Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

The first catch as I see it is they say there are 60-some key elements used 
by plant growth. No test can be done for all of them even if anyone could 
afford it, not to mention the problem of adding same to the soil in question, 
and conjugated in forms plants can use. And I have yet to see any significant 
evidence of some key elements missing in well-composted and amended soil. 
Variety is a simple thing; the Rodales and other organic writers have long 
urged incorporating plant matter from various plants rather than just a 
single plant source.

We have no way of knowing precisely what elements we're "exporting" by 
removing what we grow off the farm. Or in exactly what quantities. How much 
selenium should we spread per acre? Or sulfur? At what cost?

But the biggest problem of all is not about periodic table elements at all. 
Recent studies have shown us that plant roots can also take up surprisingly 
complex organic molecules - not just simple elements as long assumed. Would 
they have this ability if they couldn't make use of such organic compounds 
directly? So who knows what organic compounds do plants need? What if a soil 
complete in elements but missing all organic material turns out not to grow 
things properly? What if they can't develop disease or pest resistance, or 
drought tolerance? And finally, how do you add or even identify all that 
plants need? We're pretty deep in the swamp at that point.

The whole official science of what plants need and what form in what amount 
is frankly, stuck in the last century. What passes for official soil science 
is crippled by profit-driven corporations.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 8/23/2010 at 2:16 PM mdnagel@verizon.net wrote:

>"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
>>
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