Re: soil microbes

From: Elaine Ingham (Soilfoodweb@AOL.COM)
Date: Wed Dec 25 2002 - 12:02:19 EST


Dear David -

First of all, you need to check your math.

Second, please note that EACH assay comes with it's own price. You can do each one separately, or two of them, or three or the whole group.

There are discounts for different things. The WHOLE foodweb costs about $275. Each individual assay is much, much less.

You need to think - operative word, think - about what you need to know.

Is knowing total bacterial biomass going to tell you if your soil is healthy?

What all goes into healthy soil? You need to suppress diseases in the soil and on leaf surfaces. Which organisms are most important in suppressing diseases? Bacteria, fungi first (which also means mycorrhizal fungi doingtheir thing on the root), and then nematodes and microarthropods. Of course, for different diseases, different bio-controls are most improtant, so this is also relative to the plant and the soil and the climate you have.

You must feed these organisms. Bacteria need bacteria food, fungi need fungal food, nematodes need bacteria or fungi or other nematodes, and microarthropods need all of the above.

But disease suppression is not all that makes soil healthy. You need soil structure, and you START with bacteria, then fungi (decomposers AND mycorrhizal fungi), then protozoa, then nematodes, then microarthropods when you want to build structure back into the soil. This also requires knowing about soil chemistry.

There are other functions that you need for healthy soil, as outlined on the SFI website, www.soilfoodweb.com

It would be nice if you would go read the information that is there before you start attacking.

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

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