Re: soil microbes

From: Elaine Ingham (Soilfoodweb@AOL.COM)
Date: Thu Dec 26 2002 - 02:34:23 EST


Yep, I was assuming US dollars. Missed that one, and I apologize for not
catching it.

If you have questions about what to assess, just ask. But ask in a way that
doesn't make the person you are asking a question of angry.

And David, you blasted first. I don't appreciate it. Why should I have to
give you anything when you demand it rudely? Any other lab director would
make you pay for the data if you wanted to see it. The cow horn prep I was
sent was made with manure and plant materials. Go argue with Steve Storch if
you need to argue with someone. Ask Steve Storch or Allan Balliet NICELY for
the data, and they will probably give it to you.

Active bacteria are the ones doing the processes, their functions, right now,
at the time of sampling. There can be many, many more organisms present in
the soil that are not awake, not functioning. They will wake up when
conditions become right. You need to know about both of sets of organisms.
You need to know you have the foods to fed enough of your bacteria right now,
and you need to know that when conditions change, the bacteria your plants
will need are present.

All of this is on the website.

Why do you want 30 sets of samples done from a single property? What purpose
does that serve?

The sampling we suggest is not on the scale you are suggesting. Growers
can't afford it. So, look at the fields in question. Which are the ones
having the most trouble? What are the problems they have? Are those
problems likely to be something that can be solved biologically? Or does it
look like a soil chem problem?

If it's disease, lack of nutrients in the plants even if the soil chemistry
says good to high nutrients, lack of soil structure, then you are probably
dealing with a biologically solvable problem.

Ah, but which part of the biology is missing? Or low? Or the wrong kinds of
a certain set of critters? Solvita can't answer that for you. Neither can
plate counts.

You certainly can hope that if you put lots of different things into the soil
then you'll hit on the problem. Sure, the shoot gun method is always fun.
But usually not very practical. If it is cost you are worried about, you
will waste alot of money trying to figure out the problem, when a little bit
of cost will help you figure out exactly where the problem is, and how it
needs to be fixed.

You could pick your worst field, and your best field, and sample them. Is it
a biological problem? If the worst and best don't have much difference in
biology, it's a good bet biology isn't the first problem to solve.

Do you need to do the WHOLE foodweb? Well, maybe the first sample, just to
get an idea of what all is present, what is missing. But maybe it's better
to start with assessing step one of the twelve step program. Step one is
active bacteria, then total bacteria. If you are lacking activity, you need
to add the right foods, and if lacking total bacterial biomass, then you need
the inoculum too. So better
to assess both of those together.

Same story with the fungi, which are steps three and four. Then protozoa,
then nematodes. Mycorrhizal fungi in there somewhere too. You can do this
step-wise, until you get the whole soil foodweb figured out, little by
little. Your choice.

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


President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com


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