<< Subj: Re: No-Till Mania versus Organic
Date: 98-08-10 20:31:39 EDT
From: stancato@dreamscape.com (Frank A Stancato)
Reply-to: stancato@dreamscape.com
To: Erorganic@aol.com, sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu
Eric, after reading about reminerializing (sp?) I was wondering about what
additional, if any, items you add to you soil. Are you using mineral
(granite dust) to replenish your soils mineral content?
Frank >>
Hello Frank and all,
A few observations on minerals in soils. Subsoil structure is loaded with
indigenous minerals. The problem for the farmer is to access them. The task
of the farmer is to make indigenous minerals available progressively and to
assist the roots of plants to go to the depth to use the leached down
qualities that exist at 2 or 3 feet or below (of the major minerals, both
potassium and phosphorus readily leach downward.) The solution is identical
either way. Break through existing pans and maintain a soil structure that
allows continuing access for deep-rooted plants. Subsoiling correctly can
accelerate breaking through existing pans. To maintain the open subsoil
structure, deep-rooted plants need to be maintained in rotation every 3 year
or so. Mixtures of grasses, multiple legumes and forbs appear to be the most
effective for enhancing soil fertility and the health of the ecology
(livestock and humans included.) On trace minerals, there are some soils that
lack a specific mineral. I thought Allan Yeomans' statement insightful (who
with his father P. A. Yeomans designed the Keyline system of water and soil
management) that a small amount of mineral added to the steel on tillage
instruments would add that mineral to the soil during normal use as the most
efficient remedy for a specific mineral deficiency. In any event, trace
mineral deficiency is easily correctable over time. Obviously, mineral rich
or for that matter synthetic chemical fertilizer rock added to the soil will
enhance plant growth. However, the purpose of farming is to use the
biological (legumes, rotation, deep rooted plants, livestock, trees strips,
soil life structure, etc.) and mechanical (subsoiling, correct tillage,
subsoil water management and where applicable irrigation water management,
lime, etc.) practices to create a synergistic system of fertility maintenance
that cost very little. The system needs to be regenerative through the farmer
taking the correct practices at the correct time. Although I have been well
familiar with Hammacker/Weaver and earlier work on granite dust
remineralization; it is beyond the cost of a farm that does not have a close
supply. The same "beyond the cost of a farm" statement could be said for
North Carolina rock phosphate, which is far superior to the Florida mined
phosphate at this time. My investigations have indicated that down 2 or 3
feet on many farms are high concentrations of leached phosphorus. How to get
the roots functioning efficiently at this level is the farmer's perennial
question.
Some thoughts, Eric Kindberg, certified organic farmer
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".