Ag 101 Week 42

Nitrogen

Last week I said I was going to start and break down what goes into a bag of fertilizer. If you recall, I likened each component to a piston in an engine. Put the right pistons together, and you get a locomotive engine, put others together, and you get a Yugo.

You buy a bag of blended fertilizer, and you are getting a mix of nutrients that supply a plant with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium - NPK. In some cases, you can get some magnesium, calcium, sulfur, and trace minerals. I’m sure most of you know that already.

So, I want to go over a few questions I get; then we’ll take a look of some more commonly used components within the organic or softer chemistry area of fertilizers.

Why are the numbers, otherwise known as NPK values, so much lower in organic fertilizers than conventional?

The numbers representing NPK are a ratio of the percentage of available nutrients. The amount of the nutrient that is soluble and readily available for the plant to use. The more solvent, the higher the number and the more significant amount that the plant can uptake sooner. In the case of organic fertilizers, you have to also consider variabilities due to the fact components are naturally sourced materials, i.e., mined from clay deposits or animal by-products. Nature is not always consistent. One of the best benefits of organic fertilizers is a more extended nutrient supply over the growing season given the fact they are comprised of soluble and insoluble forms of nutrients. Given adequate moisture, biological actively, and crop type a natural fertilizer can take you through from planting to harvest. Once again, I stress it is crop specific and dependent on other management decisions. I will often suggest a split application if at all possible or fertilizing with a liquid to get through a season depending on all the variables.

Keep in mind from week 5 when fertilizing you are feeding the plant and the soil. Some are hungrier than others and at a different rate.  

 https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/1/21/ag-101-week-5

What is the difference between soluble and insoluble nutrients?

A soluble form of a nutrient is readily available to the plant for immediate uptake. Insoluble nutrients are held in the soil longer and need to be converted to plant available forms by the bacteria and fungi present in the soil. Other factors determining the rate at which they become soluble are soil moisture, temperature, and pH.

 What does it take to ensure a fertility program is effective?

1.      pH management -You want to manage pH to accomplish two things

First be in a range for optimal nutrient uptake based on soil type and crop variety while staying slightly acidic to help make nutrients available through mineralization and biological activity.

2.      Irrigation management

A fertility program is only as effective as your irrigation.

3.      Good amendment & fertilizer practices

Fertilizing is strategic and should be applied at the right rate, time, location using the right source. I discussed that in weeks 6 & 10

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/5/ag-101-week-6

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/25/ag-101-week-10

You could say I’m finally getting around to talking about the fourth – the source.

Let’s talk about nitrogen-

Nitrogen is used for several functions in the plant including the production of proteins that lead to tissue development

It also plays a role in chlorophyll production.

It is critical in leading to the vegetative growth in a plant but can become problematic when over applied for several reasons.

Such as-

Environmental issues

Increased insect pressure

A plants’ inability to retain blooms, such as in tomatoes

Balancing a plant’s need for nitrogen at the time it is required by the plant is a matter of timing it’s application. Even though it is abundant in the air we breathe, unlike phosphorus and potassium, it is not found in sufficient levels in the soil because it is not present in the parent material giving soil its properties.

By themselves, plants cannot use atmospheric nitrogen. It has to be converted by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the form of NO3¯ or applied in a plant available form at the right time.

Due to the fact, the form most available to plants has a negative charge, it is not held in the soil and is more sustainable to leaching. If you recall, the cation exchange capacity is a soil’s ability to hold onto positively charged ions.

Nitrogen management is centered around optimizing nitrogen fixation by the soil biology and minimizing loss by using good management practices such as timing and location of fertilizers and manures.

With some conventional forms of nitrogen such as ones that are ammonium based, except ammonium sulfate, they have an acidifying effect on soil. Meaning they lower the pH. This can be an issue with over applying it and repeated long-term use. It is often not seen immediately but as somewhat of a cumulative effect based on cropping history, moisture, temperate, etc.

Over the past several years I have not seen that to be as much of an issue with organic sources. However, I have not found much research or data on the subject either. It should be noted that everything you put into the soil at some point in time effects it, whether immediate or long term.

Let’s talk about some common organic nitrogen components used in fertilizers.

First, I’m going to start with a three that are conventional component equivalents. Meaning they are still a naturally derived source, that can be used in an organic system but is more soluble and available to the plant quicker rather than later making them somewhat similar to that of conventional chemistries.

Blood Meal

It typically has an analysis of 10-13%N

It has been shown to have deer and rabbit repellant properties when used as a top dress. However, it may attract other animals such as raccoons and dogs.

Blood meal is primarily hemoglobin, which is a protein, and iron. In my experience, I have found the concentration of iron not to be an issue, just something to be mindful of

It can be cost prohibited to use it as a single source of nitrogen. However, when added to a blend It is a rapid release source making it a significant component when used with other mid and slower release forms

Chicken Manure

Of all the manures it is, in general, the one highest in nitrogen typically ranging from 2-8%

Keep in mind the analysis of manures of any type can be extremely variable based on source and solid to liquid ratios

It is available in several forms from liquid to pellets and relatively inexpensive depending on what part of the country you are in

It is also a good addition if lime and phosphorus are needed

Sodium Nitrate (Chilean Nitrate)

It is water soluble at a guaranteed 15% total N availability, with 2% potash, and 1% sulfur. The new formulation has allowed for ease of shipping because it is no longer considered a hazardous material.

The fact it is readily solubilized in water makes this the best choice for a starter fertilizer, especially for corn. It gives corn the boost it needs to get out of the ground even if planted into soils that might be cooler than what is generally required to get the best germination rate.

It can be an expensive insurance policy if not used accordingly and applied with good seed to fertilizer placement at the right rate. This is when cleaning, calibrating, and using the right equipment are essential as well.

I highly recommend using it in a blend as opposed to a straight source of nitrogen for several reasons. First, it can be expensive. Second, it is available almost immediately to the plant, making it the first to be used during the growing season, leaving the plant with nothing in reserve for the next several weeks that nitrogen is vital to develop enough vegetation for the plant to efficiently and adequately be able to perform photosynthesis. Remember it is a balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth.

Next, the following have medium to slow release rates of nitrogen. They are relatively insoluble.

Fish/crab/shrimp meal

Typical analysis ranges from 5-30%N

Typically, fish ranges from 5-9%N depending on whether it is a meal, powder or liquid

Crap and Shrimp range from 10-30%N with 11-18%Ca depending on the shell to meat ratio

Crab makes an excellent addition to a fertilizer blend for the extra calcium, and the addition on an enzyme called chitin that has been shown to help control nematodes in the soil

Peanut meal

A typical analysis is 8-9%N

Can be cost prohibitive and not allowed due to allergen restrictions

Bone meal

A typical analysis is 3-4%N

It is also a good source of phosphorus and calcium

Feather meal

Typical analysis 11-15%N

Apply early in the season to take advantage of slower release rate providing nitrogen over the course of the growing season

 Soybean meal

A typical analysis is 6-7%N

A good source for full season nitrogen supply

Soybean meal has been shown to burn new seedlings and reduce germination rates potentially. Care should be exercised when timing the application

 Manures

For years now, agricultural manures have gotten a lot of press. After taking the PA Nutrient Management courses, I concluded – shit’s complicated. Gone are the days you cleaned the barn and piled it out of the way so you could spread it when you had more time. Raw manure is the most nutrient dense. The longer it composts it losses its nutrient value. Over applying it, can lead to not only environmental issues also pest and disease challenges.

However, there is one manure that is gaining popularity with tobacco and cannabis growers, and its bat guano. It is cost prohibitive to use on a large scale, but I feel it is important enough to mention as a potential source of not only nitrogen but phosphorus as well, while being low in salts.

A typical analysis is 5-12% depending on the source

It is fast acting and soluble in water making it a great addition to a liquid program for cannabis especially vegetative and flowering stages

I have several growers using it in sub-irrigation systems for starting organic tobacco. They like the fact its water soluble and doesn’t seem to burn the way other fertilizers have a tendency to do if not managed correctly.

 There are several other sources I could mention that are used for nitrogen such as corn gluten, alfalfa meal, legumes, and cottonseed meal.

We’ll cover those and more during the time remaining in the 52 Weeks of Agronomy Series.

Ag 101 Week 41

It’s Not Just Fairy Dust & Go-Go Juice – It’s Chemistry

Five years ago, when I told my Dad, I was going to work for an organic fertilizer company there was a long pause of silence.  After some more discussion he concluded that it must not be that big of a company so why not get back into the workforce with a small local business. Little did we know what I had gotten in to.

It was culture shock in more ways than one.

If you recall, I’m the girl that still thinks Kenny & Dolly are platonic and…

I didn’t come from the world of ‘organic/all-natural’ fertilizers. I came from a long line of tried and true conventional farming chemistries and practices that my family still uses today. Chemistries that are not even an option for or for that matter are even somewhat shunned by over 50% of the growers I currently work with. I almost titled this week’s post, “I Go Both Ways.” Because I work with all types of farmers/growers; large, small, conventional, certified organic, everything in between, and the list keeps growing.

Here’s why-

Agronomy is a universal language spoken between the soil and the crop. Fertilizers and amendments are chemistries, whether they are naturally or synthetically derived, that are used to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the soil and plants communication. Whether it is a by-product of industry, created in a lab, dug up from a mine somewhere from around the world, hauled out of the ocean, or an extract from a plant it is chemistry. All need to be used responsibly to ensure the future of farming, our food supply, and the environment.

As I started learning and getting more and more familiar with the world of organics I brought my dad to meetings so he too could learn and hear about the fascinating ways which they use all the amazing resources our world has to offer.

After one meeting, while we were having coffee, he said, “I guess I was wrong Monica. The way you explained things made me realize it’s not just fairy dust and go-go juice. You have a mighty big task ahead of you to get both sides to realize that and the farmers that use them to do so as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Don’t be fooled; I still get the funny comments like, “Do you make them spin in three circles before sprinkling the fairy dust, or do they sprinkle then spin?” Or, “Why does go-go juice attract so many cats?” Better yet, “What’s Monica bringing to the family reunion? Fish and kelp, haha!” However, my dad has come a long way from the once staunch naysayer to one of my biggest supporters, and for that, I am very grateful.

Ask my neighbor; I also make several recommendations with conventional chemistries I don’t even mention in some circles. While we are working in our gardens, she graciously listens as I tell her about the fine line I walk between both worlds.

Considering I have ‘a mighty big task ahead of me’ and we are at a point in the growing season that farmers should be soil testing to make amending and fertilizing decisions, over the next several posts we’re going to talk about what makes up a bag of fairy dust otherwise known as organic fertilizer.

If you recall I’ve talked about how fertilizer blends are not always one size fits all. I do find myself recommending more amending and management options before fertilizers to most farmers. However, the more you understand what each component can do, the more informed decision you can make.

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/3/3/fertilizers-and-pajamas

Just as I stated in Week 11 comparing fertilizer blends to pajamas, there are fillers added to them for specific reasons ranging from making up the volume to helping the product flow through manufacturing and spreading equipment. Those ‘fillers’ come with consequences both good and bad depending on whether you are aware of them and can plan in others areas of your fertility management. However, using a blend can extend a fertility plan and reduce the number of applications if careful consideration is made when choosing which one you use

Look at a bag of fertilizer as an engine, and each component in that blend is a piston, understanding the specific function of each piston is key to buying the right fertilizer and more importantly using it the best way. That knowledge along with a soil test and knowing the type of soil you’re working with is what gives you the necessary pieces of the puzzle in putting together a sustainable fertility plan.

Not quite the look I was going for, but thank you Google Images for the help

The link below is a free e-book titled Understanding Amendments & Fertilizers I put together over a year ago. I’m in the process of updating it and offering this one to you as an intro to organic and all-natural amendments & fertilizers for signing up to receive news and updates.

Over the next several weeks we’ll cover nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace mineral components that make-up what goes into a bag of fertilizer, and you’ll see it’s not just fairy dust and go-go juice.

Ag 101 Week 40

No Assembly Required

I posted this graphic on Instagram this week. At the time, I had planned on writing a lengthy explanation as to what I meant and at the last minute deleted. I wanted to see what kind of response I would get.

One person asked if I was against soil building techniques. The following was my reply

“Not against good management practices at all. They are part of what it takes to be good stewards of the soil. But, soil comes pre-assembled. It’s like a set of shelves that are ready and waiting for you to start stacking books on. Or better yet, to start using and storing nutrients in for the microbes and plants that rely on it. All you need to do is take time to understand the specs the shelves came with, or what I refer to as the inherent characteristics your soil came with. We amend, which is a temporary change to the physical and chemical characteristics and we fertilize which is strategic and is intended to feed the biology in the soil and the plant, depending on the type of inputs you use. Neither build, they complement what’s already there.”

Another person explained, “permaculture allows for amendment added in 1-foot layers starting from a depth of 6 feet below grade. That’s building soil…The amendments are specific and by their nature create a mycillium layer right at the frost line. “

To this, I responded

“If I understand correctly, you still have the parent material left. For lack of better terms, that is what ‘builds soil’ and dictates its characteristics. I have long wanted to understand permaculture better and have not taken the time to do more research on it. If you have any good resources I would love to read more about it.”

If indeed taking away the top six feet is what permaculture prescribes, it seems pretty destructive to me. Here again, I don’t know that much about it.

Three things I want to point out-

1.     Soil doesn’t know and or understand any of this. It comes the way it is and has had stuff growing in it way before we got here. We need to either work with or against it. It is selfish and doesn’t follow trends.

2.     If people understood the difference between amending and fertilizing that alone would save them money and have a more significant impact on helping the environment than some of the other things we do.

3.     Long-term soil fertility, the kind that keeps soil healthy and you and the next generation farming and eating is a balance between the actual make of the soil specifically the clay fraction, organic matter management, and the physical management of it as well.

The notion that we build soil has been around for a while now. You see it phrased that way on social media, industry gurus say it all the time, everyone who’s anyone has used the term at some point in time. It sounds powerful and gives us a sense we are in control. It is what good marketing is made of. It’s even on one of my favorite books, Building Soil for Better Crops by Magdoff & Van Es. If you’re in the industry, you want to jump on the bandwagon and ride the wave of being known as the one who builds the best soil ever! Right?

Here’s the challenge I have with the statement, “build soil”-

We can’t build soil. It comes no assembly required. You don’t open a box like you do from Ikea and put the pieces together.

It comes pre-assembled with both physical and chemical characteristics that we can’t change. They are dictated by its parent material. We have nothing to do with it. The soil is what it is, and we have to except that.

I talk about those in weeks 8 & 9

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/11/ag-101-week-8

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/15/ag-101-week-9

However, there is one thing we can do. We can amend it. But, there’s another kick in the pants. No matter what amending you do, no matter what type of amendments you use it is only temporary. It doesn’t last forever. Soils main objective is to go back to what it originally was no matter what we try to do with it. You always have to be tinkering with it to keep it the way you want it.

I hate to say it, but there is no Ronco Set It & Forget It when it comes to soil. It is a constant work in progress.

I have said that organic matter gets all the attention and clay is often overlooked while being misunderstood for what it brings to the table in soil management.

If I were to put it into somewhat crude and simple terms

Organic matter

is the girl you want to date. She’s fun, easy to get along with, doesn’t require much attention and is relatively inexpensive. It is the most biologically active fraction of the soil. It does have a negative charge due to humus. However, it is referred to as being loose because it doesn’t have the structure that clay does. Humus, all though being somewhat stable breakdowns faster than clay and needs to be replenished to keep nutrient holding capacity and availability in check.

Clay

is the women you want to marry. However, she requires more strategy. She won’t go for just dinner and a movie. She might need something more expensive to keep her happy. However, if managed properly and the timing and application are well thought out and strategic, it will be well worth the effort and expense.

When you have a balance of both organic matter and clay you get married and live happily ever after. I realize my analogy is probably offensive to some, but it illustrates my point.

All of this leads back to knowing your soil type, getting a soil test and balancing the biological, the chemical, and the physical.

Ag 101 Week 28

What’s the Most Chemically Active Fraction of Soil?

Clay

Soil Fertility is based on balancing/adjusting cation (+) and anions (-)

Usually, the organic matter gets all the attention, but you need clay. I think it's often underrated and misunderstood. 

Soil chemistry is mainly surface chemistry - its taking place at the interface between the particle and soil solution(water)

Clay has up to 8 million times more surface area than other soil particles such as coarse sand. A lump of clay weighing one pound can have as much total surface area as 50 football fields (How Soil Works, Paul Syltie, pg. 25) making it the life of the party because it's so big

No clay is created equal

It starts with the decomposition of micas, biotite, etc.

Which leads to Tetrahedral (Silica) & Octahedral (Aluminum) layers

          kaolinite 1:1, Montmorillonite 2:1,  Illite 2:1 it's technically in between  a 1:1 and a 2:1

Clay predominately has a negative charge due to isomorphic substitution, the replacement of similar size atoms resulting in a negative charge and exposed crystal edges, basically weathering

2:1 clays can swell causing them to be able to hold 10-12 times the cations that a 1:1 can

1:1 is fixed, making it better for use as a protectant on fruits, used in fungicides, etc.

The negative charge of clay, along with organic matter leads to the CEC or Cation Exchange Capacity of a soil - It’s potential to hold nutrients

It also leads to physical properties such as structure – compaction and drainage traits, also that sticky feel when it's wet

Heavy clay soil can be remedied with the addition of organic matter. Sand lacks structure and will only lead to a hot mess, otherwise known as cement 

Zeolite, Greensand, Kaolin (hydrated aluminum silicate) are like the red-headed step children that turned out to be Rockstar’s

Ag 101 Week 27

Six Steps to Planning a Dinner Party Cont'd - The Menu

      Soil Fertility 

This is the last part in the Six Steps to Planning a Dinner Party. I referred to it in earlier posts as The Menu. Well, this is the last part I'm going to talk about. Step six is to harvest, plant, and repeat. I also went out on a limb and recorded a video for this week. At the end of the post, I include the talking points I used to make the video. There is a lot of eye rolling, I look like I'm in a fishbowl and on drugs, and it lasts a whopping 29:45! At the 17:36 mark, I should have said biology instead of chemistry. But hey, it's my first time!

What is soil fertility? It is managing or balancing soil nutrients to improve crop production

1.     Agronomy is the management of soil and the crop you are growing in it. Its taking science and making it practical for the farmer to achieve fertile soil

2.     How you do it is based on the farmers' goals, management decisions, and limitations

Points to consider

1.     No farm – Soil or farmer is the same

2.     No one management style or decision is all-encompassing or is the end all be all 

3.     One agronomist’s definition of a fertile soil and how to achieve it may be entirely different from another’s – It has to be based on the farmers' goals

Three points to consider when planning the menu

1.     Finances

2.     Your limitations/resources

3.     What are your goals

My thoughts on a soil fertility program

1.     Spoke at length in Week 23 about what an agronomist should be asking about

2.     A program needs to be built based on the soils inherent properties, not the latest and greatest

3.     pH is the last thing I look at but the first thing I take into consideration

4.     A sound fertility program starts before the first crop goes in and ends when your done farming

5.     It is not complicated, or at least it shouldn’t be.

6.     No, I don’t write or talk at any more length then generalities because I wrote a free eBook and several posts about specific amendments. But most of all point 1 of points to consider

7.     There’s nothing new – Trust me I’m looking every day

8.     I will answer calls and emails all day long about yours, ask my family

Most important it all goes back to week 2 and the triangles

Ag 101 Week 26

Six Steps to Planning a Dinner Party - Cont'd

Setting the Table

Miss Kitty and The Kitchen Table 

That’s a picture of our kitchen table. It’s put together from three different sets and painted so it would all match. Nothing fancy but gets the job done.

Sometimes we do everything but eat at it.

We hold family meetings, do art projects and science experiments, re-pot plants, pit cherries, write blog posts, decorate cookies, and even cry there. I’ve taught both our kids’ reading, writing, and math at it.

When we all have time to have a meal together, we pray over burnt offerings otherwise known as dinner at it.

It’s old, well used, and now and then we have to tighten the legs. It should be repainted but has not been a priority. That doesn’t affect how well it works; only its’ looks.

Generally, we use paper plates - do not judge. I know the environmental implications and take steps to balance it out in other areas to offset them. Is it a perfect system?  No. However, I know my schedule and what it takes to make our empire spin, and there are tradeoffs. I bet there are some in your home, or on your farm, as well. We all have to make management decisions based on our situation. For us sometimes it’s paper. If not paper and much to my moms’ dismay, I use all my depression glass and china from my grandparents. My philosophy is, if I have it, I’m going to use it and enjoy it until someone breaks it.

I’m using our kitchen table and our dishes, as an illustration, to talk about the next two steps in the Six Steps to Planning a Dinner Party that I started last week

If you recall, the first two are

1.    Pick a Venue – Your Farm

2.    Make a Guest List – Crops and Insects

This week we’re going to talk about steps three and four

What Types of Tables – Soil

Choosing the place setting – Management and inputs

3.    Choosing the Tables – Soil

When you’re planning a dinner party, you get to pick the type of tables you want, and the seating arrangement can be based on the types of tables at your venue.

The tables can be extended, short, round, tall, or any combination of all.

Maybe the venue comes with tables, and they are already chosen for you by default, similar to buying a farm or land.

Maybe like our kitchen table, it is a miss-matched set put together for function over style.

Whether you are looking to purchase or have been farming the same ground for years, you need to invest time getting to know the type of soil you are working with or reacquainting yourself with it. My best suggestions are

-Go to the Soil Survey Website. I wrote about it back in Week 3.

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/1/13/ag-101-week-3

This is the direct link

ttps://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

Just as making the seating arrangement at your dinner party can be based on the types of tables. Your crop rotations, amendment/fertilizer choices, and types of management such as tillage options are based on the amounts of sand, silt, and clay present in the soil.

Like we work with our old rickety table, some farmers I work with have marginal land but have overcome it with a sound fertility plan taking into consideration the soil type and test results. 

Using a free resource like the Soil Survey Web can give you insights as to where to start in making those decisions.

-Get a complete soil test

I wrote about this in Week 24 – Six Things Every Soil Test Should Include

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/6/11/ag-101-week-24

I say completely because far too often it’s not that farmers aren’t getting them done, its that they don’t get all the information they need to make complete decisions. Keep in mind when choosing a lab, read what each test package includes and fill the form out accordingly. In doubt and before submitting the sample call the lab if necessary.

-Get out and walk your fields

It goes beyond planting, spraying, and harvesting. Take some time and walk your fields with your soil survey and soil test results. Take notes of the physical characteristics of the soil in each field and compare it to the map and results. In some cases, you could be surprised at what the soil will tell you as opposed to the maps and tests. I've looked at soil tests at my desk and gone out to the field to either have my thoughts proven or disproven. But without physically looking with my own eyes, it was a mere educated guess. Soil and plants will tell you things you just have to be willing to look for it. 

4.    Chose the Place Setting – Management/Inputs

Just has my choice to use paper plates or depression glass for our table setting, how you manage your farm can be based on several factors. They can range from soil type, crop choice, financial limitation, regulatory requirements, or philosophical and moral views. A few farms I work with had to create management zones due to the types of crops they grow and to make it easier for employees to understand. 

Whatever the case may be for your situation having good management plans in place and practicing them will go a long way to ensuring a successful season. I wrote a post titled - You Can’t Out Fertilize Poor Management, Week 13

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/15/you-cant-out-fertilize-poor-management

My husband read it and said I had been harsh. As much as I don’t like saying it, it’s true. Think of it as one of the legs of our kitchen table I spoke about earlier. Sometimes I need to tighten it to stay functional. Sometimes you need to manage the resources you have to be profitable.

Inputs need to be viewed much the same. Basing them off of the soil type, test results, and crops will ensure the right choice to produce a quality high yielding product. Managing them using principles suggested in the 4 R’s covered in weeks 6 and ten will provide financial and environmental benefits.

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/5/ag-101-week-6 

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2018/2/25/ag-101-week-10

Ag 101 Week 24

Six Things Every Soil Test Should Include

Last week I wrote about four things your agronomist should know about you. One critical piece of information when working with an agronomist is having a soil test. It is the starting point for them to be able to build a fertility plan that makes financial and environmental sense for you and your farming system.

One challenge I face when working with farmers is not that they haven’t gotten a soil test done. However, the results are missing critical pieces of information that are needed to make the best recommendations tailored to their specific situation. Soil test results are a snapshot of what was happening than when it was collected. However, without the entire picture making the best fertility choices can cost you financially and have unforeseen environmental impacts both on and off your farm. Investing a few minutes and dollars can ensure you get all the necessary information that will save you in the long run.

1.     pH

pH is the potential amount or concentration of hydrogen ions in the soil. It is represented by a negative logarithmic scale, zero through 14. Acidic soils, represented by a pH of below 7.0, have a higher concentration of hydrogen ions available. Alkaline soils, represented by a pH above 7.0, have a lower concentration of hydrogen ions available. It is how many hydrogen ions are in that particular soil. – Talk to the Blueberries

https://www.theaccidentalagronomist.com/news/2017/4/1/talk-to-the-blueberries-they-will-explain-it-to-you

pH is the foundation of all soil chemistry. In which it plays a role in microbial activity that drives nutrient reactions in the soil directly affecting plant health and yields.

2.     Organic Matter (OM)

Often, I refer OM to being the pantry that microbes have access to, where nutrients are stored that plants need. Due to the fact this fraction of the soil acts as a holding area, or pantry, for several nutrients, it is essential to know what percentage makes up the soil in a given sample. 

OM plays a role in storing a vital nutrient, such as nitrogen. The estimated amount of nitrogen (lbs./ac) that can be released or ENR that can potentially be available over the growing season is relative to the percentage of OM present in a soil. The decomposition of organic matter can release about 20 lb. N/acre/year for each percent of organic matter. Knowing these amounts can help to adjust nitrogen inputs throughout the growing season leading to better cover crop choices, more productive crop rotations, and increase the efficiency of a fertility program.

Depending on the lab, this may not be included in a standard package and can often be overlooked. Pay close attention to the soil sample submittal form, making sure it is tested for each sample.

3.     Cation Exchange Capacity

If OM is the pantry where the nutrients can be stored, cation exchange capacity or CEC is the number of shelves or sites you have to store nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other positively charged ions.

Say, for example, I have two pantries’ in our home, one with eight shelves and a smaller pantry with two shelves. That gives me a total of ten shelves to place food on for storage. Clay, which is predominantly negatively charged, could potentially be the pantry with eight shelves and be able to store nutrients that have a positive charge. OM could be the pantry with two shelves, being made up of both negatively and positively charged ions, can store either. In the case of nutrient storage in soil, how much and where it is relative to the amount of clay and OM, and the sum is referred to as the Total Cation Exchange Capacity (TCEC).

4.     Base Saturation

Base Saturation is a percentage of a nutrient, or cation makes up the TCEC. How much shelf space in the pantry that particular cation is occupying in relationship to the total size of the pantry.  When it comes to balancing soil nutrients, there is a school of thought that uses percent base saturation results. Whether that is the measure you are using to adjust nutrients or not, it is still a good overview as to the ratios nutrients are present in the soil. And can be used to help determine the most useful input to achieve the desired balance of nutrients based on other factors as well.

Nutrients that should be included are

Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Hydrogen (H), and Sodium (Na)

5.     MacrONutrients

For this post, which is to make sure farmers get the appropriate test results for an agronomist to make sound and relevant recommendations, I am listing nutrients that a standard soil test should include, and as they are categorized by most labs across the country. For example, I could go into more detail talking at length regarding Nitrate testing and the categorization of sulfur being a micronutrient as opposed to a macro. But that’s not the point of this post.  What a farmer needs to have reported in the results are the following essential nutrients that make up the majority of a plants diet including-

Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Phosphorus

6.     MicrONutrients

Sometimes referred to as trace elements, due to the fact they are required in smaller amounts than the previously listed macronutrients.

These should include sulfur, zinc, boron, copper, manganese, and iron. Depending on the lab, sodium could be reported under this category as well. I’ve listed them in importance for how and why I make fertility recommendations. Farmers need to note that some labs charge per element or as a group. You have to be diligent when filling out the soil sample submittal form, including ones that are pertinent to your situation.

Don’t let a few extra minutes or a couple of extra dollars keep you from getting-

The Six Things Every Soil Test Should Include

Ag 101 Week 20

I Only Eat Cheesecake

 Let me explain.

I have an available supply. The market down the road has the best in town, and sometimes the market has it on sale. I can stock up when that is the case. I can freeze it so I will never run out. I always have it on hand. I have been able to maintain a somewhat healthy weight while on my cheesecake only diet. Well, sort of. A healthy weight is a relative term. As long as I exercise and still fit in my sweatpants, that’s fine with me. I like my sweatpants. So far, my health is reasonably good while on my cheesecake only diet. I realize that eventually there is the potential for me to have some nutrient or vitamin deficiencies, but so far so good. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? I’ll know when I’m dead there is a problem.

Sounds a bit dramatic and crazy, right?

That’s what I think when a grower tells me they only use compost. Be upset with me, tell me that it’s working just fine for you, justify it all you want but that is how you are feeding your soil and your plants. You are feeding them a nutritionally imbalanced diet that even though you are intensely rotating crops things will eventually catch up with you. In reality, you are not feeding them; you are amending the soil. You are changing the physical characteristics of the soil while ignoring the nutritional needs of the crop because compost is an amendment, not a fertilizer. 

Let me ask you a question. Would you eat like that?

There seems to be a more significant number of farms starting in the business. A farm up the road has been composting for several years, another in the opposite direction is now offering its own brand of compost, and local municipalities in the area have started some windrows of their own. Compost business has started as a means to handle wastes from other industries. It is available year-round and at what seems to be a reasonable price, sometimes being free for the taking. 

Let’s look at an average analysis of your garden variety compost. Guess what; there is no average. First, compost companies source material from a variety of places. Companies in our area use mushroom waste, or food waste, some paper-based products, some use manures, some use peat or sphagnum moss, or combinations of all of the previously listed. These inconsistencies in materials and how long it is composted lead to the variabilities in nutrient analysis. Second, the nutrient analysis is negligible due to the fact nutrients are diminished as the materials are decomposed. It is an inevitable part of the process, leaving you with an amendment intended for adding organic matter and microbes. 

I am not bashing the industry.  A vendor questioned me after a presentation about this very subject, and they have yet to get the information I asked for. I wanted analysis and data showing me what’s in their compost. That’s it, that is all I asked for. What I got were marketing talking points that I later saw on their website. That’s all you see from any of them. I’m not singling out any one company or manufacturer. They are all doing the same thing. Go to the US Composting Councils’ Website. You get a lot of marketing points, but I had to spend an hour digging for some hard-core research, and it turned up useless for any grower I’m working with.

https://compostingcouncil.org/

Do your due diligence and look into the source of the compost you are considering. Better yet source it from a reputable manufacturer or farmer that is willing to disclose what is in it and what the analysis is, making sure a reputable lab did it.

Composting your food and lawn waste is a great idea, however, to be done successfully it can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. The volume at which you need to compost can be prohibitive as well.  If applying 1 inch of compost on a 30X30 garden that is almost equivalent to 2.8 cubic yards. You would need anywhere from two to three times that volume in initial waste materials to produce that.  I’ve worked with several farmers that have tried to compost and farm and cannot find enough time to do either the justice it deserves.

You may be wondering how well the cheesecake diet works-

I have personally tried the cheesecake only diet, and I’m here to tell you it did not turn out well for me. I gained 75 pounds, and I ended up back in my fat pants. I am tired and cranky most of the time unless I am medicating with coffee or another form of therapeutic beverage. I am on the verge of exploding if I do not make changes. I have radically amended my physical characteristics while ignoring any nutritional needs I have. I’m on the brink of a health crisis if I don’t change.

What do I need to do to make changes-

Over the past few weeks, I have decided to get back to eating a balanced diet that consists of healthy proteins, fats, vegetables, and fruits. I have given up one therapeutic beverage except for coffee. My fern leaf peony and coffee will be buried with me. I am exercising on a regular basis and getting my family involved. As much as I love cheesecake, I have had to eat a more balanced diet. I have to find a balance between changing my physical characteristics and my nutritional needs using exercise and food.

Guess what – Your soil and plants need a balanced diet as well.

Your soil and plants will eventually send out signals just like what happened to me. They will not end up in their fat pants, but they will be tired and cranky. Yields will start to go down, plants will start and look unhealthy while being subjected to higher insect and disease pressure. An unhealthy plant is an open door to unwanted issues. I often hear “Well I rotate, and that ensures the plants are getting what they need.” You do have a point, but if you rotate into a crop that wants a nutrient that isn’t there because you might have overlooked nutrient removal from the previous crop? Then what do you do?

Just as I have to use exercise and food to be healthy, you need to use management strategies and inputs to balance soil and plant health.

What are simple steps you can take to get off the compost only diet-

Truth, I don’t want you to kick the habit entirely. I want you to use compost for what it is best suited, and that is an excellent source of organic matter and microbes. I want you to use it when it is needed to enhance your fertility program, not be the main component of it.

-Get a soil test that includes organic matter.

A comprehensive test that includes significant nutrients N-P-K, along with trace minerals and organic matter will be the best investment to understanding what your soil needs.

-Look your farm on the soil survey website to identify your soil type.

Understanding your soil type will help you learn how to work with the soil you have.

-If using compost ask the manufacturer for a lab analysis done by a third party reputable lab.

If they can’t provide one, you have to decide if you want to take the risk or look for a reputable manufacturer that can provide a current one. Before purchasing it take a minute and smell it. Smelling it may sound odd, but how compost smells can be an indication as to how well it is broken down and how healthy it is. Just because you are working with the rotten stuff, it shouldn't smell rotten. If it has been composted adequately, it should smell fresh and earthy.

Ag 101 Week 17

The Power of Biology

When I first started college, I went with the intent of becoming a dog trainer. Not just any kind of dog trainer, but a Seeing Eye Instructor. I was also determined not to get into agriculture. I had milked enough, bailed enough, and seen enough corn, alfalfa, and chickens to last me a lifetime.

Fast forward to my second year at Delaware Valley University. I’m majoring in biology and love it. I’m gearing up to start psychology classes so I can get my minor. When all of a sudden I’m asked by my advisor to pick a track in the biology program to specialize. I went with environmental biology, because why not.

I started taking agronomy classes to satisfy the requirements for my specialization and wanted to change my major to agronomy. Unfortunately, my advisor passed away, and no one knew what to with me. The biology department did understand why and the agronomy department did seem to want a biology major lurking around.

That was until the head of the agronomy department meant with me and changed the course of my future. He laid out a plan for the rest of my senior year that landed me a job with an environmental remediation company that was looking to hire someone with my background. Win-Win I was in!

To make a long story short, I ended up graduating with a degree in biology minoring in agronomy and working on Superfund sites.  I got to use both biology and agronomy and save the earth at the same time.  Well, sort of save the earth. As long as the client was happy and I could bill my hours to them, so my employer was happy. So not my plan, but I enjoyed it and was making a decent living. I even had a secretary. Everyone needs a secretary, trust me.

Jump ahead even further in time, and I find myself working for an organic fertilizer company. Totally out of my wheelhouse, I grew up in conventional agricultural, and it was all I knew. I had never heard of anything remotely associated with the industry I was working in now. I remember calling my dad and asking him if he had ever heard of the company I had just gotten a job with, he said no. We concluded that they must not have been that big of a company if he or the rest of the family had never heard of them. Little did I know what I was about to get myself into.

All this to say, I am a total outsider to the world of organic agriculture. I understand farming, but this was unlike anything I had ever had experienced. I found myself in the same situation I was in college. No one knew what to do with me. Only this time I was coming from conventional agriculture and now working with organic farming. As I started working with more and more natural growers, I began to see similarities between the two types of mindsets and I could also see the differences.

This post is not an editorial to pursued one to see the light and change to one side or the other. I don’t get why there has to be such a dichotomy between the two. Both have positives and negatives associated with them. I have always said that it is up to the grower to be willing to assume the level of management that is required for the way in which they want to grow a crop. But there is one hang up I’ve had with conventional growers, especially traditional no-till.

Why do they underestimate the power of biology?

As I started going to conferences and meetings held by the organic counterparts to conventional, I became more aware that organic growers harness the power of soil biology and employ management strategies to use it in their favor. While some conventional growers know its there, however they often use inputs or management practices that are counterproductive to encouraging the microbial populations in soil.  

Why don’t some farmers see all that biology can do for them? It seems as if it has been taken out the equation. Remember the triangles?

Lately, I’ve taken the time to go to more conventional conferences and meetings. I sat in on a meeting with a highly respected traditional agronomist and after listening to him talk it cleared all my confusion as to why in my opinion there is such an under-appreciation for biology in conventional farming.

Biology can’t be quantified; chemistry can

Inputs whether organic or conventional are chemistries. However, the affect a chemistry has on a crop can be measured. For every action, there is a reaction, A+B=C, and so on. You can calculate how much you will need to achieve a specific yield. You can forecast an outcome based on inputs and have actual numbers to back everything up. As long as you get your timing within a particular window and your placement relatively precise, you can rest assured barring any catastrophic weather event or unforeseen circumstance the input you use will do its job. It will do its job because it was chosen based on criteria already established and proven to work.

Soil microbe’s -aka biology- don’t work like that. Biology is a variable dependent on weather, pH, temperature, moisture, soil type, organic matter, compost type, amendment type, crop selection, previous crop, the sun, the moon, the stars -I think you get the point. Harnessing its power is being entirely dependent on things we cannot always physically control. We can not talk to the microbes and ask them to break the phosphorus in our soil down and make it plant available at the specific growth stage we need it. We can not go out to the field and ask the microbes to show up at the right time the right location and do everything we know it is capable of doing when it is most critical for the plant. We can use biologically enhanced inputs. However, there is still the question as to how viable they are due to all the for mentioned variables.  You can count them under a microscope but, do we still have a scientifically proven measurable way to explain, or quantify, all that microbes do, and how that translates into a profit? In most cases, all we can do is hope the microbes are there and show up at the right time and place.

Farming is part hope and expectation. You hope the weather will be in your favor; you expect the seed will germinate, you expect your yields will make a profit. And if a farmer can stack the deck in one’s favor they should, right?

Conventional growers rely on inputs, organic rely on biology.  That’s the great divide. That’s it. Right or wrong it is just using a different corner of the triangle to achieve the same results. However, both use management. 

So how does a farmer stack the deck in their favor harnessing the power of such a variable like biology?

You create conditions and an environment the natural biology of your soil wants to live. You create one that it wants to thrive and flourish in by using chemistries and management practices that encourage biological activity. You use management strategies such as cover cropping and minimal tillage to promote plush living conditions for the very microbes you want to do the work while hopefully starting to minimize inputs.

Harnessing the power of biology-

Simple on paper, not always simple in practice. If it were, everyone would be doing it.

Ag 101 Week 16

Soil Doesn’t Follow Trends

These past few weeks have been busy as I’m sure most of you are experiencing too. Mine has been filled with meetings, conferences, presentations, farm visits, homeschool activities, and trying to fit in planting somethings in my garden.

As I’ve talked to what feels like hundreds of people recently, there has been one reoccurring theme I have been brought back to

Soil Doesn’t Follow Trends Markets Do

So, what exactly do I mean.

Soil is a dynamic highly evolved ecosystem that in spite of all the good or bad we do, it has a single mission to be in a state of constant growth. It is home to organisms that are continually going through every stage of life in order to provide life to the plants that grow in it.

1.     It has no idea what type of cropping system or gardening method you choose to use this year. It has no idea how many books you have read, conferences you have gone to, or how many speakers you have listened to telling you about farming and gardening systems.

2.    It doesn’t give a flying fig about what the latest and greatest trend in agriculture is either. It is not reading all the gardening and farming magazines touting all the benefits of the next best super go-go grow juice or the magic results you see if you apply only 500# to the acre of the best fairy dust ever.

The only thing soil wants to do is be what it was intended to be which is a healthy, resilient, and highly efficient system in which life can grow. Get out of its way and let it happen. Stop buying into one method or product that promises yields beyond your imagination and tomatoes that Instagram dreams are made of.

Am I saying turn your back to all the progress we have made with science and technology-NO!

In my perfect world, in which I believe Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton are genuinely best friends and platonic despite Islands in The Stream, I want growers, farmers, gardeners to-

Start paying attention to the soil they have and work with it to apply science and technology in practical ways to harness its natural abilities.