Salt and Urine (Was Re: [compost_tea] Re: A great raw material for compost

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:47:53 -0800


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: hi_yield1
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 1:19 PM
  Subject: [compost_tea] Re: A great raw material for compost


   No microbe will effectively reduce salt levels and that is a
  FACT. No ands ifs or buts about it!! Dilution is the only real
  solution.

  Hi_Yield, et al.:

  Elaine mentioned that correct microbiology would reduce salt content beca=
use the microbes would use it as part of the food web. (I may be misstatin=
g here but it is something to that effect.) We have noticed in two project=
s that salts levels actually rose in the soil after ACT application (A&L So=
il Analysis) but the plants assayed healthier as far as nutrient content. =
In addition, our root depth expanded and the root mass increased. A soil s=
ample showed protoza and bacterial fields associated with the tea we applie=
d. Now, I don't know if the biology of a healthy food web allows the plant=
 to better tolerate the salts or if the microbes in the soil release enzyme=
s that other bacteria use to help the plant with salt. It's doesn't much m=
atter. Salinity is a part of soil and sodium is a constituent also. I don=
't think salt-free is desirable either. I don't think ACT sprayed directly =
on bare soil whoud have much effect on salt content but I haven't tried it =
yet.

  These soils were not salt damaged and the salt content was in an average =
to low range on the soil test. However, it did rise. Now, the possibility=
 exists that the bacteria/fungi extracted the salt from the soil as a part =
of their normal metabolic processes. Maybe it's microbial excrement.

  You are correct in stating that soil soaking is the only way to get rid o=
f excessive salt build up. This is happening in the Sacramento and San Jua=
quin Valleys in CA. Salt actually cakes on the surface. The only remedy i=
s total soil soak and time. We have proposed some experiments based on ACT=
 but have yet been unsuccessful in finding a taker for the test.

  On the urine matter.

  I have a client who treated a lawn with urine spots from a female dog. I=
t appears the males don't stain. I will have to say that the browing was d=
ecreased using ACT. This is primarily, I think, because we were providing =
the soil with bacteria that could fix the ammonia into nitrogen for the pla=
nts but I may be way off base here. There was still some staining and that=
 may be due to the hormonal content of the urine. We did notice that the r=
ecovery time was faster. The grass didn't die as usual.

  Now, we did factor in the fact that the urine staining was being paid att=
ention to. What I mean by this is that by increased awareness, the homeown=
er might be watering differently or watering immediately after the dog urin=
ated or putting out Iron or ???. In other words, by the very act of being =
aware of the problem and trying to solve it, the homeowner was doing someth=
ing that actually reduced the problem without being aware of what he was do=
ing and the actual solution had nothing to do with ACT.

  Factoring that in, we still found the ACT did something positive. Howeve=
r, it was slow, there still was some discoloration but it was less and the =
grass did come back where it simply died off before.

  Ted Peterson
  Earth-Wise/Spirit of the Earth

   



Received on Tue Jan 27 2004 - 23:33:09 EST

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