In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:

Billy wrote:

Get some fish emulsion and use it at full strength and throw your
10-10-10 away. If you can't do that, then use it with your fish
emulsion
at a quarter strength. Chemical fertilizers kill soil organisms that
will feed your plants. If you grow soil, the soil will grow your
plants.


I agree with your conclusion, mostly, but not how you get there.
Commercial balanced fertilizers are mostly made with urea, ammonium
phosphate, and potassium chloride. None of them are particularly
harmful to soil organisms *if used lightly*. OTOH, if you pour on the
ammonium sulfate to make your lawn look like a golf green, you will ruin
the soil.

When you first start feeding the soil, it will sometimes compete with
your plants for nutrients, especially nitrogen. Feeding the plants will
help. The problem is when you feed the plants while ignoring the soil.

Bob

If used lightly (or strongly), salts of ammonia and nitrates won't
nurture the web of soil organisms whose dying populations feed the
plants through the breakdown of amino acids. I'm sure you will agree
that the soil organisms are better served through mulching, application
of rock phosphate, and application of either "green" or animal manure.
From my reading (I'm sure you will correct me if I get it wrong) of
"Teaming with Microbes", chemical fertilizer salts affect soil organisms
in the same manner as table salt does snails and slugs. In low
concentrations, they don't hurt but they don't help the soil. Fertilizer
salts do help plants (in a limited way with macro-nutrients) but you may
as well be growing hydroponicaly in that case and you will have reduced
the phytonutrients anthocyanins and flavonoids in your harvest.

either treat the soil as a gorwing medium and feed nutrients directly to the
plant or treat the soil as the source of nutrients and feed the soil.

rob

But the results won't be equal. The later will be more nutritious and
and the former will attract more insect pests.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related