Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

Dave

 

If you want to have a long-term impact on soil structure and health you'll probably need to use techniques that introduce larger amounts of organic matter, such as composting or green manure. That said, the fish emulsion is good for both soil and plants. The microbe community in your soil will be stronger as a result. The microbes will play a key role in converting the organic matter into nutrients and structural soil elements so you will benefit from it. I'd suggest looking for some form of compost to use in your soil program as well.

 

One of my favorite gardening memories is of a farm I rented that had great soil, an old house and barn. There was a silo adjacent to the barn that had the remains of a batch of sileage in it. The wind had torn off the cap to the silo so rain fell into the sileage and it began composting. Birds roosting at the top would defecate into the sileage, further stimulating decomposition. This went on for years before I moved there. By the time I found it, it was perfect compost, black, rich and loose. I used it liberally in my garden and had fantastic crops. That experience, while an example of serendipity, was profound to me. It really helped me understand how as a gardener, I'm more of a factilitator than a conductor of the natural processes that make a garden work well. So, keep your eyes open for local black gold. It may already be in your neighborhood. 

 

Bill

 

----- Original Message -----

From: pech

To: Market Farming

Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 7:31 AM

Subject: [Market-farming] liquid fertilizers

Hi all

 

 Do liquid fertilizers like fish emulsion help build soil fertility for any length of time? I have some good soil that has been depleted from years of use. Since I'm trying to transition to organic I couldn't add the chemical fertilizers like had been done in years past. So I ran fish emulsion in my irrigation and am wondering if I helped the soil or just the plants?

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

Dave

z6a

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