Re: [compost_tea] soil chemistry facts

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 03:08:22 EDT

In response to Thomas' comment that we can't differentiate between nutrient
in compost versus the ones that are solubilized from not-plant available pools
of nutrients -

We don't need to differentiate between nutrients in compost, versus the
not-soluble set of nutrients in soil.

Often, we don't have enough compost to put down all the needed-for-growth
nutrients that you plants need.

What do you do then? Do you have to put down 1 to 3 tons of compost in order
to feed your plant EVERYTHING from the compost?

Nope. Compost is really just an inoculum of the needed/desired diversity of
organisms your soil needs. The organisms can solubilize any "additional"
nutrients from the parent material itself.

Soils have worked that way from the beginning of life on earth. It's only in
the last 50 years or so that people have started to imagine that natural
cycling wasn't adequate enough.

And when weather conditions make it tough for the natural nutrient cycling to
make it, then we can put down inocula, and the foods, to make sure normal
nutrient cycling is operating correctly, and that soil will ALWAYS work the way
it is supposed to.

Elaine Ingham






Received on Sat Sep 04 2004 - 07:06:37 EDT

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