Re: [compost_tea] Adding Lime/Calcium to Soil
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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> 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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