Re: [compost_tea] Adding Lime/Calcium to Soil

From: butch ragland <wilddog_202_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:16:16 -0800 (PST)
If our compost comes from relatively diverse sources
shoud we expect to need calcium. Unless specific
testing indicates the need.
--- soilfoodweb_at_aol.com wrote:


> Hum, could be we're getting into specific
> situations, and so need to be 
> clearer about the specifics. 

> When you add a calcium salt to the compost, AND you
> have good fungal  growth,
> and probably bacterial growth helps as well, then
> that salt will be 
> re-structured and turned into organic matter with
> more calcium immobilized in  it. 
> The "other part" of the salt will be sequestered
> too, as in the  carbonate will
> be immobilized in various ways, or released as CO2.
>

> So there is no salt build-up.  The salt is turned
> into organic  matter.  But
> it requires proper biology to be present, and foods
> to feed  that biology. 

> No loss of nutrients when we have good biology.
> Well, ok, some  nutrients
> will be lost, at certain times when the biology is
> cycling in certain  ways, so
> let me not make a blanket statement here.  There is
> more to  understand about
> how the interactions between bacteria and fungi and
> their  predators affect
> soil chemistry than we know.  But we just don't  see
> the losses of nutrients
> from systems where the biology is present as
> compared to systems where we have
> little biology. 

> Elaine

>
>
> 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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>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Elaine R.  Ingham
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Corvallis, Oregon
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Port  Jefferson, New York
> Soil Foodweb Institute, Lismore Australia
> Soil Foodweb  Institute Cambridge, New Zealand
> Laboratorios de Soil Foodweb, Culiacan,  Mexico
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Jerome, Idaho
> Soil Foodweb Inc., South  Africa
>
>


=====
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 Thu Jan 13 2005 - 17:15:51 EST

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