Re: [compost_tea] Adding Lime/Calcium to Soil

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 09:57:35 -0500
Adding calcium to the soil will harm the organisms in that soil. 

Calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, calcium nitrate - all inorganic salts. 

Salt, in whatever form you add it, takes water away from your organisms.  If you happen to add a salt when you are adding water, or when alot of rain is occurring, taking water away from your organisms is less of a worry, but then think. 

Salt moves with water.  So where is any soluble material you are adding going if you add a salt when there is alot of  water in the soil?  Yep, right out of the rooting zone of your plant. 

The proverbial catch - 22, right? 

Add the calcium to your compost pile.  This way the organisms tie-up the calicum in PLANT AVAILABLE forms, instead of in a salt where the organisms will be harmed.  Add calcium carbonate to the compost at 1/60 of what the recommendation was for your soil.  Why so much lower?  Because you won't have the leaching losses.  The beneficial biology grabs the calcium and holds it in organic forms. 

This work was developed with Arden Anderson, and he has been doing testing in Mexico.  Arden still likes to add a little salt (calcium carbonate) directly to the soil, but no more than 100 pounds per ac of the salt to the soil, the rest of the addition to the compost, usually 70 to 100 pounds per ton of compost.  Use half a ton of compost to teh acre then, and we are seeing the same benefit to the soil as adding the tons and tons of lime or gypsum. 

OK?  We go over this in any SFI course being given now.  Please come to the Fresno seminar that Arden and I are giving together in January 24, 25, 26 the end of this month.  We'll be covering this biologically friendly way to apply nutrients. 
--
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 11 2005 - 12:58:48 EST

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