Re: [compost_tea] Adding Lime/Calcium to Soil

From: butch ragland <wilddog_202_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 10:12:26 -0800 (PST)
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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