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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> My only concern is what the above paragraph says: I am worried I will make
> situations worse.  Are there any soil chemistry type books available that
> you all have read?  It is a subject I would love to learn more about.
> 
> 

Melody, consider that the soil is like brocoli.  Hundreds of years ago I 
imgine mothers told their children to eat their broccoli.  A hundred years or 
so 
ago, it was discovered that broccoli contained vitamins so chemist types 
said, 
"No need to eat broccoli, we've extracted the vitamins!"  Then they 
discovered 
that there were specific vitamins which had specific effects.  "Not to 
worry," said the chemists, "we've isolated vitamins A, B, C and you can take 
those 
without eating the broccoli."  But then it was discovered that there is not 
one 
vitamin B but several, "Eh, not to worry, we've isolated ...."  Then more 
than one type of C.  "Ah, we've isolated that into a pill also ..."   Now we 
know 
that broccoli is a storehouse of phytochemicals ... "Wait, we've developed a 
pill with the major phytochemicals ..."    But there are over 4000 KNOWN 
different phytochemicals in broccoli!   KNOWN.  How many are yet unknown.  
How many 
will never be known.

Eat your broccoli.

Like that soils that have been built with organic material are dynamic, 
alive, and mind-bogglingly complex.  By all means learn all that one can, 
it's 
fascinating.  But we'll never learn the thousandth of it.  Better to go by 
the 
guide that natural soils built by the decomposition of organic material are 
going 
to be the best ... much like eating broccoli is best even if we never fully 
understand why.

By the bye, that's why much of the crap sold under the USDA label of 
'certified organic' isn't.  "Organic" used to mean grown on whole soils where 
the soil 
was fed and it in turn fed the plants.  The modern definition of 'organic' is 
a list of things one may or may not bring from outside the farm to add in 
much the same manner chemical fertilizers are added, that is, for their 
direct 
effect on the plants and not on hte soil.  Originally 'orgainic' meant not 
bringing anything from outside the farm rather than a list of things that 
could be 
brought in.

James