Here are 6 examples of growing styles that all claim to have the solution to better food, but do they?
Excerpt from "The Ideal Soil"
#1 The worldwide Organic agriculture movement and its various offshoots have so far only offered simplistic solutions, mostly one simplistic solution: add more organic matter to the soil. This is the school from which this book’s authors come, and most growers with whom we work are organic growers. ―More organic matter is a step in the right direction if the soil is low in humus, but does little to address nutritional deficiencies, especially mineral deficiencies. Yet it is fiercely defended and proclaimed to be ―the answer for everyone everywhere. Is it? No. While essential, soil biology and organic matter are only a part of what makes a healthy soil and nutrient dense crops. Nature is not simple, and simplistic one-size-fits-all answers are not going to solve the nutritional and environmental crises we face.
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I first started using Neem oil because it was recommended to me by a friend as a natural method. Then when I went to the gardening store I was told that I might want to purchase some other type of bug spray because the employee had heard that Neem was systemic. I was new to gardening and asked the girl working there what she meant. She indicated to me that I would ultimately be eating the Neem oil because bug poisons would go into the plant and become part of it. I was worried, but also trusted my other friend so I went ahead and bought the bottle. I laugh now, but I was really concerned, standing there at the gardening store thinking about how Neem might get into my body somehow and hurt me. Fast forward 5 years and I am using Neem Toothpaste, Neem Mouthwash, Neem oil with coconut oil for cuts and rashes after hiking and a million other uses. It smells, but I've grown to love the stuff and have found much cleaner and more potent sources since I first started using neem from the gardening shop. Now, I also like to use Neem cake/meal in my home garden and in my house plants.
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The Exchange Capacity of your soil is a measure of its ability to hold and release various elements and compounds. We are mostly concerned with the soil's ability to hold and release plant nutrients, obviously. Specifically here today, we are concerned with the soil's ability to hold and release positively charged nutrients. Something that has a positive (+) charge is called a cation, pronounced cat-eye-on. If it has a negative charge (-) it is called an anion, pronounced ann-eye-on. (Both words are accented on the first syllable.) The word "ion" simply means a charged particle; a positive charge is attracted to a negative charge and vice-versa.
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This is a follow up to our previous Blog Article on July 16th titled, "Light green and no growth, a trial at soil correction."
Here are the photo's as of July 16th
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You may have noticed that I don't carry certain popular items and there is good reason for that. I'm not here to impart my beliefs on you, but to share information openly and honestly so that you can make the most educated decisions possible. Nowadays it's easier to find out what is in your opiate based prescription pills than it is in your food. When people tell me they're vegan and only eat organic, I sometimes wonder if they understand how most organic fertilizers are made. I would tell them, but I don't want them to starve to death. (For the record, I eat organic as often as possible, but homegrown is the best!)
Lets work our way through the pile of waste products first, and don't forget to check the labels on your favorite bottle of organic fertilizer!
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So you want to brew your own compost tea huh? Well I can’t blame you. This stuff is better than anything you can pay for and will all the misinformation surrounding compost tea it would be foolish to have anyone else make it for you.
BEWARE of the Myths
1. Worm juice leachate is the same stuff.
No – Worm leachate is anerobic and not even close.
2. You’re supposed to put guano and nutrients in the tea.
No – this is compost tea. Not nutrient tea. The Nutrients will ruin the development of your diverse tea.
3. I can just buy bottles of Compost tea or Worm tea on ebay or online…. Why make it?
Tea doesn’t last and as soon as you stop brewing it you should use it right away. Never bottle it.
4. The guys on youtube promise excellent compost tea with a small aquarium pump.
Please avoid listening to any of this information. The best tea is proven to be made with a dissolved oxygen level above 6.0 ppm and the small aquarium pump isn’t even close. You might even make a tea that could cause problems in your garden. If you have to use an aquarium pump with a cheap airstone then keep the brew to a 1-2 gallon size, maybe a milk jug.
5. It’s finished when all foamy and sweet smelling, right?
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