Re: soil fertility and practical information

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/15/02 7:40:40 AM Central Standard Time,

beckymauldin@... writes:

> Hello,

>

> I have been following the soil fertility thread with interest now and

> everytime that it has come up in the past. I would like to know how

> to apply this information in a practical way in my own garden. I'm

> just starting to lay out the garden and would like to know what

> exactly to do to increase my soil fertility and how to determine when

> I reach high fertility. What do you use to measure soil fertility?

> How do you know what ammendments to add?

>

> My other question: For those of us who so desperately want high

> quality food grown on fertile soil, how can we make sure that we are

> getting it? How do you test for this sort of thing? How do you test

> for high quality grains? Milk? Or anything for that matter??

>

> I'm in full agreement with the folks on this list on the importance

> of soil fertility, yet am stumpted to figure out the practical

> application of it all...Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

>

> Becky

>

Becky,

In small way you can't really test. What you can do is go into the woods by

your house and make yourself a wild salad whenever you can. That stuff is

packed with good things as they get their nutrients naturally.

Belinda

[Guest guest]

--- In @y..., " beckymauldin2001 " <beckymauldin@h...>

wrote:

> Phosphorus is 27 lbs/acre

> Potassium is 199 lbs/acre

> Calcium is 780 lbs/ acre

> Magnesium is 150 lbs/acre

> Zinc is 8 lbs/acre

> Manganese is 13 lbs/acre

> Soil ph is 5.70

Hi Becky:

To determine desirable amounts of minerals in pounds per acre it is

necessary to know the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Is this value

shown on your soil test?

At this point I would comment that relative to magnesium, the calcium

is too low. This will mean if magnesium is at a desirable level, then

the calcium is too low. Thus any lime application should be a high-

cal (high calcium) lime, not a dolomite limestone (which will have

lots of magnesium carbonate with the calcium carbonate). Your ph

suggests you probably just need some high-cal lime.

The potassium should be a lower amount per acre than the magnesium.

So, again, if the magnesium is at a desirable level then the

potassium is too high. Greensand adds potassium, so it would not be a

good idea to add greensand. High potassium increases yield, by the

way, and decreases nutrition. It's the K in NPK.

I will have to do some reading, but I think your phosphorus is too

low, depending on the CEC.

You didn't say what the level of organic matter in your soil was, but

it's likely too low. Adding more organic matter is a good idea, but

remember, organic matter varies in value as a fertilzer too.

> My other goal is to ammend the soil of an area that

> will be pasture for goats one day soon. It is about 3/4

> of an acre and I'm not sure how to go about it...

> The figures of the soil analysis above should be similar for

> this pasture area. I was thinking of broadcasting lime and

> greensand or maybe Azomite on top of the grass...what would

> you suggest?

If the pasture is similar, then my advice would be similar. The goats

present you with an opportunity to get opinions from real experts on

nutrition, rather than from stupid humans (like me). The way to do it

is to test any soil ammendment in a small area of the pasture and see

if the goats prefer that area (after you get the goats, of course),

avoid that area or show no preference, one way or the other.

I should have mentioned in my last reply that weeds tell you about

the soil fertility too. What weeds are most common on your land? A

good book on what weeds tell you, and on learning about soil

fertility is the Acres U.S.A. Primer. It was my first book in

learning about soil fertility. It's a good book to read before

reading any volumes of " The Albrecht Papers " .

> One thing you and others may find interesting...I was getting nice

> eggs from a local guy. The chickens are healthy, run around, get

> sunlight, but are mainly in a big barn type chicken house. The

> yolks of these eggs are a BRIGHT yellow, much brighter

> than grocery store eggs...And I thought these eggs were

> good quality! Well, another farmer I've met since then has

> chickens that are in a movable pen that is positioned on this

> farmer's fertile soil. In that particular area of land, the

> farmer planted rye grass. The grass is lush and beautiful, and

> he just moves the chicken pen along the row of grass each day.

> The yolks of those eggs were the deepest, brighest ORANGE I've

> ever seen, definately not yellow, these were orange and brighter

> than the color of a school bus!! I think the importance of soil

> fertility was made crystal clear to me through this experience and

> now I'm just trying to get my own soil that fertile...

Haha Becky!

I thought you wanted to know how to determine if food was more or

less nutritious. You were pretending you didn't know how to do it.

The above shows you knew all along far more than you were admitting.

Good for you!

Chi

[Guest guest]

you wrote:

> Hi Becky:

> To determine desirable amounts of minerals in pounds per acre it is

> necessary to know the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Is this value

> shown on your soil test?

Sorry, but that is nowhere to be found on this soil test. I had the

test done by the University of Georgia, so I should be able to call

them and find that out.

you wrote:

What weeds are most common on your land?

If we didn't bushog this area often, we would be innundated with wild

blackberries, passionflower vines, plantain, and privet shrubs.

you wrote:

> A good book on what weeds tell you, and on learning about soil

> fertility is the Acres U.S.A. Primer. It was my first book in

> learning about soil fertility. It's a good book to read before

> reading any volumes of " The Albrecht Papers " .

Thanks for the book suggestion.

> Haha Becky!

> I thought you wanted to know how to determine if food was more or

> less nutritious. You were pretending you didn't know how to do it.

> The above shows you knew all along far more than you were

admitting.

> Good for you!

> Chi

Yeah, I am starting to " get it " , but it is harder to tell the quality

of fruits and veggies, milk, and grains, and you helped clarify a

few things. I remember someone mentioning the color of the eggs has

something to do with the nutrient level, and when I saw this in

action, it made an impact, to say the least. Your posts on this

subject have gotten me thinking of the lack of nutrients in most

soils and it's effects on the food supply. And Weston Price's book

has made such an impact with me on the importance of a high quality

diet, and now I can see how soil fertility had EVERYTHING to do with

the health of those cultures. It's all starting to sink in.....

Thanks!!

Becky

[Guest guest]

--- In @y..., " beckymauldin2001 " <beckymauldin@h...>

> Sorry, but that is nowhere to be found on this soil

> test. I had the test done by the University of Georgia,

> so I should be able to call them and find that out.

Hi Becky:

If you call them, please also ask them what the base saturation

percentages were for calcium, magnesium and potassium.

> If we didn't bushog this area often, we would be innundated

> with wild blackberries, passionflower vines,

> plantain, and privet shrubs.

Sorry, none of these showed up in my weed book (Weeds Control Without

Poison).

Chi

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

would be very interested in the name of the chicken breed that is good at

finding bugs, if you can find it. Thanks, Sally

[Guest guest]

--- safallon@... wrote:

> Dear ,

>

> would be very interested in the name of the chicken

> breed that is good at

> finding bugs, if you can find it. Thanks, Sally

Mother Earth News had an article in the Feb/Mar 2002

issue about Black Java chickens, an ancient breed that

was near extinction (still is). It said " Java

chickens have a peaceful temperament and forage, lay

and grow with little human involvement. " Many breeds

of chickens that are excellent foragers, in my

experience, are also very difficult to handle and

contain when necessary, because they have excitable

dispositions. You can get more info about this breed

here:

http://www.cyborganic.com/People/feathersite/Poultry/CGD/Java/JavaStat.html

Aubin

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