Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Ryan Albinger" <ryalbinger@earthlink.net>]

Even plants will bring in a good amount of K.  Grass can run 1-3% K and a
Ca of maybe .5%- it can throw the balance off even more.
And I forgot to mention to the list.  A potential use for this soil is as a
fertilizer elsewhere and bring in some low K soil from somewhere else.  It
can be useful yet.
Ryan


> [Original Message]
> From: TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net>
> To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: 6/22/2006 1:19:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] the feet of the farmer/ Soil test  results
>
>
> 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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