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Alaimo builds 1000-year fungal computer

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 · from 1 podcast, 3 episodes
Bitcoin And
  • A 1,000-acre silvopasture project uses fungal networks as biological computing infrastructure.
  • Strategic tree stacking turns toxins into self-sustaining nutrient loops, eliminating synthetic inputs.
  • Biochar-enriched soil aims for 40% carbon saturation, creating a 10,000-year carbon sink.

The soil beneath Alaimo’s Cathedral project isn’t inert - it’s a processor. By integrating black walnut, black locust, and honey locust trees with rotational grazing, the system forms a decentralized biological network. Mycorrhizal fungi shuttle water, nitrogen, and chemical warnings across 1,000 acres, functioning as both logistics and data infrastructure.

On June 22, the Bitcoin And host introduced the Acre-Year metric: a measure of solar productivity and biological momentum over time. Alaimo rejects fiat farming’s short-term yield obsession, instead tracking whether the land grows more fertile each year. The system’s three laws ban synthetic chemistry unless it directly increases fertility or edge-effect productivity.

"The fungal network is a 500-million-year-old marketplace where sugar is currency."

- David Bennett, Bitcoin And

The next day, the same show detailed how black walnut’s juglone toxicity is managed not by suppression, but by design. Black and honey locusts act as chemical shields, surviving juglone exposure while fixing nitrogen and producing high-protein fodder when pollarded. Thornless honey locust pods add sugar-rich feed, diversifying livestock nutrition.

These support trees double as durable timber. Black locust posts last 70-100 years in soil contact, outperforming treated lumber. The system yields three revenue streams: craft-grade walnut, rot-resistant locust timber, and beef - each buffering the others against market or climate shocks.

"We’re building a carbon landfill. Biochar holds water, nutrients, and climate credits for 10,000 years."

- Bitcoin And Host, Bitcoin And

Biochar is the anchor. With surface area rivaling an NBA court per gram, it molecularly binds water and ions, preventing leaching. The project targets 35-40% soil carbon to a depth of three feet - enough to survive two full years without rain. Alaimo admits he’d do it for soil health alone, but gladly takes the carbon credit revenue.

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Bitcoin And
#Biology#Climate#Regulation#Energy
David Bennett

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Cathedral 2 | Clocks, Calendars, and Computers • Jun 23

  • The project's perimeter and internal lanes feature black walnut trees as the primary crop, supported by black locust and thornless honey locust trees that act as chemical buffers against juglone, fix nitrogen, and provide craft lumber.
  • Black locust wood is highly rot-resistant, lasting 70 to 100 years in soil contact, making it ideal for posts, while black walnut is valued as expensive craft lumber.
  • Support trees like black locust provide high-nitrogen leaves (25-35% dry weight) for animal fodder, while thornless honey locusts yield sugar-rich pods, offering diverse supplemental feed for grazing animals.
  • Dense, hog-tight hedgerows serve as living fences to contain grazing animals and allow for specialized animal raising, like finishing hogs on black walnuts in specific tree lanes.
  • The project aims for a soil carbon content of 35-40% down to depths of 24-36 inches, which could make the system drought-tolerant for two full seasons without rain and sequester carbon for 10,000 to 20,000 years.
Also from this episode: (7)

AI & Tech (1)

  • David Bennett’s Cathedral project outlines a 1,000-acre, 1,000-year silvopasture system designed to regenerate soil, maximize productivity, and operate without synthetic chemistry, inspired by Isaac Asimov’s three rules of robotics.

Climate (3)

  • The extensive tree canopy acts as a crucial windbreak, protecting animals from cold and heat, and aids in snow capture for spring water recharge, enhancing the system’s resilience.
  • David Bennett emphasizes biochar as a non-negotiable component, enhancing soil water retention, nutrient buffering, and providing a habitat for beneficial fungi.
  • Long-term management involves cyclical harvesting of craft lumber and maintaining 92-95% of the system’s nut production potential by replacing mature trees every 100 years.

Biology (1)

  • The fungal network, composed of mycorrhizae, connects all plants and trees within the 1,000-acre system, facilitating chemical communication for defense and transferring water and nutrients to areas of need.

Protocol (2)

  • David Bennett views the Cathedral system as a gigantic 'century clock' and 'calendar' through its planned tree felling and growth cycles, and a 'computer' for processing ecosystem data and logistics via the fungal network.
  • David Bennett offers a free 'Comfrey Owner's Manual' through bitcoinandshow.com, requiring an email signup, noting that comfrey will be a significant element in future Cathedral project discussions.
#Macro#Energy#Labor#Biology

Cathedral 1 | One Thousand Acre-Years • Jun 22

  • The host criticizes commodity farming as a single-revenue-stream model, citing examples like Gabe Brown who lost his entire grain crop four years consecutively before adopting diversified income.
  • The host introduces 'acre-year' as a conceptual metric to measure the solar productivity and biological momentum a piece of land can achieve over one year.
  • Black locust wood is noted for its natural rot resistance, with some fence posts reportedly lasting 100 years in the ground, and its leaves provide high-protein fodder for cattle when pollarded.
Also from this episode: (5)

Climate (5)

  • The Cathedral project is a conceptual model for a 1,000-acre regenerative silvo-pasture system, designed as a flexible blueprint for integrating trees and pasture to build soil fertility over centuries.
  • The core design uses tree lanes running north-south, each 7,406 feet long, spaced 150 feet apart to allow for rotational cattle grazing or alley cropping with a 30-foot combine header.
  • Black walnut trees serve as the primary nut-producing species in the model, supported by nitrogen-fixing black locust and thornless honey locust trees planted in adjacent rows.
  • A multi-species hedgerow borders each tree lane, designed to be animal-proof to contain livestock, while also providing potential yields of medicine, food, fuel, or fiber.
  • The system is governed by three laws: the land must become more fertile annually; every square inch must maximize productivity; and synthetic chemistry is banned unless required to obey the first two laws.
#Macro#Energy#Biology

The Forest Is My Mentor | Guest Appearance on Once Bitten • Jun 21

  • David Bennett explains that mycorrhizal fungi and plants began a symbiotic partnership roughly 500 million years ago, stitching algae cells into a scaffold to form the first plants.
  • Bennett states nearly all plant life depends on mycorrhizal fungi, which penetrate roots and exchange mined soil nutrients like phosphorus for plant-produced sugar.
  • Bennett describes fungal networks as a chemical marketplace and highway, allowing trees to share water and nutrients and even send warning signals about disease.
  • David Bennett cites research showing deciduous birch trees and evergreen fir trees exchange sugar through fungal networks seasonally, reversing flow to support each other in winter and summer.
  • David Bennett explains fungi could not decompose wood for millions of years, leading to kilometer-thick deadwood piles that became today's coal seams.
  • David Bennett says nuclei travel through fungal networks, clustering at mining sites to accelerate enzyme production for nutrient extraction.
  • David Bennett frames cows as an extension of soil ecology, incubating and replenishing soil microbiology through ingestion and manure, preventing erosion.
  • David Bennett argues methane from cow burps is processed by soil methanotroph bacteria, a natural system disrupted by industrial farming.
  • Daniel Prince criticizes monocrops like rapeseed, noting they don't support mycorrhizal fungi, starve soil life, and lead to erosion.
  • David Bennett says canola's lack of root exudates starves soil bacteria that knit soil together, causing loss during heavy rain.
  • David Bennett argues predators like wolves force herd movement for healthy grazing, while rotational grazing mimics this to prevent overgrazing and plant selection.
  • David Bennett cites rancher Gabe Brown's book *Dirt to Soil*, showing regenerative agriculture lowers input costs despite lower yields, increasing net profit.
  • Daniel Prince links deforestation and monocropping to declining swift populations, arguing hedgerows provide critical nesting sites and biodiversity corridors.
  • David Bennett says bees use medicinal chemistries from fungi to combat mites, and monocrop deserts remove this pharmacy, harming bee health.
  • Daniel Prince describes electroculture techniques using copper to channel atmospheric energy into soil, citing historical field tests with Justin Christofleau.
  • David Bennett explains soil nutrient exchange is electrical, with biochar acting as a battery that holds ions like calcium until fungi trade hydrogen ions to release them.
Also from this episode: (1)

Biology (1)

  • David Bennett argues fungi keep trees alive because it maximizes network nodes for its own propagation, analogous to Bitcoin nodes supporting network health.
#Biology#Climate#Macro

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