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Re: Beneficial Soil Microbes



Hi Sal -

Sure, the point is to get all these great organisms back in the soil and keep them happy.  You don't have to keep adding them over and over.    When did anyone say you had to keep adding them forever? 

People have been assuming things again......

Organic growers have to give up the sulfur and the copper, and need to reduce tillage to the greatest extent they can.

PLEASE, listen to what I just said.  I did not say stop tilling.  I said to the minimum extent that you can.  You slice and dice the fungi whenever you till. 

Of course, you don't till in an orchard under the trees, so you can get that soil fungal and keep it fungal.  You just have to add back into the soil the nutrients you remove in your crop each year.  And how do you add back those nutrients?

IN THE COMPOST.  Or the compost tea.  And while you are at it, make sure you add back any of the organisms you might have lost as the result of air pollution, pesticide drift, early freeze, drought, etc. 

We always see people able to back off and reduce the compost tea sprays they use.  Some of the golf courses we work with had to apply tea weekly to deal with disease at first, but they are now only applying tea three to four times through the whole summer.  Compaction has been dealt with, disease not present, weeds reduced nearly completely (we are still working on the Poa - bentgrass question). 

So, with time, getting the organisms back, maintaining food resources for the organisms, maintaining nutrient inputs, raising crops gets to be easier.  The system maintains itself.  Will it ever be maintenance free?  Don't think so. 

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com