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

From: Tim Wilson <thegoodjob_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 17:45:46 -0000

>From the lips of Albrecht;

http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010143albpap/pH.balanced%20nutriti=
on/pH.bal.nut.htm

Here is the article which (to me) does not really seem to follow that philo=
sophy (but its just an article)

http://www.loganlabs.com/doc/SoilProbe201101.pdf

In something else I read of Albrecht's that I really agree with is that mod=
ern North American agriculture does not fully consider the importance of gr=
asses and legumes (semi-wild).

I think that on our old farm we had the level of success we did because we =
allowed the established turf to remain with her deep roots, rather that til=
ling everything up every few years [admittedly partially due to laziness], =
like the neighbors. Instead we just tried techniques to improve the health =
of the turf by hacking on weeds and dropping seed of desired species, harro=
wing and burning once in a while.

Do these deep roots mine nutrients? What is the reason the prairie grasses =
maintained for so many thousands of years? Certainly huge herds of ungulate=
s grazed many areas bare; as bare as taking a crop off. I wonder.

Stephen; you likely have similar history where you are. Did you have maraud=
ing glaciers to blame?

Tim

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Stephen Steyn" <ssteyn_at_...> wrote:
>
> 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 somethi=
ng
> 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 t=
o
> 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 nutrien=
t
> 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 rat=
e
> 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 o=
f
> 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. I=
f
> 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 t=
o
> 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 watch=
ed
> 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
> >
>




Received on Sat Jun 18 2011 - 23:20:34 EDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 13:58:11 EST