Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] The only way to tell what your soil really needs???

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: mdnagel@verizon.net
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] The only way to tell what your soil really needs???
  • Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:16:48 -0500 (CDT)

"A variety of organic materials provide everything soil needs."

But... what exactly IS a "variety?" What if that variety doesn't include a
key mineral?

In general I agree that we've got to adjust to using more basic approaches to
caring for soil. Soil tests, I'm figuring, might help identify deficiencies
or excesses _before_ our crops tell us. If one knows what crops he/she is
growing then he/she should have a pretty good idea of what gets exported off
the farm and, therefore, what needs to be replaced, which would significantly
reduce the need for any outside soil tests.


-Mark Nagel
Everett, WA


Aug 23, 2010 10:22:51 AM, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

>
>I ran into this on a tomato list and I don't like it. It's also a commercial.
>
>class="parsedLink"
>target="_blank">http://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/marion/Pages/SoilSamplingTesting.aspx
>
>"To grow good plants, you need good soil. The only way to tell what your
>soil really needs is to take a soil test. Applying too much fertilizer could
>be
>detrimental to your plants. You could waste money or pollute the
>environment. Adding
>too little fertilizer or the wrong fertilizer could produce little or no
>results."
>
>Apply fertilizer? Hundreds of thousands of organic growers have used natural
>amendments or compost as the Rodale people urged for decades, and indigenous
>people
>for eons before that. A variety of organic materials provide everything soil
>needs.
>While soil tests can be useful I think that statement "The only way to tell
>what your soil really needs is to take a soil test" is way over the top.
>
>
>paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page