RE: [compost_tea] Re: When to add amendments to the soil

From: Stephen Steyn <ssteyn_at_wcaccess.co.za>
Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:15:55 +0200

For what it's worth, and I promise I won't bore you all who've heard it
before again, here is the Albrecht take on pH.

You can largely disregard pH. Its only real use is to signal that something
is out of kilter. It's like temperature in humans. If someone has a
temperature, it's not the temperature that's the problem (otherwise you
would give them a glass of cold water to cure them), rather it's a signal
that something is wrong. Often this is simply an infection that your body is
trying to ward off, other times it may signal some other type of stress
event.

Now in soils pH is a signal that you have too many H+ ions making up your
Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC). H+ ions are swopped for nutrient cations by
the plant during its growth. This can be any of the cations, Ca, Mg, Na, or
K or even some of the trace element cations. In general though plants
require a lot of calcium so usually it's this element that is lacking.

Albrecht recognised that the major cations had to be in a certain ratio to
one another for plants to grow optimally. That is his major contribution to
agriculture.

Having too many H+ ions present means they're taking the place of nutrient
cations. (Yes, H+ is a cation but not a nutrient cation). Adding lime
(Calcitic or Dolomitic) is a way to correct this imbalance. A ton of lime
will contribute about 5kg Ca to your soil solution when you apply it. It's
not very soluble, usually taking about three years to solubilise. The rate
is affected by the acidity of the soil, the fineness of the lime and the
microbial activity in the soil, as well as how well it is incorporated in
the soil. Gypsum is another source of Calcium. More soluble, with 180kg of
Sulphur too per ton of gypsum as a bonus, and with the ability to
precipitate Na from your soils under the right conditions. The sulphur in
the gypsum is very acidifying and in effect counteracts the neutralising
effect of the added Ca.

Having a soil that is biologically active will tend to neutralise the pH,
and can buffer it effectively against the acidifying effect of the plants
growing in it. If the plant material is being removed by harvesting or
grazing, you are essentially removing nutrient elements from your soil. If
the plants are not being removed but are allowed to be decomposed in the
soil, the nutrients will be held in the humus. This is an excellent way to
store nutrients for a following crop.

SS

 

From: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com [mailto:compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Tim Wilson
Sent: 17 June 2011 20:00
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: When to add amendments to the soil

 

  

The only guts info I could find quickly was their newsletter with the
articles about pH manipulation. Need to follow up before I can really say
anything besides (??). In the farming community I lived in before I watched
the locals chasing pH year after year following recommendations from the
lab. It seemed to no avail, as we got equal to better yields completely
ignoring pH and all manor of 'chemical soil tests' but (???)

Tim

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com <mailto:compost_tea%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"steved3602002" <steved_at_...> wrote:
>
> Logan Labs is an offshoot of Brookside Labs
> and both are based on the classic Albrecht
> soil test which is geared to mineral balance
> for soil structure and optimal microbial
> habitat, taking care of plant fertility,
> ultimately aiming for nutritionally balanced
> feeds and foods.
>
> Albrecht was a soil microbiologist, you know.
>
> Steve Diver
>







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Received on Sat Jun 18 2011 - 10:13:51 EDT

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