RE: I believe there is another unknown factor at work too.

Shaun in Spokane,

Last year I tried greensand and I believe it helped as it was my best year
(only a 507)

I have also added Norwegian Kelp every year for the last three and am
convinced (just a feeling however) that this is good stuff.

I also do a cover crop (about 6 inches high) along with compost pumpkins
(from last year) with garden and kitchen greens.

I also tried Bat guano, as I believe it contains trace elements (all those
thousands of insects the bats eat).

Is any of this actually helping. I am not sure, but it seems like if you add
lots of various organic substances; get your soil tested; and the plot keeps
improving that I am hopefully not hurting my chances.

The soil tests said add sulfur so I did at the end of last season. When I
rototill the cover crop in I will add more sulfur and also composted kelp
and greeensand this year. I rototill twice a year as I am not willing to
spend a long weekend hand turning the entire plot. 

Happy growing all; not that far away. Here in N. California I plan on
planting the seeds at the end of May.  

Cheers
tom

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Patrick Olaris [SMTP:polaris@WOLFENET.com]
	Sent:	Monday, February 01, 1999 4:47 PM
	To:	pumpkins@mallorn.com
	Subject:	Re: I believe there is another unknown factor at
work too.

	On Mon, Feb 01, 1999 at 06:24:43PM -0500, GBPUMPKIN@aol.com wrote:

	> I believe AG's take something out of the soil that does not show
up in soil
	> tests.  After ten years a decline will be seen if the missing
ingredients are
	> not replaced ether because the grower knows how to do this or hits
on it by
	> accident.

	An interesting idea, and one I would bet is true.  Have you tried
greensand,
	by the way?  If so, what sort of results did you see over the years
after
	application?

	I regularly apply greensand to my garden, and now also to my patch,
to
	replace trace minerals and nutrients that may have been removed and
not
	replaced over the years.  Kelp is supposed to be good too, but I
have
	never tried it aside from collecting a few bags of it off the beach
	whenever I visit the shore and composting it when I get home.  Since
I've
	moved it's been too long a drive but Peaceful Valley Farm supply
sells a
	kelp meal and spray that I may try someday.

	But it seems to me that if you compost your vines and your pumpkins
and
	thereby put them back in the soil every year, then other than saving
the
	seeds, you have a closed system and nothing much should be lost.

	Shaun in Spokane.  

	-- 
	Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is
the
	fragile blossom that opens in the snow. -Alice M. Swaim

	polaris@wolfenet.com  ++  PGP email welcome
	
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