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  • From: sunnfarm AT netscape.net
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org (Market Farming)
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] tillage
  • Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 13:43:07 -0500

Soils around here test very high in minerals with soluble P at 400-700 lbs
per acre and K at 300-450 lbs, the only trace element needed is a little
Boron. I get around the problem of low OM by making use of green manure as a
feed supply for bacteria,this goes a long way in keeping phytophtora in
check. Only N need be applied. Water is the key, as long as we irrigate and
keep nutrients in solution we can produce excellent crops.

Alex McGregor <waldenfarm AT sprintmail.com> wrote:

>Yes, soil organic matter gets used up faster in high temperature, sandy
>soils (i.e. in the southeast beyond the fall line).  The 5-6% I wrote about
>is for high production organic growing with no addition of NPK or "organic"
>fertilizers, relying on the
>soil microorganisms for things like nutrient cycling, disease and pest
>suppression/ prevention.
>
>The soil OM doesn't evaporate in the strict sense of the word.  The OM gets
>fed on by the soil life and the carbon in the OM is converted to carbon
>dioxide and goes from the soil air to the atmosphere through various
>mechanisms.
>
>Constant tillage (aeration of the soil) speeds this process.  To raise soil
>OM in high temp, sandy soils requires a different set of soil management
>tools from what's used in most areas- surface cultivation only (no tillage)
>use over appropriate green
>manure crops (cutting these in without deep tillage) and/or compost,
>permanent beds, planting patterns that form a shade covering over the soil
>to reduce soil temps, use of mulches and the list goes on.
>
>I was hesitant to give a brief explanation of soils and management because
>it takes a larger background in soil science, soil biology, plant physiology
>and plant- soil life interrelationships to understand how these systems work
>and interact to be able
>to make management decisions for specific soils, crops and climate.  Soil
>management is not a "one size fits all" proposition, but a matter of
>education, experimentation and observation.
>
>sunnfarm AT netscape.net wrote:
>
>> Achieving 5-6% OM is easier said than done, one of the disadvantages of
>> living on the humid coastal plain is OM evaporates leaving a constant OM
>> of 1/2-2%,no matter how much you try to add. Some of our best vegetable
>> farming is done on 1/2%OM ground.
>
>--
>Alex McGregor
>Walden Farm
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
>
>Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm
>

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>From bob AT akasha.net Sat Apr 5 14:59:58 2003
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To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] tillage
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 14:11:48 -0600
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Alex,
Thank you for your experienced and knowledgeable insights. I appreciate the
effort and the obvious understanding of soil.
My thinking in turning in the roughage was two fold. One was the eventual
nutrient, carbon, from the break down. The other was out of necessity to
provide the soil with an ability to breath a little. The area floods and two
years ago I lost most of everything to root rot. I thought, and it seems to
work,
putting in some chips and chunks would help this nasty gumbo recover faster
from being under water. The other things that have worked bringing the dead
soil back to life were adding barley malt the living enzyme, compost,
molasses, and any other trace mineral source like sea weed I came across.
This year will be the first time that I have ever put a general fertilizer
on. I got it in an auction very inexpensively was called Schultz Garden
Plus. The good news is that it looks like all the rows in the garden are
coming up except the transplanted onions. They were old and in plastic bags
and I waited to long to plant. The bad news is that it looks like the
fertilizer is going to bring in a bumper crop of weeds. More steel in the
field I suppose. I am not brave enough to put everything under plastic or I
should say mulch as that does not sound as plastic. Thanks again for your
insights. I should take some pictures this year as the garden grows, a
chronicle of sorts.
Bob C
-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Alex McGregor
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 7:19 AM
To: bob AT akasha.net; Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] tillage

Not a good idea. I was talking about adding finished compost to the
surface.

Woody materials require fungi to break it down. Compaction and plowing kill
these and it's a long process, anyway. Better to plant a type of grass and
plow
in for increase in soil organic matter.

There has been some experiments with plowing in shredded woody materials,
but
this takes time, too.

bob AT akasha.net wrote:

> So would it be a good idea if you have place a big amount of OM on top of
> the soil that has not been composted like : old dead tree branches,
> cardboard, old shrubbery and the like to turn it all in with a bottom plow
> so the soil and the air break it down a bit so the plants can then chow
down
> on what the micros mine?

--
Alex McGregor
Walden Farm


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