Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Soilsecrets@aol.com]

The use of protein as a form of fertilizer is not a new concept.  If you recall from your grade school days the image of a Native American burying a fish beneath his corn plant as a natural fertilizer.  What is really needed to make this work is a good balance of aerobic microorganisms that can devour the protein allowing the N-P & K nutrients to enter the food chain of the soil.  Some may call this the Soil Food Web, but regardless of what you call it, when the trophic levels of soil life eat protein, there is always an excess or leakage of nutrients that find there way into the plant biomass as plant available nutrients. 

 

In short the best form of a nutritional calorie for the aerobic bacteria (often called beneficial bacteria) of the soil is in the form of protein and not sugar!  Many organic minded people will promote the concept of using molasses as a soil food for microbes, but the best is protein. 

 

Hope this helps

 

Michael Martin Melendrez Ph.D. 

Soil Secrets New Mexico