Soil Biology: biology determines soil quality
Soil Chemistry: is a result of soil biology
Soil biology seeks to fix the ecological biology of poor or depleted soil.
Nematodes – produce excess nitrogen that becomes available to plants
Bacteria and Fungi – suck up nutrients and hold onto them for the benefit of roots. Plants require certain specific sets of organisms. The task is to direct nutrients via the soil to the desired plants and not the weeds.
Roots cannot grow in anaerobic condition, as there is no food.
How to get structure back into soil:
No tilling. Official US Dept of Agriculture definition of what soil is has changed from 6 inches to 4 feet over the years. This corresponds with the mechanical device ability to penetrate and be able to pull through the soil, resulting in compaction zones shifting in depth accordingly.
Compaction zones create anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions that are the most common course for dead soils.
How to determine soil quality:
1. Microscopic measurement of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and other organisms.
2. Ratio of total fungi to total bacteria to determine position of the ‘Successional Sequence Chart’.
NOTE: If soil is poor, 80% of inorganic fertilizer is lost into the water.
Weeds require high nitrate levels, unbalanced biology, compacted soil, anaerobic conditions, yeast, ammonia, and acidic acid.
If it stinks, it’s no good. Stench means compost is anaerobic, i.e. contains no oxygen.
Good compost is determined by these conditions:
1. Aerobic (no bad smell) Should smell like mushroom
2. Decomposition
3. Ratio of bacteria and fungi
4. Mix of organic material and a diversity of food resource
5. Nutrient cycling which requires predators
6. Dark brown, not black
7. Crumbly with touch
8. Should release one drop of water in handful
9. Should have visible strands of fungi
Earthworms are predators in the first place, not composters. A worm divides into the ‘grinding’ part which takes in micro-organisms and grinds them up. The second part of the worm is a ‘culture vessel’ where the ground up micro-organisms are turned into vermiculture.
White ashy material in compost indicates bacteria NOT fungi.
Black compost indicates charcoal. Nutrients are lost and bacteria as a consequence. Needs to be turned.
Heat in compost: indicates mico-organisms are reproducing and growing. Too much heat indicates too much oxygen is being sucked. Compost needs to be turned or it will go anaerobic. Compost temperature needs to be taken every day.
Books on Compost:
1. Cato ‘De Agriculture’ – link to digital text here or buy from amazon here
2. Howard, Luebke, Rodale, Steiner (Pfeiffer) (amazon.com)
3. On-Farm Composting (Cornell) link to amazon here or Cornell here
4. Attra Website
5. SFI Compost Manual
There are 3 types of compost:
1. Thermo-compost – heats to 55 Celsius and kills weed seed
2. Worm or vermi-compost – cold compost, weeds are not killed
3. Static compost – composts that are not turned
1. Decomposition requires microbial growth
2. Microbes use oxygen as they grow
3. Microbes make heat as they grow
4. Temperature indicates growth and oxygen levels (only of compost is turned on time)
5. Moisture must be maintained at 50%
6. Compost must remain aerobic at all times
7. Heat needs to be 55 Celsius (131F) for full three days to kill weed seeds, pathogens, pests.
8. Temperature should not go higher than 68C (160F) so that beneficial organisms are not killed. If temperature too high, pile needs to be turned.
Regulations include:
1. Pile left at minimum of 55C for 10 – 15 days
2. Turned 5 times in 10 to 15 days if temperature is above 55C
3. Maintain 50% moisture (indication: one drop of water should squeeze out of a handful of compost)
4. If compost is too dry it is no longer compost and can become dangerously volatile
1. Microbes grow in a thin layer of food on surface that attracts worms.
2. 2. Worms eat mix and turn it into compost, stimulating microbes
3. Microbes are reduced in numbers by worms
4. Temperature needs to be tested
5. Moisture must be maintained at 12C (70F)
6. Chunky matter on top to let air in
7. Approx mixture of materials:
a. 25% High Nitrogen: alfalfa, beans, peas,
i. Potential problems: salt, anti-biotics, heavy metals
b. 45% Greens
c. 45% woody material
Do not overload nitrogen or too much turning will be required.
Vetch and clover beneficial in shifting hP within compost
Worm juice colour: brown indicates humic acids
1. Extract microbe – vigorous action and mechanical screening required
2. Extract nutrients – vigorous action and mechanical screening required
3. Maximise reproduction and growth of microbes
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
As water temperature rises, the efficiency to hold oxygen decreases.
Bubbles: smaller bubbles indicate greater oxygen transfer as they provide a larger surface area
20l of compost tea per hectare.
Microscopic counting of bacteria – fungi ration
Plate count equals disease count (?)
Critters count
Fungi – the wide the diameter, the more beneficial
Fungi – white outer surface indicate calcium
Copper sulphate kills fungi
Ammonium sulphate kills fungi
1. Suppress disease
2. Retain nutrients
3. Decompose toxins
4. Build (re-build) soil structure
5. Reduce water use
6. Increase water holding capacity
7. Increase root depth
8. Makes nutrients available at rates that plants require
9. Eliminates fertilizer (NPK)
Compost brings soil back to health.
Testing soil: pressure meter, microscope
Type of feeders:
Nematodes: bacterial and fungal feeders, root feeders
Humic acids: complex mixture of partially "decomposed" and otherwise transformed organic materials.
Compost Teas deliver organisms into soil. If you can deliver water, you deliver CTs. Soils that have a deep compaction zone can be treated with CTs by injecting CT organisms into compact zone with a pipe pushed into compact zone.
When organisms eat up all organic matter, they go to ‘sleep’ and soil turns anaerobic.
Australia has acid sulphate soils: Acid sulphate soils are the common name given to soils containing iron sulphides. In Australia, the acid sulphate soils of most concern are those which formed within the past 10,000 years, after the last major sea level rise. When the sea level rose and inundated land, sulphate in the seawater mixed with land sediments containing iron oxides and organic matter. The resulting chemical reaction produced large quantities of iron sulphides in the waterlogged sediments. When exposed to air, these sulphides oxidise to produce sulphuric acid, hence the name acid sulphate soils. These soils have a fugal domination.
Methods of soil testing:
Biological count, pH of soil
Acidic soil – add fungi
Alkaline soil – add bacteria
The more oxygen in the tea, the better
Question: Parramatta grass: fungal or bacterial domination?
1. Must be aerobic
2. Water quality is critical – pH, salts, temperature (should match the soil), energy to welcome organisms to respond,
Salts: add conductivity and disassociate in water, add humic acid and test.
1. Compost Extract – advantage: no brewing time or adding organisms possible
2. Compost Leachate (water passed through worms or compost) – no brewing, few organisms removed, basically contains enzymes (organic catalysts), soluble nutrients
3. Plant Tea – compost not involved (BD preparations are plant teas)
4. Manure Tea – compost not involved, anaerobic, pathogens could be present
5. Put To Sleep Tea – loss of 50% of species lost, these cannot tolerate sleep inoculum (a virus or toxin or immune serum) that is introduced into the body to produce or increase immunity to a particular disease)
EM = Effective Mico-organism (Beneficial and effective microorganisms ("EM"), assist in creating sustainable practices for agriculture, animal husbandry, nature farming, environmental stewardship, construction, human health and hygiene, industrial, community activities and more.)
CTs contain:
1. From compost – bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, soluble nutrients
2. From additives – beneficial bacteria & fungal foods, foliar feeds for plants
3. Air – not too much, not too little
Factors involved in making good CTs:
1. Compost (inoculum, nutrients)
2. Aeration with machine
3. Temperature must be right
4. Foods
5. Water – must be clean
6. Cleaning of apparatus. Anaerobic sludge can easily develop in pipe corners and static places
7. Timing – minimum of 24 hours
8. Application sprayer – nature of pump is crucial as it can kill the biology. Best to check under microscope.
9. Applications factors, time, wind, weather etc
Protozoa: defined as single-celled organisms, that feed heterotrophically (?) and exhibit diverse motility mechanisms
Nematodes: (Nematodes are the most numerous multicellular animals on earth. A handful of soil will contain thousands of the microscopic worms, many of them parasites of insects, plants or animals. Free-living species are abundant, including nematodes that feed on bacteria, fungi, and other nematodes, yet the vast majority of species encountered are poorly understood biologically. There are nearly 20,000 described species classified in the phylum Nemata. Nematodes are structurally simple organisms. Adult nematodes are comprised of approximately 1,000 somatic cells, and potentially hundreds of cells associated with the reproductive system . Nematodes have been characterized as a tube within a tube ; referring to the alimentary canal which extends from the mouth on the anterior end, to the anus located near the tail. Nematodes possess digestive, nervous, excretory, and reproductive systems, but lack a discrete circulatory or respiratory system. In size they range from 0.3 mm to over 8 meters)
1. Beavaria (good against ants, not good for bees if dose is too high (1 teaspoon per 1000l)
2. Trichoderma (eats any fungus in 2 weeks)
3. Gliocladium (attacks fungal disease)
4. Mycorrhiza Fungi (add towards end of brewing. Very sensitive organism, dies easily)
1. Pseudomonades – beneficial, decompose toxic materials, pesticides, herbicides
2. Bacillus – against insect pests, aphids etc
3. Azotobacter – free living nitrogen fixer
4. Rhizobium – good for legumes (beans)
Type of Nematodes:
1. Steinerneama
2. Heterorhabditidae
Some brewing rules:
Colder: slower growth, add food
Warmer – faster growth, too much food, dilute with water
Fugi food: (complex)
Humic acids, protein, oatmeal, bran, fish hydrolysate (product of hydrolysis)
Bacterial foods: (simple)
Molasses, sugars, simple amino acids, simple proteins, simple carbo hydrates
Important: it can be dangerous to use the wrong inoculum. All materials need to be composted first. Pathogens and disease sources accur in reduced oxygen conditions.
Considerations: when looking at a brewing machine: how good is the aeration? Can the machine brew aerobic? Can extraction damage organisms? How easy is it clean the machine? Bio-organisms are extremely sensitive and can easily be killed. Bio-film can form in stagnant and difficult to clean areas (pipe corners, hidden surfaces) of the machine. The simpler the design, the better.
Sample testing: test samples from different places in the brew
Application: sprayer or drip, just as though it is water
Time of day: does not seem important as long as drop size is not smaller than 1mm
Pine wood contains turpentine that can be harmful to micro-organisms
Pesticide drift can reach up to 15ks downwind.
City of NY has banned the use of pesticides and herbicides.
Old growth forest have the highest bacterial count.
Plant alcohol production attracts flies
Compost teas also very good for animal health. Excellent to control flies.
Jute mat is fungal food.
The following point was made by a participant:
The term 'sustainable' agriculture is inaccurate in as much as there is suggests that present agriculture is 'sustainable' which it clearly is not. Therefore the word 'sustainable' should be replaced with the word 'regenerating' ..
Very good point! REGENERATING AGRICULTURE it is from now on as far we are concerned.
|
