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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Quora question: How does one build soil? http://www.quora.com/How-does-one-build-soil
  • Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:35:55 -0500

On 12/26/2011 4:35 AM, Dieter Brand wrote:
...Composing the organic material before adding it is much more
efficient soil building than adding it straight.

People end up believing this because it is being repeated all the
time. In fact, the opposite is true: the longer something stays on
the compost heap, the greater the losses. Hence, the most efficient
way of using organic matter is by applying it directly to the soil
without composting.


A good compost will heat up with microbial activity, and decompose
very quickly.

The greatest losses occur during the high temperature phase.

Happy Christmas, Dieter

Thanks, Dieter.

I should have read the article more carefully because I was thinking the same thing and could have added my own comments. I can speak from experience that it depends on how you add it directly to soil whether you you are utilizing the amendment efficiently or are creating a problem and delaying benefits. Literally "plowing it under" with tractor and bottom plow or otherwise burying it can 1) deprive the material of oxygen needed for the microbes to do their conversion work or are causing an anaerobic condition leading to putrefaction, especially when moisture levels are high and drainage or soil percolation is low.

It would be interesting to discuss the best ways of adding manures
and other high nitrogen amendments and raw organic matter from plant biomass directly to farm and garden soil.

LL




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