permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

http://www.mercyviewmeadow.org/Garden/SoilTesting.htm#Consultants

Soil Testing, Ag Consulting, and Other Resources
http://www.mercyviewmeadow.org/Garden/SoilTesting.htm#Consultants

[Back to Organic Gardening -
http://www.mercyviewmeadow.org/Garden/organic_gardening.htm]

These are some places you might go to get some serious soil testing done
and advice on what to do to correct deficiencies

organically. For more complete listings and guidance check out this page
from ATTRA: http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soil-

lab.html

Brix Testing
  Raising Brix levels
  Refractometers - Brix Chart
  Pike Method
Agricultural Consultants  (another list)
   Advancing Eco-Agriculture (Ohio & other states)
   Agri Dynamics (Pennsylvania)
   AgriEnergy Resources (Illinois )
   Agri-Horticultural Consulting Steve Diver
   BeyondOrganix.com  (California)
   Bionutrient Food Asso. (Massachusetts)
   Cropservices International, Inc. (CSI, Inc. - Michigan)
   GoBeyondOrganic.com  (Florida)
   HighBrixGardens.com  (aimed at gardeners - Minnesota)
   International Ag Labs, Inc.  (Minnesota)
   Kinsey's Agricultural Services (Missouri)
   Lancaster Agriculture Products (Pennsylvania)
   Midwestern Bio-Ag, Inc. (Michigan)
      Introduction to Biological Farming
   Real Food Campaign (educational)
   SoilMinerals.com (directions for planning appropriate soil amendments)
   Sustainable Growth Texas
   T&J Enterprises   (aimed at gardeners - Washington)
   Gardening for Maximum Nutrition
Fertilizer sources
High Brix Success Stories
Other resources - books * websites
Soil Life Resources
    Soil Foodweb, Inc.
Soil Testing
     Soil sample techniques
     AgriEnergy Resources
     Cropservices International, Inc. (CSI, Inc.)
     International Ag Labs, Inc.
        Morgan weak acid test
     Kinsey's Agricultural Services
     Logan Labs
     Spectrum Analytic

Soil Testing Laboratories for the ecological farmer
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soil_testing/ - It is very helpful to

read the information on this page to understand what you are looking for in
a soil test.  Many inexpensive soil tests do

not give your enough information. Two labs that I have used are Logan Labs
and Int.AgLabs. Logan Labs standard soil test

uses a Mehlich3 test, which tells you the foundational minerals in your
soil, and is used to calculate CEC. AgLab tests us

a Morgan mild extractant solution, or LaMotte test, which tells you what is
available to the plant. The two types of tests

complement each other. More basic info here.

Logan Labs
184 W. Main Street
PO Box 1455
Russells Point Ohio 43348
Ph: 937-842-6100
Fax: 937-842-2433
www.loganlabs.com
Logan Labs is dedicated to the philosophies of Dr. William Albrecht and a
true base saturation soil testing methodology.
    How to Read the Logan Labs Standard Soil Test  (text file)

See also International Ag Labs - Soil Testing

Spectrum Analytic http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/
      Interesting info on minerals under 'Support/Basics'

Instructions for taking a soil sample:

http://www.kinseyag.com/SoilAnal.htm#TakingSample

Go to www.loganlabs.com  and click on "Sampling"

Organicalc at Grow Abundant Gardens. https://growabundant.com/organicalc/
includes the option of evaluating your soil test

Consultants for high quality agricultural production:

* Advancing Eco-Agriculture
www.advancingecoag.com
4551 Parks West Road  Middlefield, Ohio  44062  (consultants in other areas
also)
440-632-1012 or Toll Free: 855-44-ECOAG
info@advancingecoag.com
also quality natural and organic soil liquid amendments and fertilizers

* Agri Dynamics
PO Box 267
Martins Creek, PA 18063
610-250-9280
www.agri-dynamics.com
info@agri-dynamics.com

* AgriEnergy Resources,
Princeton, Illinois
Ph: 815-872-1190
Goals: to develop Renewable Farming systems and assist with their
implementation for healthier soils producing balanced,

high-nutrient-density plants resulting in healthier livestock and people.
     Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock, Healthy People, an interview with
Dean Craine

http://www.agrienergy.net/Libraries/2005_Newsletters/Healthy_Soils.sflb.ashx
(PDF file)

One of their consultants recommended using very carefully prepared foliar
sprays (based on leaf tissue analysis) on

pasture to improve not only the pasture (as evidenced by the high brix
levels of the grass), but also the health and

nutrition of the animals and hence the flavor and healthfulness of the meat
and dairy. He figures this is more economical

than trying to fine tune the minerals in the soil (which the foliars
gradually improve) or using mineral supplements for

the animals (which are only minerals and not the valuable mineral
containing nutritional compounds in the grass when it

gets all the minerals it needs in the foliar spray). This concept would
apply to other plants beside pasture grasses and

their influence on human health.

* Agri-Horticultural Consulting http://www.agri-synergy.com/ - Steve  Diver
specializes in organic and sustainable

solutions to large- or small-scale farming operations, revegetation and
erosion control projects, and landscapes. 512-944

-8982, steved@ipa.ne

* Cropservices International, Inc. (CSI, Inc.)
1718 Madison SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507-2518
Ph: 616-246-7933
Fax 616-246-6039
1-800-260-7933
drdirt@cropservicesintl.com
www.cropservicesintl.com
Consultant: Dr. Phil Wheeler
We integrate Albrecht, Reams, Callahan, and radionics.

* International Ag Labs, Inc.. headed by Dan Skow
800 W. Lake Ave.,
PO Box 788
Fairmont, Minnesota 56031
Tel: (507) 235-6909
Fax: (507) 235-9155
Email: info@aglabs.com
www.aglabs.com
Uses the Carey Reams BIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO AGRICULTURE
"The purpose of our Company is to make soil better as we grow quality crops
Laboratory testing (Morgan soil test), organic fertilizers and soil
amendments."

     Advantages of Morgan (weak acid) Soil Test

*  www.HighBrixGardens.com - Jon Franks - specializing in home gardens.
Part of International Ag Labs

     Blog from a community garden that uses IAL testing - some interesting
reading.

* Midwestern Bio-Ag, Inc.
President, Gary Zimmer, author of "The Biological Farmer"
Bio-Ag of Michigan
Kinde, Michigan
1-888-825-9373
http://www.midwesternbioag.com/
A new consulting program to help you become a successful and profitable
biological farmer -  Intro to Biological Farming

* Lancaster Agriculture Products
Naturally Interested In Your Future
NATURAL & ORGANIC PRODUCTS
60 North Ronks Road,
Ronks, Pennsylvania 17572
http://www.lancasterag.com/
E-mail: sales@lancasterag.com
Fax: 717-687-9355
Phone: 717-687-9222

* Kinsey’s Agricultural Services – Soil Fertility Consultants
President: Neal Kinsey, author of HANDS-ON AGRONOMY
www.kinseyag.com
We specialize in correcting soil fertility problems of farms, ranches,
vineyards, orchards, gardens and lawns... The

recommendations will utilize the proven principles of the Albrecht system
of soil fertility management.

* The Real Food Campaign - realfoodcampaign.org - Started by  Dan
Kittredge, is working to educate growers and consumers,

and develop standards for nutrient dense foods. It has morphed into the
Bionutrient Food Association http://bionutrient.org/

* GoBeyondOrganic.com, Clearwater, Florida - another consultant claiming
high quality, pest free techniques
http://www.gobeyondorganic.com/

* Beyond Organix (BYO)™  BeyondOrganix.com  X
Beyond Organix is an association of grower-members who are committed to a
food quality standard defined by high natural

flavor and nutrient density...
We nurture a living soil because we have experienced that a healthy,
biologically active soil produces plants and crops

that consistently taste good, tests high in brix and suffers less from the
stresses that bring on insects and cause

disease.

   Beyond Organix
   P.O. Box 5594
   Fresno, CA 93755
   Dr. Arden Anderson
   ardenandersen@earthlink.net
   P: 559.222.2580
   C: 574.370.4551
   F: 559.248.9448

http://ardenandersen.blogspot.com/2007/05/beyond-organix.html

* Thomas Giannou at T&J  Enterprises -  http://www.tandjenterprises.com
Spokane, Washington

* Sustainable Growth Texas, a soil biology services company
http://www.sustainablegrowthtexas.com
512-934-3187

*****

Other fertilizer sources

*****

Soil Foodweb, Inc. - Website of Dr. Elaine Ingham, soil life guru, who is
reluctant to acknowledge that soil

remineralization may be needed.
"To grow healthy, productive plants you need healthy, productive soil. It
is the organisms in the soil that provide the

food plants need, in the form they need, when they need it.
At Soil Foodweb, we measure the quality and quantity of these vital
organisms and provide guidance in how to build your

soil so your soil can build your plants."  See also their Soil Foodweb
Approach

Brix Testing to reveal the best produce
The Brix meter is a small refractometer that is used to evaluate the
quality of produce and the health of growing plants.

It measures the content of solids in plant juices - sugars, minerals, etc.
To produce fruits and vegetables with excellent

Brix readings, the soil must be well balanced in minerals, organic matter,
and microorganisms. Well-made compost teas and

foliar sprays are often applied to the plant to provide needed nutrients.
(See Sources (below) and Gardening for Maximum

Nutrition) It is disappointing to measure the Brix readings on typical
organic (or non-organic) produce, as they are

rarely in the excellent range. There is much room for improvement in this
expanding market!

What is Brix? From www.HighBrixGardens.com

See also The Brix Movement - Growing For Quality

Human Health Starts in the Soil
http://www.aglabs.com/newsletters/human_health.html

Brix chart http://www.highbrixgardens.com/pdf/brix-chart.pdf
Refractometers

In depth look at the issue:
USING A REFRACTOMETER TO TEST THE QUALITY OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES by Rex
Harrill
http://www.tandjenterprises.com/brix_equals_quality.htm

OR - also a raw foods site:
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/fruitquality.html

or http://www.crossroads.ws/brix/  Rex Harrill's Website

How to grow superb biological produce above & beyond ordinary chemical OR
organic agriculture - Pike Method of soil

testing & monitoring - using brix, electrical conductivity and pH.
http://crossroads.ws/CRActive/PikeAg.htm

The Brix Movement - Growing For Quality  from Agriculture Solutions

New Life Soils http://www.newlifesoils.com/ (an Australian company) with
much info - not available Jan. '07

BrixTalk Yahoo group - source of much info
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrixTalk/

Sources of products claiming to raise brix levels:

Measuring brix levels with a refractometer is a way of gauging nutritional
quality of produce. This results from proper

soil mineral balancing and active soil microorganisms. For guidance on how
to do this see Gardening for Maximum Nutrition.

List of foliar fertilizers  and other fertilizer products

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, www.groworganic.com, which offers foliar
products for raising brix and some helpful info. For

example, see http://www.groworganic.com/item_F235_BrixMixPowder3Lb.html

Perfect Blend Organic Fertilizers - www.perfect-blend.com
For their story see The Symphony of Soil (below) and also The Path to High
Brix
Unfortunately now yet available in NW Ohio, but here is a mail order
source: http://www.organickingdom.com/gp003.html

The Symphony of Soil, - Story of a new type of organic fertilizer (a
special way of processing manures to maximize it's

value) that claims to raise brix levels consistently
 http://www.perfect-blend.com/Symphony.pdf

JungleFlora (http://probiotichealthllc.com/jungleflora/products.html ), a
Certified Organic Soil Conditioner and Plant

Growth Accelerator.
JungleFlora is a fermented blend of Composted Cow and Chicken Manures,
Vermicast, Acadian kelp, Fish emulsion, Volcanic

rock dust, Potassium Humate and Filtered Rain Water.

International Ag Labs and their related site http://www.highbrixgardens.com/

ABC Organics http://abcorganics.com/ (in California)
Our mission is to support agricultural and horticultural activities with
high quality organic based ingredients that

support soil and plant health.
The first video on this webpage http://photonicwater.com/media.html is an
interview with Joe Johnson of ABCOrganics on

raising brix of strawberries with use of structured water.

Refractometer sources -  Be sure you get 0-32% Brix range, not 0-100%,
which will be hard to read accurately  Brix Chart

Pike Agri-Lab Supplies - call them for a catalogue
866-745-3247 (toll-free)
 http://www.pikeagri.com/

Or inquire of Charlie Downer at chardowner@yahoo.com - National Industrial
Supply. He has Chinese Westovers with quite

good optics, a two year guarantee, and at rock bottom prices - find them on
Ebay:
     National Industrial Supply
       2767 Maricopa Street
       Torrance, CA 90503
       Phone: 310.748.6858
       Fax: 310.833.7306

Another source:

If you need a great 0-32 brix refractometer, please contact me.  I have
RHB32-ATC brix meters available for purchase for

$45.
Luke Lemmers
2141 Staghorn Dr
Shakopee, MN 55379
952-239-2042
luke@cutfill.com

Agriculture Solutions has a variety of refractometers - A Maine company. Be
sure to get the 0-23 brix range.

Lee Valley refractometer
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=46784&cat=2,2120

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply  - lots of info on foliar solutions, raising
brix, etc. Worth asking for a catalogue.