Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

Manure has been used to enrich soil since the beginning of agriculture, but I still have not found much in-depth science about how, or why, there is such a benefit.  Recently, while reading about grass-fed beef, a point struck me: Ruminants digest cellulose by bacterial action in their gut, with the result that their manure is pre-inoculated with beneficial microorganisms.  This was a revelation to me, and explains a lot while raising other questions.  For example: Do browsers (who eat more woody material), have bacteria well adapted to that purpose, or do they deposit fungi that are normally required to break down the lignin in woody matter?

 

And, does poultry manure, well-known to be hot (a lot of Nitrogen), have any such beneficial microorganisms?

 

While I'm thinking about such matters, does anyone have any thoughts about "fuel" being necessary to get the benefits of inoculating soil (like with compost tea)?  We've acknowledged that most soils are humus-deficient, so it seems like you must add organic matter that is biologically active (good compost), or organic matter + inoculation.  Seems like the fuel has to come first, then the microbes.  Once established, good soil should maintain itself if enough organic matter is left or added.

 

Sure, you can do the right thing without understanding, but understanding is better.

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz