Nutrients for Plants
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#1 Amending the Soil
True compost contains a plethora of organisms as well as nutrients, but Jude Hobbs of
Agro-Ecology Northwest, warns that people should not assume that all products touted
as “compost” are the same. For example, many of the products derived from woody
wastes are beneficial for fungi but not nearly as helpful if a person wants to use them in
a vegetable garden where bacteria are essential.
Soil amendments may assist in both the introduction of healthy organisms and the
nourishment and proliferation of organisms you already have on hand. These products
can be added directly to soils or used in building nutritious compost.
According to Ingham, in addition to the big three macro-nutrients - nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium - plants need over 140 other nutrients. Adding rock dust
products to your soil may both boost the availability of these nutrients and stimulate
fungi.
There are richer and poorer sources of rock dust, maintains Hobbs. “Glacial dust is
defiantly higher in minerals, but it is also more expensive.
Algae also have trace elements and minerals that plants need, which can be the
‘missing link for plant health’. Products that contain algae will stimulate bacterial
growth.”
Our mineral-rich plant food, developed by Carpenter, combines enzymatically active
organic blue-green algae from Upper Klamath Lake and high quality volcanic rock dust
from an ancient sea bed in Colorado. Not only does the amendment assist plants but it
supports the health of the planet.
Because algae is at the beginning of the food chain, they are particularly
beneficial as a ready source of nutrients for both soil organisms and plants,
but an observation Carpenter made while hiking led him to come up with the unique
idea to team the little dynamos with rock.
He explains that, as he hiked closer to a summit, trees gave way to shrubs, then to
grasses, then to no plant life -- no life, that is, except the lichens that grew on the rocks.
Lichens consist of an algae and a fungus in a symbiotic partnership.
Carpenter says that as he thought about the lichens breaking down the boulders to
begin the formation of topsoil, it struck him that nature designed algae to support life at
both ends of the spectrum, from the mountaintop to the ocean floor.
“Algae jump-starts the connection between the rock dust and the roots”,
Carpenter says in explaining the synergistic effect people report experiencing when
they use this plant food.
“I’ve noticed a big difference”, Joan Chadd, a 77 year-old gardener from Eugene,
OR says. “I used to use commercial fertilizers, but when I started using this
plant food, the plants I started from seeds came up bigger and healthier.
Those that I began with starts took hold immediately after I put them into the
earth. I’ve also noticed that my plants never have very many bugs.”
Chadd also says she likes using this product because it is natural and she enjoys the
convenience of having it appear at her door after she orders it.
You can get more “bang for your buck”, according to Carpenter, if you work this
plant food through your compost. If you choose to nurture the beneficial organisms in
your soil, your plants will thank you for it.
Sources:
Dr. Eileen Ingham, Soil Foodweb, Inc.
Jim Carpenter, Carpenter Design Ecosystem Consultants
Jude Hobbs, Agro-Ecology Northwest
Agro-Ecology Northwest, warns that people should not assume that all products touted
as “compost” are the same. For example, many of the products derived from woody
wastes are beneficial for fungi but not nearly as helpful if a person wants to use them in
a vegetable garden where bacteria are essential.
Soil amendments may assist in both the introduction of healthy organisms and the
nourishment and proliferation of organisms you already have on hand. These products
can be added directly to soils or used in building nutritious compost.
According to Ingham, in addition to the big three macro-nutrients - nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium - plants need over 140 other nutrients. Adding rock dust
products to your soil may both boost the availability of these nutrients and stimulate
fungi.
There are richer and poorer sources of rock dust, maintains Hobbs. “Glacial dust is
defiantly higher in minerals, but it is also more expensive.
Algae also have trace elements and minerals that plants need, which can be the
‘missing link for plant health’. Products that contain algae will stimulate bacterial
growth.”
Our mineral-rich plant food, developed by Carpenter, combines enzymatically active
organic blue-green algae from Upper Klamath Lake and high quality volcanic rock dust
from an ancient sea bed in Colorado. Not only does the amendment assist plants but it
supports the health of the planet.
Because algae is at the beginning of the food chain, they are particularly
beneficial as a ready source of nutrients for both soil organisms and plants,
but an observation Carpenter made while hiking led him to come up with the unique
idea to team the little dynamos with rock.
He explains that, as he hiked closer to a summit, trees gave way to shrubs, then to
grasses, then to no plant life -- no life, that is, except the lichens that grew on the rocks.
Lichens consist of an algae and a fungus in a symbiotic partnership.
Carpenter says that as he thought about the lichens breaking down the boulders to
begin the formation of topsoil, it struck him that nature designed algae to support life at
both ends of the spectrum, from the mountaintop to the ocean floor.
“Algae jump-starts the connection between the rock dust and the roots”,
Carpenter says in explaining the synergistic effect people report experiencing when
they use this plant food.
“I’ve noticed a big difference”, Joan Chadd, a 77 year-old gardener from Eugene,
OR says. “I used to use commercial fertilizers, but when I started using this
plant food, the plants I started from seeds came up bigger and healthier.
Those that I began with starts took hold immediately after I put them into the
earth. I’ve also noticed that my plants never have very many bugs.”
Chadd also says she likes using this product because it is natural and she enjoys the
convenience of having it appear at her door after she orders it.
You can get more “bang for your buck”, according to Carpenter, if you work this
plant food through your compost. If you choose to nurture the beneficial organisms in
your soil, your plants will thank you for it.
Sources:
Dr. Eileen Ingham, Soil Foodweb, Inc.
Jim Carpenter, Carpenter Design Ecosystem Consultants
Jude Hobbs, Agro-Ecology Northwest
by Cindy Foster
If you’re the nurturing type and want to improve the quality of your lawn, garden or
house plants by developing the health and diversity of the “food web” in their soil, there
are a few steps you’ll want to take.
You can literally start with steps. Walk through the area you want to improve - unless of
course you’re focusing on potted plants - and observe what’s happening. Does the soil
have good tilth, or texture? Ideally it should look like rich chocolate cake crumbs so that
air, water and root systems can infiltrate the soil. If water either pools on top or leaches
through too quickly, this is a sure sign that the tilth of the soil needs work.
In order to improve the tilth, first make sure your soil contains enough organic material.
“Soil composed of 5% organic matter can hold almost twice its weight in water”,
environmental consultant and wetlands expert, Jim Carpenter, points out. That is
essential because plants and organisms alike need water to survive.
Different organic materials such as manures, kelps and leaves decompose at different
rates and release various nutrients in the process, so choosing the right organic matter
is important. Also, since certain species of bacteria and fungi do the work of
decomposition, these organisms must be present to get things going.
According to soil scientist Dr. Eileen Ingham, of Soil Foodweb, Inc., if you discover that
the material you’ve added in the past has not fully decomposed, that is a warning that
part of the organisms needed for a healthy foodweb are either not present or not
performing. Adding compost or a “tea” made from compost are good ways to get
missing organisms back into the soil.
Compost tea:
(click on the picture for
more information)
If you’re the nurturing type and want to improve the quality of your lawn, garden or
house plants by developing the health and diversity of the “food web” in their soil, there
are a few steps you’ll want to take.
You can literally start with steps. Walk through the area you want to improve - unless of
course you’re focusing on potted plants - and observe what’s happening. Does the soil
have good tilth, or texture? Ideally it should look like rich chocolate cake crumbs so that
air, water and root systems can infiltrate the soil. If water either pools on top or leaches
through too quickly, this is a sure sign that the tilth of the soil needs work.
In order to improve the tilth, first make sure your soil contains enough organic material.
“Soil composed of 5% organic matter can hold almost twice its weight in water”,
environmental consultant and wetlands expert, Jim Carpenter, points out. That is
essential because plants and organisms alike need water to survive.
Different organic materials such as manures, kelps and leaves decompose at different
rates and release various nutrients in the process, so choosing the right organic matter
is important. Also, since certain species of bacteria and fungi do the work of
decomposition, these organisms must be present to get things going.
According to soil scientist Dr. Eileen Ingham, of Soil Foodweb, Inc., if you discover that
the material you’ve added in the past has not fully decomposed, that is a warning that
part of the organisms needed for a healthy foodweb are either not present or not
performing. Adding compost or a “tea” made from compost are good ways to get
missing organisms back into the soil.
Compost tea:
(click on the picture for
more information)