Re: [compost_tea] Adding Lime/Calcium to Soil
If you are adding calcium to the compost and then to
the soil will there be a build up. And will there be a
build up from heavy rain because its not leached. Now
I took your explaination to say that the salt leaches
away so build up from that angle is not a problem.
--- soilfoodweb_at_aol.com wrote:
> 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
>
>
=====
Butch Ragland
Conflict is as addictive as
cocaine, alcohol, cigarettes,etc
I'm sorry to report that
cooperation is not
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Received on Tue Jan 11 2005 - 15:56:20 EST
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: Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:15:43 EST