" Bacteria (and fungi) need N, P, K, Ca, and all the other nutrients as
well, and obtain those from organic matter and from inorganic sources as
well."



N P K C and so on are elements and not nutrients.

Food, Nutrient, And Fertilizer - Food is a substance that provides and
energy source, mostly. Nutrient is a substance that provides an energy
source, elements, and other substances essential for life, in types and
amounts that can provide a healthy life. Fertilizer is a substance that
provides elements, as salts mostly, or in bonded forms, that require
microorganisms to alter to forms that can be absorbed by plants.

A nutrient - A substance that contains both an energy source and an
element source.


Nutrients - Fungi can absorb energy sources such as carbohydrates. Plants
cannot do so. Fungi can absorb nutrients. Nutrients are substances that
contain an energy source, elements, and other substances in types and
amounts that are essential for a healthy life. You can give a fungus a
nutrient in the dark and it will thrive. You can give a plant a nutrient in
the dark and it will die. Plants require light energy from the sun to "make"
glucose from carbon - dioxide and water. The process is called
photosynthesis. When you call fertilizers or nutrients food for trees and
other plants it shows you are ignorant of photosynthesis. many people
obviously do not understand plants. Sad, very sad.

Myths: Roots regenerate new roots, roots absorb nutrients, roots are all
shallow, roots are the most important part of a plant, roots have pith,
roots have heartwood, roots and stems are the same, roots have a green
cortex, roots have associations called mycorrhizae, roots absorb food, roots
are all below ground, roots on infant trees are the same as mature roots,
roots have flairs called root flairs, roots cannot live under pavements, all
roots absorb from the soil, over-pruning does not injure roots, roots do not
compartmentalize infections, roots are independent of the tops, you can
inoculate roots with mycorrhizae, root tips are called root hairs, only root
hairs absorb "food", roots go dormant in winter as the top does, roots have
buds, and probably many more! Is it any wonder trees have many problems!

A list of "elements" which I am talking about, can be found here in the
table:

Just to clearly define what I mean when I say element.
http://www.webelements.com/


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.