Re: Update: 1999 Soil Experiments (a long one)
Great food for thought George....with interesting results and evaluation...Keep
us posted on deductions and conclusions in the future......Next spring my wife
will be wondering why the the cat food is disappearing faster than usual.....Ken
Reinsborough
GBPUMPKIN@aol.com wrote:
> 1999 Soil Experiments
>
> This is a long overdue report on my experiments this year. For those of you
> that don't know I'm working with a very mature garden, over 25 years old.
> That gives me some unusual problems to deal with.
>
> My theory reissued (Emailed earlier this year).
>
> My theory as to what happens to soil used by the same crop year after year.
> This seems to be more acute with Atlantic Giants.
>
> 1: Microbial activity is drastically reduced. Cause unknown. Result is the
> soil is unable to breakdown natural plant foods into usable substances that
> the plants can use. A sometimes fertile soil by most standards but a Dead
> one incapable of providing the growth stimulant needed by Atlantic Giants.
>
> 2: Micro-nutrient depletion.
>
> 3: Susceptibility to disease increases, I.e.: Khun's Disease which is a
> rapidly spread disease that can reduce a large Pumpkin and plant to a brown
> soup in a matter of days. This was first observed a few yeas ago in NH and
> MA. Cause unknown.
>
> 4: Plants respond to commercial fertilizers with spurts of growth then a
> rapid decline until the next application. During this cycle they seem to be
> taking up Nitrogen more than other nutrients. This can cause the Pumpkin
> mature prematurely.
>
> My first approach was to use the compost Feeding Planting Method that got me
> my 617 in 91. That worked for a few years then that wasn't enough. I still
> use this method but incorporated into the total soil stimulation plan.
>
> What I'm trying to do:
>
> A: Drastically increases Microbial Activity
>
> B: Provide large amounts of natural fertilizers for the Microbes to eat.
>
> C: Provide a steady diet of food that encourages lush growth but at a
> consistent rate throughout the growing season. This is accomplished with the
> two items listed above.
>
> D: Provide a wide variety of Micro-nutrients to cover all possible
> deficiencies.
>
> E: Provide natural growth stimulants and additives that help the plants
> defend against disease and grow rapidly.
>
> F: Increase worm activity and population to breakdown organics.
>
> I believe crop rotation helps slow this decline but doesn't stop it. It may
> take two or three times longer to develop the same problems though.
>
> My plan attacks all of these areas using some of the following found in
> natural fertilizers, and some unconventional products and very old farmer
> tricks to stimulate the soil. Some ingredients that are used: Poultry
> Byproducts, Molasses, Alfalfa, Brewers Yeast and Corn Meal, Fish Meal and
> Seaweed.
>
> Products used in the attack:
> Cat Food (Fish Meal Base)
> Dog Food (Poultry Based)
> Neptune's Liquid Fish & Seaweed
> Nitron (A micro-nutrient supplement)
> Bradfield Plus (An Organic Fertilizer)
>
> This is a broad-based attack that uses many products. It is my intention to
> post my results for growers to make there own decisions on whether you chose
> to use them is your decision. Hopefully my tests will help other growers.
>
> Dry Dog Food Beneficial Ingredients:
>
> Ground Yellow Corn
> Meat & Bone Meal
> Corn Gluten Meal
> Soybean Meal
> Wheat Middlings
> Ground Wheat
> Wheat Germ Meal
> Ground Oats
> Brewers Dried Yeast
> Dried Skim Milk
> Dried Whey
> Vitamin E ?
> Manganous Oxide ?
> Copper Sulfate ?
> Vitamin B12 ?
>
> Dry Cat Food Beneficial Ingredients:
>
> Ground Yellow Corn
> Poultry By Product Meal
> Ground Wheat
> Corn Gluten Meal
> Soybean Meal
> Animal Digest
> Turkey Meal
> Liver Meal
> Salmon Meal
> Shrimp Meal
> Tuna Meal
> Brewers Dried Yeast
> Vitamin E ?
> Manganous Oxide ?
> Copper Sulfate ?
> Vitamin B12 ?
>
> Bradfield Plus Beneficial Ingredients:
>
> Alfalfa (Nutrients & Triacontanol)
> Poultry Protein (Slow Release Nitrogen & Micronutrients)
> Natural Sulfate Of Potash
> Molasses (Bio Activator)
> Calcium
> Sulfur
> Magnesium
> Sodium
> Boron
> Manganese
> Iron
> Copper
> Zinc
> Humic Acid
> Cold Water Seaweed
> Cottonseed Embryo
> Microbes that break down Nitrate, Phosphate & Sulfates for plants to absorb.
>
> I do not have the list of Micro-ingredients that are in Nitron. But they are
> the primary ones found in most products of this type.
>
> Nitron and Liquid Fish & Seaweed are mixed in the compost mounds and feed to
> the Pumpkin plants at the root zone. Foliar sprays are also used.
>
> Because of the drought I have had to discount the Atlantic Giants tests, run
> this year. The drought stressed them too much to rely on the results.
> Another problem with them is they are so unpredictable test results can often
> be unreliable. To help get some other test results to evaluate I grow other
> crops under the same conditions and test ingredients. I did get some
> interesting results on Tomatoes that may indicate it might benefit other
> crops.
>
> Tomato plot #1 45 plants:
>
> Tilled in Bradfield Plus and Cat Food before planting.
>
> Tomato Plot #2 86 Plants:
>
> Trenched Bradfield Plus and Cat Food between rows.
>
> The Plot #2 dramatically out produced Plot #1. Somehow either the
> combination of products in close proximity gave better results. Possibly
> because the roots could detect the concentration easier and send out more
> roots to this area to pick up the fertilizer. Not sure but it worked.
>
> Next year I will make the following changes:
> Drop Dog Food
> Increase Cat Food
> Trench feed the plants all though the patch.
>
> Nitron and Fish & Seaweed applications will not change.
>
> The above has a lot of info but we have all winter to ponder it. The
> Southern Hemisphere will have time to experiment with trench fertilizing if
> they start it soon. That's about it.
>
> George Brooks
> North Tewksbury, MA approximately 25 miles Northwest of Boston in the
> Merrimack River Valley
>
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