North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

Thanks, Donna.  That's one of the reasons for testing - my assumption was,
at first, the soil was not cared for and barren.  I, too, still believe that
high levels of organic matter will buffer imbalanced soil.  It may be
fuzzyish thinking for a scientist, but I'm every bit as fuzzy as I am
scientific; also, it's worked for me for decades.  I've amended until the
plants that were once dying in clay are now dying in rich, dark, loam.  It's
like trying to grow a garden in a black walnut grove (and yes, I've looked
into whether any plants may be interfering with the garden).  

Merry holidays,
~ Stephen

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Donna &/or Kieran
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 2:33 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] soil testing

Stephen,
    Don't forget that toxic levels of certain minerals can also make soil 
lifeless.  Jim Fruth reminded me of this when I mentioned boron deficiency 
once.  He said that someone couldn't believe the very small amount of boron 
recommended for his farm, so he doubled the amount.  That wiped out it's 
cropping ability, I guess till enough washes away.
    For toxic metals, say arsenic where a pile of treated lumber was burned,

digging up and hauling away the soil is the only safe option.  But for lots 
of problems, really high levels of organic matter will buffer whatever is 
out of balance.   Donna 

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