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Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

nature.com

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Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#31

Post by MortyWaves »

bgnn wrote: post #28

I started my gardening adventure with vegetables in pots. It was perfect, plants gave amazing yield, but required too detailed care and attention every day (or sometimes 2-3 times a day in a hot dry summer day). When I have moved to planting in soil I was shocked how worse the plants are doing. Same tomatoes giving 10-15 kg per plant yield in pots were under 3kg in soil. They got more disease issues, more pests (slug…

That was a great read. This is what I hope to achieve too. I know what you mean about some crops that won’t grow at all, for me, it’s carrots. They are never more than a couple of centimetres long. Deeply frustrating. I’ve tried lots, including making the soil loose, making it compact, adding sand, etc.

Also Aloe Vera, absolutely the most frustrating house plants I’ve ever had.

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#32

Post by vaylian »

noefingway wrote: post #11
SwayamDas wrote: post #7

Here are the primary components that you would require - 1. Organic Matter: Compost and mulch enrich soil and improve structure. 2. Microorganisms: Bacteria, fungi, and mycorrhizae break down organic matter and enhance nutrient uptake. 3. Soil Fauna: Earthworms, insects, and arachnids aerate soil and mix organic matter. 4. Nutrients: Macronutrients (N, P, K) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, etc.) are essential for pla…

Item 3 is important in more ways than most people realize. Last year many farmers in my area that planted soybeans early had a problem with slugs eating the sprouting beans and were forced to replant multiple times. This spring I went to a growers conference and heard a presentation by a Prof. Tooker from Penn State Ag about the slug problem, which he has been researching for several years. Turns out that the slug in…

When I think about insects and slugs, then slugs are typically considerably larger and have more body mass. Is it only the smaller slugs or slug eggs that the insects eat? I have a hard time imagining a beetle eating a slug.

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#33

Post by bgnn »

bethekidyouwant wrote: post #2

they paywall right before they say anything of note I imagine this is climbing to the top because people like the idea of healthy soil. My very small organic no till garden is lots of manual labour. when one person grows food for 1 million I laugh to see a picture of someone standing in a field with a shovel ‘fixing soil’

Well, I don't know about a million, but there are small scale profitable commercial farms doing this. One local farm I get my seasonal veggies from had 200 tonne carrot and parsnip over-production this year due to favorable conditions and they are tiny: https://www.noshitfood.nl/ [unfortunately only in Dutch]

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#34

Post by thatcat »

MortyWaves wrote: post #31
bgnn wrote: post #28

I started my gardening adventure with vegetables in pots. It was perfect, plants gave amazing yield, but required too detailed care and attention every day (or sometimes 2-3 times a day in a hot dry summer day). When I have moved to planting in soil I was shocked how worse the plants are doing. Same tomatoes giving 10-15 kg per plant yield in pots were under 3kg in soil. They got more disease issues, more pests (slug…

That was a great read. This is what I hope to achieve too. I know what you mean about some crops that won’t grow at all, for me, it’s carrots. They are never more than a couple of centimetres long. Deeply frustrating. I’ve tried lots, including making the soil loose, making it compact, adding sand, etc. Also Aloe Vera, absolutely the most frustrating house plants I’ve ever had.

You're probably over watering the aloe. Try growing carrots using a straw bale with soil added to a v cut in the center as a planter.

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#35

Post by thatcat »

ralusek wrote: post #10

I'm a gardening and landscaping enjoyer, but I am constantly confused about the bordering magical thinking surrounding dirt, among other aspects of growing things. If you look at hydroponics/aeroponics, plants basically need water, light, and fertilizer (N (nitrogen) P (phosphorous) K (potassium), and a few trace minerals). It can be the most synthetic process you've ever seen, and the plants will grow amazingly well…

There are also enzymes and secondary metabolites relevant to plant health associated with microbiome and ecological chains in healthy soil that go beyond the regenerative macronutrient cycles. If you try to grow edible fruits you'll notice flavor loss as a result of hydroponic / synthetic methods.

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#37

Post by CrazyStat »

westurner wrote: post #15
greenie_beans wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sure, we can make them grow well in a lab. but a natural system is so much simpler and elegant

Plants absorb nitrogen and CO2 from the air and store it in their roots; plants fertilize soil. If you only grow plants with externally-sourced nutrients, that is neither sustainable nor permaculture. Though it may be more efficient to grow without soil; soil depletion isn't prevented by production processes that do not generate topsoil. JADAM is a system developed by a chemicals engineer given what is observed to wo…

The vast majority of plants do not absorb nitrogen from the air. Legumes are the well-known exception.

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#38

Post by throeijfjfj »

westurner wrote: post #15
greenie_beans wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sure, we can make them grow well in a lab. but a natural system is so much simpler and elegant

Plants absorb nitrogen and CO2 from the air and store it in their roots; plants fertilize soil. If you only grow plants with externally-sourced nutrients, that is neither sustainable nor permaculture. Though it may be more efficient to grow without soil; soil depletion isn't prevented by production processes that do not generate topsoil. JADAM is a system developed by a chemicals engineer given what is observed to wo…

Most plants do not absorb atmospheric nitrogen, but need external nitride fertilizer to grow! That causes serious ground water polution!

> The new biofuel subsidies require no-till farming practices

This actually depletes soil of nitrogen!

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#39

Post by lurk2 »

ralusek wrote: post #10

I'm a gardening and landscaping enjoyer, but I am constantly confused about the bordering magical thinking surrounding dirt, among other aspects of growing things. If you look at hydroponics/aeroponics, plants basically need water, light, and fertilizer (N (nitrogen) P (phosphorous) K (potassium), and a few trace minerals). It can be the most synthetic process you've ever seen, and the plants will grow amazingly well…

I think there’s a perception that hydroponic systems are less resilient as well as an erroneous belief that they are more complex than soil (their supply chains might be, but the systems themselves are not).

Re: Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

#40

Post by Kbelicius »

CrazyStat wrote: post #37
westurner wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plants absorb nitrogen and CO2 from the air and store it in their roots; plants fertilize soil. If you only grow plants with externally-sourced nutrients, that is neither sustainable nor permaculture. Though it may be more efficient to grow without soil; soil depletion isn't prevented by production processes that do not generate topsoil. JADAM is a system developed by a chemicals engineer given what is observed to wo…

The vast majority of plants do not absorb nitrogen from the air. Legumes are the well-known exception.

It isn't legumes that absorb nitrogen from air. It is bacteria that lives on their roots.
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