sheet Composting". You basically cover the fields with hot compost which will eventually turn into soil. This can be used to only amend soil or start the process of building up new soil over old. The draw back for this process is that you must allow time for the compost to fully decompose before planting, for safety reasons, and plant health. Thus, many people either pile up the compose or buy it.
I use a combination of sheet composting and pile composting. I use the pile composting through the year and sheet composting during the winter months. My neighbors, who all have 1,000s of acres of fields prefer to use sheet composting. They use cow and horse manure as well as field debris. The entire valley smells like manure for an entire week when they do that.
