Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

So the bottom line for us would be how to increase humus levels and get the 
aggregate structure that holds moisture so well and cuts down the cost of 
irrigation. I know high levels or decomposed organic matter is a 
prerequisite, but I'm seeing that it takes certain plants, possibly cover 
crops, to get the glomalin substance in the soil. But which crops?  I want to 
know more specifics on how to do this. Understanding the biology (far as we 
can) is important, but I'm one of many who need to know more of the practical 
process indicated. In my SW climate the cost of constant irrigation is not an 
option, and I have to use free or low cost local materials or not at all.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not 
television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only 
those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it.
   - Aldo Leopold in  Round River, 1933
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 5/19/2006 at 3:37 PM Soilsecrets@aol.com wrote:

>The relationship that most plants have with this mutualistic fungi is
>called
>being Mycorrhizal.  The mycorrhizae articulate or infect the root  system
>of
>a host plant and in doing so will provide the host plant with mineral
>nutrients which were harvested from the soil beyond the reach of the
>plants own  root
>system.  The mycorrhizae are able to exude the proper enzyme which is
>utilized in taking the mineral nutrient from the soil and transporting it
>via  the
>mycorrhizae's own network of tubes into the host plants roots.  The
>minerals
>of the soil need not be in a water solution or in a colloidal form for
>this
>benefit to work.  And most of a plants ability to uptake  mineral
>nutrients is
>done via the mycorrhizal relationship, not by way of it's  own root uptake
>sites!  The arrangement is mutualistic in that the  mycorrhizae benefits
>from the
>arrangement by getting in exchange the calories of  sugar from the host
>plant.
> Mycorrhizae are not involved with the making of  humus directly, but one
>genus of mycorrhizae called Glomus is known for making a  powerful protein
>in the
>soil called Glomalin.  As you may already  know, protein is nature's best
>form of a nutritional calorie for bacteria  and is the primary precursor
>for
>humus formation. Therefore that  particular mycorrhizae could indirectly
>be
>accountable for the making of  vast amounts of humus in the worlds soils.
>Glomalin
>may also be the single  largest carbon bank or sink in the world,
>sequestering
>or  banking up Carbon from the atmospheres - CO 2, for long periods of
>time.
>
>
>Humus is not a food source for microbes!  In fact we  use a pure humus as
>a
>carrier of dormant microbe inoculants (the endospores,  vesicles and
>propagules) as the humus will not stimulate the dormant microbial  tissues
>into
>germination. It gives us shelf life to the inoculum!
>
>Septic Tank microbes are not the proper bacteria of  composting as the
>bacteria used in septic tank products are water borne  facultative
>anaerobes, which
>are the wrong bugs for composting.  Don't  waste your money using septic
>tank
>microbes on compost   piles!
>
>Molasses:  The calorie of choice for the proper  bacteria of soils is from
>protein not sugar.  While molasses is certainly a  source for trace
>minerals as
>is kelp, trace minerals need to be used in a  guarded manner as they are
>needed in trace amounts only. It is very  easy to overdose the soil and
>plants with
>Trace Minerals using products such as  kelp or Molasses.  Also, putting
>molasses into compost tea tanks can cause  an overgrowth of the
>Facultative
>Anaerobes like E. coli and other nasty  beasties.
>
>Dr. Michael Martin Melendrez
>