Re: [compost_tea] basic questions

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:50:13 -0500
Bob asked:

Can they (microbes) live by dissolving clean rock for food?   Elaine might know.  I would believe they can disolve rock only in the presence of other food that gives them the ability to form enzymes and the enzymes and acids they produce disolve the rock and furnishes them with a small fraction of their 'food'.   

There are photosynthetic bacteria that dissolve rock material.  But they only function at the surface of the soil.

D. Schimmel and others wrote a paper while at Colorado State University that showed that the two week period of moisture in the spring in semi-arid deserts allowed cyanobacteria to bloom on the soil surface and provide all the nitrogen that the prairie grasses needed for growth during the whole year. 

They also solubilized enough P, and most likely other nutrients at the same time. 

Work with Graham Lancaster at Southern Cross University is showing that soil microbes can solubilize, or make available to the plants, enough P, S, Ca, B, etc that there should be  no need to add inorganic fertilizers.  Pretty interesting, huh? 

We need solid data to show what the food level needs to be to have those organisms do their job of making those nutrients available.  How much nutrient is provided in how much time, under what conditions?   

We need to understand what conditions would result in the organisms NOT doing t heir job.  If weather conditions prevented the organisms from growing and doing their job on occassion, we need to know in advance, so as we see that situation develop, we can do other things to fix the problem before crops are lost. 

For example, we have years without summer in the Pacific Northwest, which means the soil life doesn't do it's job.  Can we add critters that will do the job in those years, when we recognize those conditions where the normal set can't do what they usually do? 

Or does that mean we use inorganic fertilizers in these conditions, and know we have to resuscitate the biology that was killed by the inorganic feritlizers?  We can't have people having crop faliures, so we have to learn these things. 

We are on the cutting edge here, and when you stand on the cutting edge, you sometimes lose your toes.  Maybe your feet.  Sometimes more than that.....

Grin!  Do we have things we still need to know?  Yep. Let's work togteher to learn those things.

Life is boring without a challenge!  Just don't want to lose more than my toes.....

--
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
SFI Culiacan, Mexico
SFI Jerome, Idaho
SFI South Africa
http://www.soilfoodweb.com



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Received on Tue Jan 04 2005 - 00:06:47 EST

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