Hi Allan - Like Will, I prefer a holistic answer. The Albrecht model gives you part of the answer. Biology gives you part of the answer.
But with improving soil biology or chemistry, either or both, you can use some testing to tell you whether the biology or chemistry is right on, or how far off it is, or you can use the trial and error method. Your choice. Which is best for you? Only you can answer that one! If you want to know where you are, you can use the map and do some testing by looking around, and get to your destination in a short period of time. Or you can just wander and hope you figure out where you want to go and generally take a very long time, maybe never, to get where you want to go. Using scientific methods requires that you know where you want to get to, so you know when you've arrived. Use testing methods to tell when you aren't there, and to make suggestions about how to get there the most rapidly we know how. So, to send in samples to be tested, or not? How soon do you want to know you have attained a good soil condition? How soon do you want your soil to be healthy? So, how to start. Decide what area you want to know about. I like to take the "sickest" area, since if you get that healthy, all the rest of the area should also then be healthy. Figure out which plants you want to put where. What rotations will follow in what areas? Sample from the areas that you want to know about then. Take 5 to 10 small soil cores, typically each core 0 to 3 inch depth, 1 inch diameter. You want to hit the root zone, however, so if your roots are at 6 inches, remove root samples from 6 inches, the rest of the soil core at 0 to 3 inches. That's the depth we have sampled soil from all parts of the world, in all sorts of plant species, in all times of the year. Mix all of the cores together, fill 1/3 to 1/2 of a sandwich size sealable plastic baggie with the mixed soil, fill out an SFI submission form, and send to the lab. Typically, you send a similar sample to do a soil chemistry. Look at both sets of data. If you have questions about the interpretation, call and talk to us. Hopefully, we'll get you started. Hopefully we will determine what each BD prep does to the critters in the soil - enhance, reduce, neutral. We should be able to relate that to the benefit to the plant as well then. We should be able to tell you what kinds of foods or inocula to add to the soil to bring along the health of that soil. How to get rid of root-feeders, how to improve water infiltration, water holding capacity, nutrient cycling. Making sense? Anything more? Elaine Allan Balliett wrote: > Elaine - This is a broad question posted to the list that you may > want to provide a response to. It has struck a chord with the BD > community on BD Now! and many scenarios have been suggested. These > suggestions swing between two polls "Get good soil test from an > Albrecht lab and follow the recommendations' and "Don't test your > soils, just compost compost compost for several years." > > I tried the 'compost compost compost' approach in the beginning and > can't help but think it held my gardens' quality back. It would be > nice to see how you suggest a home gardener get started! > > Btw, I sat in on two lectures by Will Brinton at PASA. He had some > excellent informatin on possible contaminants in (municipally > sourced) compost and made some serious 'holistic' recommendations on > composting. I plan to post his presentations as sound files on the > web in the very near future. > > Thanks, Elaine > > -Allan > >
