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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] the feet of the farmer/ Soil test results

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] the feet of the farmer/ Soil test results
  • Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:16:30 -0600


I can live with that. I can't advocate just any kind of compost in any
amount. Who knows how much K was added by that bought "composted" manure?
I'd suggest plant source compost as remediation. Yes, you could spend years
wringing your hands over soil deficiencies, but we really shouldn't, and
certainly shouldn't listen to every store clerk selling all sorts of
chemical amendments. Perhaps soil that's had all sorts of chemicals and
bought inputs added is the best candidate for a soil test.

I haven't seen where he stated his course of action yet.

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 6/22/2006 at 12:34 PM Ryan Albinger wrote:

>Soil tests offer the ability to give you an idea where you are at, how far
>you've come, and where you're headed. By the time you wait for defciency
>symtoms to occur, the problem has manifested itself beyond correction to a
>point a rescue, if one is even available. Tests also tell where not to
go.
>In Greg's case, compost will likely do more harm than good. Tossing more
K
>in that situation through compost or whatever will add a lot of fuel to
the
>fire. Had he not tested the soil, he could have spent years, decades,
>trying to decipher the problem and thrown dollars and time to attempt to
>remedy it. Now he knows a course of action and what not to do as much as
>what to do.
>Weeds are wonderful in the right context. My soybeans have a nice
>companion weed crop as we speak. Weeds are there to fix the soil's
>problems and in time will. Weeds are the cheapest and best cover crop
for
>a soil, arguably. Just don't let them go to seed.
>Ryan
>
>
>> [Original Message]
>> From: TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net>
>> To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Date: 6/22/2006 9:43:36 AM
>> Subject: [Livingontheland] the feet of the farmer/ Soil test results
>>







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