refractometer to measure brix

Dr. Reams' Basic Agricultural Concepts

Please note that not all of the following ag rules are fully accepted by either academia or the toxic chemical industry.

1. Carbon is the governor of moisture. One part carbon will hold four parts water.

2. The more carbon in a seed, the quicker it will sprout.

3. Manganese is the element of life. It brings the electrical charge into the seed.

4. All elements in a molecular structure are the same size under the same temperature and pressure.

5. The center core of an element tells whether it is an anion or a cation.

6. Nature will follow the line of least resistance.

7. The greater the density of the soil without humus, the greater the specific gravity of the soil.

8. The lesser the density of soil nutrients, the smaller the yields.

9. The greater the density of soil nutrients, the greater the yields.

10. The process of osmosis is not limited by time.

11. The less time it takes to grow something, the better the quality.

12. The higher the sugar and mineral content of plants and trees, the lower the freezing point.

13. Top quality produce will not rot, but it will dehydrate.

14. All organic fertilizers are cationic.

15. Plants live off the loss of energy from the elements during the synchronization of these elements in the soil.

16. See everything you look at.

17. Like things attract each other.

18. For every cause there is an effect.

19. Phosphate controls the sugar content of a product.

20. The higher the phosphate content of a soil, the higher the sugar content of the crop. The higher the sugar content, the higher the mineral content. The higher the mineral content, the greater the specific gravity of a given bushel, box, bale, etc. The greater the specific gravity of the product, the healthier the animal.

21. All elements, except nitrogen, go into the plant in the phosphate form.

22. The ratio of all crops (except grasses) for phosphate and potash in the soil is two parts phosphate to one part potash (2 P2O5 to 1 K2O). If the soil report is actual phosphorous and potassium, then the ratio is 1:1.

23. The ratio for all grasses is four parts phosphate to one part potash (4 P2O5 to 1 K2O. Again, if working with actual P and K, then the ratio is 2:1.

24. Potash determines the caliber of the stalk and leaves, the size of the fruit, and the number of the fruit which set on the trees.

25. Nitrogen is the major electrolyte in the soil.

26. Nitrogen is the sun in every molecule.

27. Only that plant food which is soluble in water is available to the plant.

28. Cationic substances go down.

29. Anionic substances go up.

30. The higher the sugar content, the better antenna plants form to get more nutrients from the air.

NOTES: These rules are published by Dr. Dan Skow in his Mainline Farming For Century 21

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Introduction To Plant Feeding Using the Biological Theory of Ionization By Dr. Carey Reams & Dr. Dan Skow
Edited and Summarized by John Oolman and John Mayernak

The Sun is a ball of anions with a negative charge that rotates around the Earth to crease a magnetic field across the Earth.

The Van Allen Belt is 110 miles from the earth and protects the Earth from harmful radiation.

The current across the Earth causes Crops to grow, the current will vary depending on the amount of carbon in the soil, the greater the magnetic flow the greater the potential of the yield produced by crops.

Increasing magnetic fields by increasing carbon also increases water-holding capacity and reduces erosion from wind and rain.

The closer you are to the magnetic poles of the Earth the faster crops will reach maturity. An example is in Alaska the growing season is 45-50 days, and in Mexico the growing season is 7-9 months.

Thus when the flow of ions is closer, growth is quicker and when farther apart, growth is slower. The ions will flow faster as they approach the poles (see figure "1").

Once the particles hit the surface of the Earth, this starts the counter clockwise rotation.

The depth of water-soluble carbon on the surface of the earth, directly impacts the amount of energy to the surface.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) combined with atmospheric nutrients move into the sap. Soil nutrients are moved into the plant by phosphate (P2O5) and move into the sap.

Rootlets (small roots branching off large roots) exchange combined with calcium, influenced by ammonal nitrogen (NH4), increase the release of CO2. That is why AMS, lime and urea are equally high in energy, but do not mix them together.

Carbon

Most soils are very low in carbon (humus), when you increase humus, by growing rootlets, you will get higher producing plants, 10% - 15% increases in yield.

Carbon can take many forms; humus, carbon dioxide (CO2), sponges, diamonds.

The more sunlight you have, the more CO2 is in the air, to feed the plant, and carbon is the major element that makes up the plant. If you take the carbon out of the plant you do have much left.

Wind and breezes maximize the amount of CO2 in the plant. Stomata on the leaf allow CO2 into the leaf; potassium helps create the frequency to allow nutrients into the leaf.

Nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) are also in the air. Air has 78% N2 and 21% O2. The atmosphere contains 35,000 tons of nitrogen over every acre! Bacteria convert N2 into nitrate or ammonal nitrogen.

According to Iowa State 90% of the nutrient for plants comes from the air. The ionization is moving from south to north, it is best to plant crops in east to west rows and you will gain 2 weeks of growth for perennial crops, the effect is less for annual crops.

Magnetic Fields, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Water

North Magnetic Field: The north magnetic field starts just below the Hudson Bay, Canada in the eastern Time Zone.

South Magnetic Field: The south magnetic field starts about 250 miles southeast of Capetown, South Africa.

The stronger the magnetic fields the better the water holding capacity of the soil is. The amount of carbon in the soil determines magnetic field strength and water holding capacity.

These two magnetic fields cover the entire surface of the earth. The North Magnetic Field (electrical charge) charge travels towards the North Pole and the South Magnetic Field electrical field travels to the South Pole.

This electrical charge is important for the growth of plants because it carries energy as a "current" to the plants growth. This electrical charge runs across the surface of the earth from 1/16th – 12-inch depth in the soil. The deeper the carbon depth in the soil the greater the electrical charge.

When you grow plants you need: "current" and nitrogen as your main electrolytes. Add water with nitrogen; nitrogen as an electrolyte is the key to crop production. Nitrogen is the key ingredient for cell formation.

For each pound of carbon you will be able to hold 4 pounds of water. One inch of rain on one acre equals 27,500 gallons of water.

The Reams Theory of Ionization

The Reams theory of ionization explains the process of putting together and taking apart something, ion by ion. The figure to the left, of the electroplating process best explains it; which has the essential ingredients of water, salt and electrical current.

In the electroplating process salt in the water carries a great deal of electrical current, in agriculture – nitrogen is the electrolyte and carries the electrical current – failure of nitrogen electrolyte will limit the crop.

One drop of water contains 5,000,000 atoms.

One pint of water contains 10,000 drops of negative and positive particles in a set pattern.

Building a Plant, Using Minerals as a Defense Vitamin C, Calcium, Carbon and Water

Picture the cells of a plant built as a brick wall. The cement that holds the cell walls together is Vitamin C. To keep the cells from dehydrating use Vitamin C. The plant available Calcium is what keeps cells strong and prevents invasion of disease.

Nitrogen is the electrolyte that provides the current for the plant cell to form. If any one of the above elements are missing the plant is susceptible to disease. Water from the soil percolates up in the evening, to the roots, to hydrate the plant; this is a gravitational pull from the Moon just like the ocean tides.

If the soil has a hardpan (usually at 16" – 18" deep) the water will hit the hardpan and go back down. This is an "electrical ailment." A good biological fertility program will break up a hardpan.

Carbon is the key in hardpans; this is critical in water percolation.

Carbon sources include: sugars, molasses, seaweed, fish, humates and compost.

Ions and Plant Growth: The Anion

Anions spin in a clockwise position, when the anion nitrogen is mixed with water it creates highly charged water.

An Ion in its singular anionic form is the smallest unit of energy in existence; it's the smallest thing God has created.

Two types of ions make growth. Anions make growth, an anion has the smallest unit of measurable energy, it has 1-499 Millhouse units of measurable energy. An anion always has a negative charge.

Crop products that have anions cause plant growth. You need to have minimum levels of energy for nutrients to flow, if you are growing leafy crops you'll want an abundance of anionic plant food but too much will cause problems. Calcium nitrate is a double anion and is very soluble in water.

The Cation and the Anion Cation Summary

A cation is the next smallest unit of measurable energy, equal to 500 – 999 Millhouse units of energy, and it always carries a positive charge.

If you have the same amount of anionic and cationic, the plant will stand still. And you'll need more anionic energy.

The average amount of a cation is 750 once the value exceeds 999 it will split and you'll have two cations. The cations will try to synchronize and when they meet there will be an energy release. You can prolong the energy release by using carbon.

The key is to prolong the charge until synchronization; temperature will help, moisture will help, and the level of carbon will help.

The only available elements to the plant have to be soluble in water and have nitrogen.

Plants live off the energy release by plant foods as they try to synchronize their energies with the soil matrix.

Most crops are lost in the last 30 days.

Everything is made up of cations and anions. Always remember that every living plant owes its biological life to the loss of anions and cations from the plant foods in the soil and elements in the air.

Definition: Millhouse unit, with a water example.
Millhouse unit – is the smallest unit of measurable energy that cannot be divided, it is a mathematical unit, and its symbol is TT. One anion and one millhouse unit are the same.

How much energy in one molecule of water?
One anion = 250, one cation = 750

Water is H2O
The hydrogen is 1 anion and 1 cation
The oxygen is 1 anion and 16 cations

H2 is 1 anion and 1 cation equals (250) + (750) * 2 = 2000
O is (1 anion + 16 cations) equals (250) + (12,000) = 12,250
2000 + 12,500 = 14,250 Total Millhouse units of energy (TT) for water or 14,250 TT

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Introduction To Plant Feeding Using the Biological Theory of Ionization By Dr. Carey Reams & Dr. Dan Skow, Part 2
Edited and Summarized by John Oolman and John Mayernak

We could go into more depth into the foundations of "Biological Theory of Ionization" which includes; matter is energy-congealed light energy, expressions of frequency, and energy principles.

But instead we'll start into "Understanding the Rules" according to Dr. Carey Reams

Rule 1: Carbon is the moisture regulator and governor of the soil. Carbon can hold up to 4 times its weight in water; this is organically complexed carbon not the free type. When irrigating, do not apply more water to your soil than what it will hold because water will leach out minerals, and surface waters become contaminated with fertilizer salts.

Organically complexed carbon is commonly found in composted plant and animal waste. Wetter manures will have higher carbon values than dryer ones.

Understanding carbon chemistry is important for plant production; when bacteria digest organic carbon they produce carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide produces carbonic acid that will solubilize and mineralize mineral energy for the plant. A high level of mineral salts with carbon in the top layer of soil means the earth's electric flow will be directed with the least resistance which means a greater electric flow and greater magnetism for the plant roots. Soil depth is greater with carbon holding the bacteria and minerals.

Carbon content in the seed determines the quality of the seed, which is related to sugar content, the higher the sugar content the greater the sugar content. This directly affects the speed of germination because the higher amounts of sugar carbons, attracts water thus stimulating faster germination.

Rule 2: Manganese is the element of life. Manganese allows reproduction of all life on earth. The germination function is dependent on the phosphate form of manganese during seed development. Any seed less fruit is due to the lack of manganese phosphate probably because the bud union prevents the passing of phosphate manganese into the plant. Has a large influence on test weight and fill.

Primarily, Manganese is the start for the magnetic attraction of the plant food energy into the plant; manganese focuses the incoming energy to the seed for its proper growth and development.

Rule 3: All the elements in a molecular structure are the same size and shape under the same temperature and pressure. This is how a crop increases its sugar content while it increases its size, and is how the carbohydrate content of the plant is determined.

Rule 4: The charge carried on the core of the element tells whether it is anionic and cationic. The charge refers to the dynamic electro-magnetic spin of the ion; the core and the shell always spin in the opposite direction. The shell spin in an Anion is in the clockwise direction when the orientation is on an axis moving away from the earth looking up underneath it. While the shell spin of a Cation is in counter clockwise direction as it moves toward the earth looking down from the top.

Rule 5: Like attracts like. This means anions attract anions and cations attract cations. This is contrary to what is currently taught. That is because positive and negative charges are not looked at in the light of their magnetic interaction.

Rule 6: The phosphate to potassium ratio should be 2:1, for all types of crops except those grown for grass or hay. For grass and hay crops the phosphorous to potassium ratio should be 4:1.

Rule 7: Nature senses anion-cation ratio reactions, not the pH. pH is the measure of the speed of the current flow in the soil. The scale goes from 00 to 14.Sulfuric acid has a pH of (00). This is because an electrical current can be conducted through sulfuric acid's least line of resistance, resulting from the dominant cation ratio, at the speed of light. In other words, the faster the electrons rotate in an atom, the faster light or electrical energy is able to pass through it, thus the lower pH. Therefore plants do not detect pH. Instead they detect the anion-cation ratios in resistance to each other as the electrical current flow is affected.

Rule 8: Nature follows the line of least resistance. The more resistance (difficulty) a given electric current encounters in a substance, the less likely it will flow in that substance. The greater the mineral content in the top soil, the less resistance in that soil and the better the current will stay flowing in that soil. The greater the mineral content within a plant the less the line of resistance will be towards that plant. Therefore the plant will draw in more electro-magnetic energy and be a top quality plant.

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Introduction To Plant Feeding Using the Biological Theory of Ionization By Dr. Carey Reams & Dr. Dan Skow, Part 3
Edited and Summarized by John Oolman

"Understanding the Rules" according to Dr. Carey Reams (continued from Part 2)

In the summer of 1968, when the nation was preoccupied with the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King , Jr. , and Robert F. Kennedy, and a divisive presidential election campaign, the first signs of trouble went almost unnoticed. Out in the heartland, on a few isolated seed farms in Illinois and Iowa, a mysterious disease was producing "ear rot" on corn plants. At the time, scientists thought the strange disease might be a combination of two familiar diseases called "yellow leaf blight" and "charcoal rot," but they were wrong. Only a tiny amount of hybrid corn seed was lost to the new disease that summer, so no alarms were sounded. Whatever it was, the new malady was probably a freak occurrence that would most likely die off over the winter. Diseases like that was one of the "normal" consequences of doing business with nature.

Rule 6: When the phosphate and potassium ratio are where they should be, you can remove a maximum of 50% of the available TDN (Total Daily Nutrient). This rule is dependent on the solubility of all soil plant food. Soil moisture level should be close to the 50% level and soil temperature levels within 65 to 85 degrees. When the above conditions are met the level of bacterial activity will be at its peak, thus the energy delivery (ERGS) will be very steady. Maximum sugar and oil content will be built into the plant.

Rule 7: Nature senses anion-cation ratio reactions, not the pH. Soil pH readings based on 7 as neutral have very relation to electron rotation speeds, and has little to do with plant feeding. The soil pH readings result from the flow of electrical current related to the ratio of anions to cations and means nothing unless the flow can be made to flow as needed. A more complete explanation can be read in Chapter 5 of "Biologic Ionization in Farming and Soil Management".

Rule 8: Nature follows the line of least resistance. This refers to electric flow that runs through all biologic life. The current flow is affected by the resistance of the substance it flows through. If the electric flows with less difficulty (resistance) through a substance it will go in that direction. The greater the mineral content in the top soil the less resistance in that soil. The greater the mineral content (Brix) in the plant the less resistance in the plant. The plant that will draw in more electromagnetic energy will be a top quality plant.

Rule 9: The greater the density of the non-humus soil, the greater the specific gravity of the soil. High density soil does not mean it is a good soil. Soil density is very important because it is related to the reserve mineral energy potential available, but is of no value unless it is complexed with a high level of soil protoplasm. This protoplasm is from the organic complexing from high bacterial activity. Bacteria proliferate with the availability of the proper levels and ratios of phosphates, potassiums and calciums, along with the humic compounds. Tillage also contributes to promotes soil density.

Rule 10: The less the density of soil nutrients, the smaller the yield. This is another way of looking at the previous rule. The less the mineral reserves in the soil, the less mineral energy will be delivered to the crop, so smaller the yield.

Rule 11: Osmosis is not limited by time. Osmosis describes the process of upward direction of sap in the plant. The upward flow is only limited by the available energy at any time up until the seed sets on the plant. The faster the energy is delivered on the frequency of the plant, the faster the plant will grow.

Understanding and applying this principle would mean mature crops could be grown in less time. For example, the same variety of produce could be grown to maturity in less time than those in the southern latitudes, this is due to the lines of magnetism converting on the magnetic poles, as the lines come closer in their movement toward the poles they increase the flow of energy to the plants grown. Gibberellic acid can increase the osmotic reaction when used in foliar sprays at early stages of plant growth.

Rule 12: The less time it takes to grow a plant at a given latitude, the better the quality. The faster the energy is delivered to the plant the faster it will pick it up and the faster the plant will grow, but the energy needs to be at the same frequency. Rapid energy delivery is directly related to high energy soils that are well controlled. The first seed out of the ground after planting will start the healthiest plant. The faster mineral energy moves into the plant means that the magnetic attraction increases and greater amounts of mineral energy increases faster, which results in higher quality crop results.

Rule 13: The higher the sugar in the sap of the plant, the lower the freezing point of the plant will be. Higher mineral contents of fruits and vegetable, the higher the sugar content will be. When substances are added to water, that the point at which the water freezes can be altered. Thus the higher levels of sugar in the plant, the lower the freezing point of plant.

Rule 14: Top quality produce will not rot, but will dehydrate. This is related to sugar content. High quality produce will have high sugar content. The higher sugar content causes the produce to dry at higher sugar content and be just as dry because the carbohydrate content is much higher. When sugar content is more concentrated means that the organisms involved in spoilage process are unable to proliferate in the produce. High nitrogen soils with low calcium and phosphate will make watery, low sugar produce.

Rule 15: Phosphate controls the sugar content of crops. This is because all the minerals, except for nitrogen move into the crop by the phosphate. Phosphate carries the mineral from the soil into the plant. Phosphate is also catalyst in the sugar making process called photosynthesis. Catalysts make the chemical processes go faster but are not a part of the final result. The mineral elements carried in the phosphate are left behind when the sugar is formed.

Rule 16: For a plant to be in proper health, all minerals must go in the phosphate form with the exception of nitrogen. Mineral can be carried into a plant in other forms but the end result in the plant is sugar that is not formed completely. The plant will be watery and the amino acids formed are inferior quality, resulting in the attraction of insects that destroy the plant.

Rule 17: The ratio of phosphate to potassium in all soils should be 2 to1, with the exception of soils that grow grass and hay crops. This amount of phosphate is needed to complex with all the mineral present in the soil. When not enough phosphate is in the top soil, and other minerals are plentiful the plant will be deficient because not enough phosphate can transport minerals into the plant.

Rule 18: Nitrogen is the major electrolyte. Which means that nitrogen is responsible for carrying the electrical charge into the plant, other elements can carry a charge, but nitrogen is vital it is an isotope (it is neither anionic or cationic) it's the core of nucleic acids. Nitrogen is the sun in the tiny solar system of each nucleic acid, which means electrical flow and magnetic attraction come through nitrogen.

Rule 19: Only plant food soluble in water is available to the plant. This is why soil testing should be of the "water soluble" type, which means a test done with the weakest type of organic acid. This is a weak plant acid similar to what plant roots produce to mobilize soluble mineral energy in the soil. Originally this soil testing technique was referred to the Morgan extract solution now it is referred as the LaMotte Universal Extract Solution.

Rule 20: Cationic plant food makes fruit, and Anionic plant food makes growth. The earth is cationic and the Van Allen Belt is anionic so a plant requires more anionic food during its growth period than cationic and the reverse is true during the fruit or seed production. The plant foods that produce anionic energy is attracted upward toward the Van Allen belt, like attracts like. The plant foods producing cationic reactions in the soil produce cationic energy that is taken into the plant, causing the attraction of the plant for the earth

Rule 21: Plants live off the loss of energy from the elements, as these elements synchronize in ionic molecular form in the soil. The interaction of the mineral within the soil protoplasm gives off energy, which is measured by the conductivity levels called ERGS. The key mineral needed in the soil is Calcium, all catalysts work against calcium for energy release, calcium is used by weight and volume more than any other element.

Rule 22: All fertilizers are not created equal. Chemical industry waste chemicals are being disposed by Agribusiness. Chemicals that are difficult to dispose of are used as low cost ingredients for commercial fertilizer blends. When fertilizer blends are made from chemicals that have already been through chemical reactions the resulting fertilizer will end up with a low level of Millhouse energy, which means poor resistance and poor energy release in soil reactions. That is one of the reasons that the same two fertilizer blends from two different companies will show different results in the same field.

Rule 23: The thicker the leaf, the more energy the plant picks up, the healthier the plant. The size of the leaf is important, but the thickness of the leaf determines how much radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum will be adsorbed, the more radiation the leaf stops due to its thickness the more energy is captured for the plant's needs.

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Introduction To Plant Feeding Using the Biological Theory of Ionization By Dr. Carey Reams & Dr. Dan Skow, Part 4
Edited and Summarized by John Oolman

"Understanding Basic Soil Nutrients" as discussed by Dr. Carey Reams (continued from Part 3)

This section is based on teachings of Dr. Carey Reams, and will discuss the role of soil nutrients in a slightly different way than other FHR publications; 'Farm to Plate a Road Map to Nutrition', 'Choosing Fertilizers', and 'Foliar Fertilization' etc. which are all based on the teachings of Dr. Carey Reams. I'm sure that some of the following phrases have been mentioned at our workshops but hopefully the following explanations will aid in your understanding.

My view is that farming is the oldest profession and that a farmer should know the basic elements the soils needs and that the plant uses. All life is dependent on energy from its Creator which comes through the atmosphere of light, air and soil.

Dr. Reams has said that under proper conditions, 80% of our nutrient energy comes from the air and 20 % from the soil, which eventually is in the food we eat. The quality of our soil results in the quality of food we consume and the efficiency of the system digesting it. In plants the way to know if quality is present is to measure the carbohydrate (sugar) content. The higher the carbohydrate (sugar) content of a fruit or vegetable the higher the quality in mineral and oil content.

Farming successfully means one must know that just because something is called 'fertilizer' does not mean that it is necessarily good for the soil, and will grow good crops. Many commonly used fertilizers and soil amendments can actually harm and destroy the soil and the life the soil supports. See the "Farm to Plate Manual, roadmap to nutrition".

For plants to carry out a healthy metabolic process plants need at least 19 basic chemical elements, the three that are critical in making carbohydrate are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which are obtained from water, soil and air. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are the main components of carbohydrate, fat, and proteins which make up the solid parts of plant cells. For the three elements to come together properly another substance is needed called phosphate (PO4)-3.

The photosynthesis process produces sugar, depending how much phosphate is available to act as a catalyst in the leaves and stalks of plants. When sun hits the plant leaf the chloroplasts, where sugars are made expand when the anions of the sun's energy hit the iron in the chlorophyll and produce heat within the chloroplast. As the heat expands the chloroplast three ingredients enter the chloroplast carbon dioxide from the air and water and phosphate (which carries the mineral) from the plant sap. Water and carbon dioxide combine with the help of phosphate to form sugar. Then during the cool part of the day chloroplasts shrink the phosphate moves out, which leaves behind sugar and mineral.

The 19 basic chemical elements will be discussed, to better understand how each element effects soil and the plant, starting with phosphate.

Phosphate:

Phosphate is unlike other elements (nitrogen, potassium, calcium, or iron) it is a compound of phosphate and oxygen (PO4) -3.

The first function of phosphate is to act as a catalyst for making sugar in the photosynthesis process. Review earlier discussion of photosynthesis. The second function of phosphate is that it carries the mineral into the plant, all mineral should go into the plant in the phosphate form, but some can get in with the help of nitrogen. When phosphate is not available the plant will have a sugar and mineral deficiency. The higher the water soluble phosphate, the higher the sugar content in the crop which gives higher oil and total mineral content. To get maximum yield one must have 400 pounds per acre of available phosphate. The third function of phosphate is to work with nitrogen to increase the digestive speed, or faster base exchange or cell turn over in the plant. Phosphate acts to preserve nitrogen so nitrogen can function properly, with a lack of phosphate nitrogen will more easily escape into the air.

The sugar content of a plant should be stable, when the ratio of nitrogen is right with phosphate, one can check this with a refractometer, the Brix reading should range within 1-2 points in a 24 hour period.

The best source for phosphate for soil is soft rock phosphate (SRP). SRP has been around as long as the phosphate mining industry has. SRP is a by-product of the phosphate mining industry, typically the hard rock phosphate (single super phosphate, double and triple super phosphates) is what is sought after for making fertilizer, the hard rock is sprayed with high pressure water to remove all the soft colloidal clays which was considered impurities, the water and clays were collected in settling pond so water ways were not polluted. Then in the 1920-1930's a man called Dr. Charles Northern became interested in the value of remineralizing the soil.

Dr. Northern saw the relationship between food and health. He found that human health was dependent on an optimum level of mineral. He believed adding back minerals to the soils would create healthy plants, and healthy people. In this same time period Dr. Carey Reams was operating a soil analysis lab in Florida and saw the beneficial effects of SRP on peanuts and corn. What Reams found out was that sugar levels in fruit would reach the highest levels when 2000 lbs of SRP was applied per acre.

Reams found out that 2000 lbs of SRP had about 400 lbs of available phosphate, with the 400 lb phosphate levels, and the sugars levels high insects did not seem interested in the plants, especially vegetables, and frost did not bother the plants. One of the things discovered about the SRP is that it is in the colloidal form, not only in size but chemically. Colloids are not water soluble but will stand in suspension in water.

Chemical colloids are so small that one cubic inch will cover 7.5 acres and still be a solid sheet. Colloids are 100% available to plants and will not be leached out of the soil. A colloid will fit any plant frequency, its electro static properties allows mineral nutrient to go into the plant without interference or resistance. Chemical colloids of this type can contain upward of 66 elements many of which would be toxic if not held in the chemical colloid arrangement.

Colloidal phosphate will float, so it can come to the surface of the soil, it is this movement to the top of the soil that helps building soil along with the carbons. Colloidal phosphates move to the surface and can pick up mineral and bring it back to the surface; this action will prevent calcium from leaching down in the soil. Every ton of SRP will pick up and hold 6 tons of lime. It is recommended that farmers flip their soil with a plow which allows the SRP and carbon to then again pick up minerals again and move to them to the top of the soil.

After a farmer applies 1 ton of SRP and 1-2 tons of lime a reaction will take place over the next 14 days, a union between the phosphate and the lime, this calcium phosphate union is considered by Reams to be the most powerful union in the soil. The reaction that occurs during the 14 days is potentially harmful to seeds that it will kill them. This 14 day reaction will kill weed seeds in the soil, but after the 14 days it is safe to plant seeds for your crop. Keep in mind to only apply enough SRP that the bacteria can handle, as one travels north the seasons are shorter and less SRP should be applied.

SRP and lime will loosen up hard soils, when the sol is warmed by the sun it rises like backing powder biscuits. This effect causes a pulverizing, crumbling effect that loosens hard soils which aerates the soils promoting bacterial growth; the more bacteria grow and die in the soil the more protein protoplasm there will be to hold reserve mineral in the soil.

You will never put down enough phosphate by using single super phosphate, triple super phosphate because they are highly acid, and to get 400 lbs of usable phosphate the acidity of the soil would be so high the soil would be useless for 3 years. Triple super phosphate (0-46-0) is not a substitute for SRP because it is very easily leachable out of the soil and it creates too much heat too rapidly. This is because the high level of acidity changes the resistance rapidly. It also causes the soil to become packed hard, because of the heat and the leaching of calcium out of the soils by the high acid levels, recovery of usable phosphate applied in this form is extremely inefficient as low as 10-15% of the total application.

Hard rock phosphate cannot be used instead of SRP because it takes so many years to become available. The hard rock is actually bone, which has not been acted on long enough and without sufficient force for it to become soft. In animal bone only about 3% is available in the Phosphate Chemical compound Colloids. It is usually treated with acids to produce Super Phosphates (0-20-0).

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Introduction To Plant Feeding Using the Biological Theory of Ionization By Dr. Carey Reams & Dr. Dan Skow, Part 5
Edited and Summarized by John Oolman

"Understanding the Rules" according to Dr. Carey Reams (started in Part 2)

Rule 24: Potassium (potash) determines the caliber "thickness "of the stalk and leaves, the size of fruit, and the number of fruit which sets. Potassium is stored any time the temperature drops below 60 for two hours. Plants, especially the deciduous ones that do not have cold enough dormant times will have poorer yields, and the fruit will not be as large. Plants that do not get enough potassium will have spindly stalks, and the grain laden stalks will lodge (fall over).

Rule 25: Calcium is used in plants by weight and volume more than any other element. Calcium gives buffering and catalytic action and also is the main ratioing element for determining shape (micronage). Without adequate calcium plants will have an excess of acids which limit plant growth and health. Calcium is the structural cementing for plant cells. Calcium does the majority of work in providing anionic growth stimulation. All the functions of calcium result in the manufacture of amino acids for plant proteins and human food. Calcium performs a major role in soil chemistry.

Rule 26: Soil sample test result is related to tillage depth. When farmers work at improving production they can make poor energy reserves in the soil worse by working their soils too deep. The small amount of energy in the top soil will get spread out even thinner by turning it or mixing too deep. When soil samples are taken too deep, the samples will show less concentration of energy.

Rule 27: If the Total Daily Nutrient (TDN) is not increased in the ratio to water, then the production will be decreased. A major factor in poor quality and quantity of crop that a farmer is growing is due to over-irrigating in most areas, but his land will still look dry. This is due to the lack of carbon in the soil which holds and regulates water. This is why the farmer continues over-watering his fast-drying soil, while the low level of TDN is being released and made lower. This is a lack of understanding of the plant-soil interrelation and the mineral energy needs, and over-watering compounds the problem.

Rule 28: The more raw organic matter is plowed under in the fall the warmer the soil will be in the spring. Warm soils in a cool spring, is due to decomposition of plant wastes broken down by bacteria which in turn produce cationic ammonial nitrogen. Ammonia is a temperature regulator, thus when cooled it gives off heat and when warmed it cools.

Rule 29: If energy is coming out of the ground faster than the crop plant population and size can absorb, the energy will be lost. You will be losing money in this situation, so doing correct soil testing and monitoring soils throughout the season is important in maintaining proper soil and plant energy and not losing money.

Rule 30: If the major carrier of energy into the plant is nitrogen, problems will develop. First, not much mineral gets into the plants, and second the plant will have a high water ratio, which when dehydrated results in a small amount of poor food substance.

Rule 31: It is important to remember magnesium is the enemy of nitrogen. Every pound of magnesium available in soil chemistry will release one pound of nitrogen. Which is why dolomite ( ~35% magnesium carbonate & limestone) is not used as a soil amendment. Magnesium is sometimes used to reduce the amount of nitrogen in and around the plants, otherwise with properly functioning soil the plants can get all the magnesium they need without any help.

Rule 32: Ideal soil characteristics, soil must be soft and mellow, and is not crusty on top. Soil will not have large lumps, and has 6% - 10% humus content and 50% moisture holding capacity. After a rain one should be able to walk across the soil without collecting mud on your shoes. During dry weather the top 1 – 1 ½ inches of soil should be like dry mulch with moist soil underneath. The odor of soil should smell like fresh forest mulch, when soil has no smell the soil is dead. Rain falling on good soil will not splatter but will soak in, without running off. When walking on good quality soil, your shoes will sink in about 2 – 3 inches and then spring back a bit.

Rule 33: Probable mineral strata levels (depth is variable).

1. Carbon
2. Magnesium
3. Phosphate
4. Potassium
5. Silica & Sodium
6. Sulfur
7. Aluminum
8. Iron & Manganese
9. Copper
10. Calcium

Notice that Calcium is at the bottom, so if top soil is not handled correctly, calcium will move too deep, in a plow pan or hard pan, in which roots and water and even air will have a difficulty penetrating. This is why one sees larger and larger tractors are required to work the ground as the soil tightens up. Walking in a cave one sees stalactites and stalagmites this was once calcium on top of the ground but was never held in the soil.

"Understanding Basic Soil Nutrients" as discussed by Dr. Carey Reams (continued from Part 4)

Nitrogen: Nitrogen forms the base core of all nucleic acids. Nucleic acid bases are building blocks for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) a vital substance for the maintenance and replication of genetic information of biologic life. Proper function and formation of DNA is important for all biological life to be programmed, developed and maintained.

Nitrogen is unique because it can carry an electrical charge, so it functions as an electrolyte in living organisms. Nitrogen is the primary electrolyte in all biological life. It carries the electrical charge in the plant; it functions as a director of magnetic attraction, so it directs the electricity to flow so magnetic flux is toward the forming of nucleic acids, which become DNA, and toward making proteins. Nitrogen is needed to form protein structure, all electricity to flow, and produce magnetism to draw protein building blocks together.

Nitrogen carries electric charge in the soil. Other mineral salts can be electrolytes, but none of them have the unique function of directing electric flow in a coordinated fashion as nitrogen does. Nitrogen functions as the "sun" around which other elements take position to produce nucleic acid bases and DNA structure, which results in the ions of mineral energy are corralled into electronic relations that have as attraction up into the plant structure.

Nitrogen is a gas that composes 78% of the air, so over every acre of land is about 35,000 tones of nitrogen in the air if it was converted to straight ammonia. Your fertilizer program needs to consider that nitrogen has the tendency to go back into the air and nitrogen can be gotten out of the air. Aerobic bacteria can take nitrogen out of the air and nitrogen can be obtained directly from the rain and snow, a slow 24 hour drizzle of rain can give you 4 lbs. of nitrogen per acre.

Nitrogen is an Isotope element, in Biologic Ionization terms, nitrogen's nucleus and electron forces can change places, it can be an Anion or a Cation, and it can have either a positive or negative charged nucleus. The Anionic form is found in Nitrate nitrogen and the Cationic form is Ammonia.

Isotopes in the soil will change to the side of least resistance and to the side of greatest magnetic attraction. If the greatest electric flow (least resistance) is favored or dominated by the anions in the soil, then the nitrogen will take an Anionic form (Nitrate nitrogen), because the magnetic configuration favors the anionic direction. Or if the greatest electric flow (least resistance) favors or dominated by the cations of the soil, the nitrogen will take on the Cationic configuration in line with the greater magnetic spin of that direction, it would become ammonia nitrogen.

Anionic plant food makes growth, and Cationic plant food makes fruit. Some plants are grown so that roots are harvested, some for the plant itself, and others for the fruit, seed, or blossoms. A crop grown for leaves and stalk; cabbage, lettuce, celery, grasses, etc. use Nitrate nitrogen. The crops grown for fruit, seed, root or blossom; corn, wheat, tomatoes, apples, etc., use both Nitrate and Ammonia Nitrogen at the proper times.

Total nitrogen must be maintained at the proper levels in the soil 40-80 lbs total per acre, which is obtained by adding the Nitrate and Ammonia Nitrogen together. Some crops require less Nitrogen than others, deciduous fruit trees only need a total of 40 lbs per year because they get most of their Nitrogen out of the air, but the average truck crop needs at least 80 lbs of total Nitrogen. If not enough Nitrogen is available then the electrical flow from soil to plant will be deficient. Increasing Nitrogen out of the ratio to the amount of mineral energy will put too much water into the plant and reduce quality.

During the first 40-50 days after germination the nitrogen form should be of the Anion form (Nitrate Nitrogen), in the spring the minimal amount of nitrogen in the soil should be 20 lbs nitrate and 20 lbs ammonia form of nitrogen. But after 40 days the line of resistance changes in the soil so the Nitrate Nitrogen decreases and the Ammonia Nitrogen increases.

Nitrogen levels can be change by soil and weather conditions, for example an increase in soil moisture will decrease the nitrogen levels in the soil, as a decrease in soil moisture will decrease soil nitrogen levels. An increase in soil temperature can cause an increase in soil nitrogen as a decrease in soil temperature will cause a decrease in soil nitrogen.

Excessive Nitrogen can cause problems, such as suppressing availability of nitrogen and other minerals. Excessive nitrogen can cause excessive top growth and deficient root growth (smaller the root smaller the yield). Too much nitrogen in the plant brings in excessive amounts of water, producing watery produce. Watery plant sap means less mineral in the sap and the sap becomes more neutral, which means less magnetic attraction. Magnetic attraction is needed to draw mineral into the plant, from either the root or leaf, thin neutral sap has less magnetic attraction and has less mineral sugars.

Successful foliar feeding depends on sap being high in mineral sugars. Grain crop lodging is not only an indication of mineral deficiency but also to excessive nitrogen. Poor pollination can be due to excessive levels of nitrogen. Explaining these conditions by the imbalance of starch that excessive nitrogen causes, starches are complex sugars which means the sap is too thin, as mentioned above. Slow maturing crops can also be attributed to excessive nitrogen, which is seen especially in fruit trees (not enough cationic energy to the fruit, the nitrogen has put too much anionic growth energy into the tree).

In a high calcium and high phosphate soil, use ammonium sulfate (~20 % Nitrogen) to get 20 lbs Nitrate Nitrogen and 20 lbs ammonia Nitrogen. Applying 100 lbs per acre will give 20 lbs of Nitrate because the line of resistance directed by the high calcium will convert the Ammonia to Nitrate.

In low calcium and low phosphate soils applying calcium nitrate at 100- 150 lbs will give the nitrate nitrogen and a small amount of calcium to initiate plant growth. In low calcium and low phosphate soils, evaluate if another application of nitrogen is necessary, an additional application of nitrogen is usually necessary. Many times it is better to deliver a steady application of energy to the plant with two applications of nitrogen, especially in soils that do not have optimal levels and ratios of mineral energy.

Ammonium nitrate is also an effective nitrogen source to deliver the anionic nitrate and cationic ammonia forms of nitrogen, the Ammonium nitrate 'prills' in the soil release the nitrate first promoting anionic growth and then 40-50 days later the cationic form is released. Apply ammonium nitrate at pre-plant if one needs the cationic switch later, otherwise if the line of resistance is to stay anionic, it can be used providing enough calcium in the soil to keep the resistance in the anionic form.

Ammonium Sulfate can be used when the line of resistance is in the cationic direction to make extra ammonia ion available in the soil. Ammonia will warm a cold soil and cool a warm soil due to the ammonia ion having the ability to freeze when heated and boil when cooled, the more it cools the greater the heat release of the ammonia. Applying 100-200 lbs per acre in the fall or early spring, the soil will warm for planting sooner, up to 2 weeks sooner, when cooling soils, less soil moisture is lost, which will help farmers survive dry droughty weather. Ammonium sulfate can be dissolved in water and used in foliar sprays to supply ammonia ions, and will not evaporate in hot weather, and help with temperature control.

Ammonia is very valuable in foliar feeding; it is cationic nitrogen, effectively used in small amounts. House hold ammonia is 5-7 % ammonia, ammonia hydroxide is at 27% ammonia, and aqua ammonia is the name of the agricultural grade of ammonia hydroxide at 20% ammonia or higher. Aqua ammonia can be used directly on the soil with ammonium thiosulfate.

Ammonium thiosufate (thiosol) supplies both ammonia nitrogen and sulfate to soil. In high calcium soil thiosol can be used as a nitrate source to keep the line of resistance in the anionic direction, otherwise it will help switch the soil in the cationic direction and supply cationic nitrogen.

Animal manures will provide the longest lasting and most stable source of nitrogen for soils. Manure has the high bacterial source that forms the base for the continual manufacturing of cationic nitrogen, if the soil allows the constant feeding and maintenance of the bacteria. If the line of resistance is in the anionic direction, the cationic nitrogen produced will be converted to anionic type. Some claim that high grade manures and composts will give analysis four times what is present when the bacteria are very active, and evidence points to the confirmation of that idea.

Watch closely over the nitrogen levels and types, throughout the growing season, when the nitrogen level drops the energy transfer to the plant is hindered, so growth and development are held back.

Nitrogen sources can be grouped into three groups; synthetic which is a manufactured source, synthetic organic which is a 50%-50% source and organic which comes from natural sources.

Know that magnesium is the enemy of nitrogen, and when magnesium is in the soil it will combine with nitrogen pound for pound and remove it from soil activity. It is for that reason that Dolomitic Limestone should never be used, for lime to be acceptable it must be under 5% magnesium.

Never apply synthetic nitrogen to deciduous trees and vines after January 1st, reason being that excess nitrogen causes sap to thicken which will make the tree more susceptible to frost kill because the sap cannot flow as easily. Since nitrogen is an electrolyte, remember not to band it too close to the plant, the electric fields need to be away from the plant, so the magnetism is away from the plant, this will assure the roots are drawn out into the middle of the rows. The more top soil the roots are directed through the better the exposure to soil mineral energy.

One of the best ways to add additional nitrogen to crops is through the leaves, which is called foliar feeding. Foliar feeding recognizes that 80% of its energy for growth is from the air through its leaves. Since nitrogen is an electrolyte it must be present in small amounts in all foliar sprays, but in larger amounts if needed by the plants.

Anhydrous ammonia is a nitrogen source that is extremely detrimental to the soil. It is too hot for the soil and it causes soil microbes to go dormant, which reduces carbons and live bacterial protoplasm so the soil becomes very hard and sterile. Another nitrogen source is potassium nitrate which can be made from chloride based compounds (which will put chloride levels above 2%), if the chloride levels are below 2% then it is probably okay to use. "Urea is a nitrogen fertilizer that is okay to use as a foliar feeding if adequate moisture is available, because excess nitrogen salts can develop around the plant causing reverse osmosis the plants dehydrate and can die back. In many situations when applying nitrogen it may be necessary to use twice the amount needed due to low reserve mineral energy, so apply more nitrogen if your soil tests can only locate half of what you know was put on.

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Mark Fulford: Nutrient Density and Teltane Farm
by Jack Kittredge

The town of Monroe is in Central Maine, far enough from the coast that development pressure is not intense, but close enough to Belfast and it’s many summer ocean visitors that farmers can find a good market there.

Mark Fulford, a Pennsylvania native, found his way to coastal Maine after high school, drawn by his love of boating and the chance to work for Outward Bound. But there wasn’t any affordable land on the coast or islands. So eventually, in 1979, he settled in the Monroe area. With some friends he created a small land trust that bought a parcel from an older couple. Mark and his wife Paula, as well as five other households, now live there. Together, he and Paula built a lovely home while living in an old camp that used to be on the grounds. They slowly pecked away, clearing land, sawing logs, and doing whatever was necessary for 12 years until the house was done.

Together they operate Teltane Farm there. The land is a silt loam, quite ledgy and shallow. Fulford says water will pond under it, though the more humus they build into the soil the less trouble they have, even when it is wet. Occasionally they hire help, but mostly work the farm themselves. Fulford gets his love of growing things from his parents. "They had a huge garden and loved to work in it," he says. "There are four of us Fulford boys. We played hookey from school and spent the day in the garden. It was never a chore. It was always a real luxury. Our parents would encourage us to take a sick day and play in the garden. It helped put food on the table."

Mark has farmed and gardened since he settled in Monroe. "This is the first year since 1979," he remarks, "that I haven’t sold produce on a 3-day a week delivery. I used to do farmers markets, but since 1982 I’ve sold produce to one coop store, right here in Belfast. It’s a half hour from home. Most of the coastal towns move a lot of summer people. I’ve done restaurant runs, too."

In addition to raising produce, Mark and Paula run a seasonal seedling and nursery business. Greenhouse seedlings keep them busy for two months in the spring, and they grow a lot of odd and medicinal plants. They have a number from Siberia that do well at Teltane because they love Maine’s climate.

Consulting

These days Mark is away about half the season, doing consulting with growers and companies about improving crop quality. His thinking about farming has evolved with his experience, and he has a number of unconventional ideas in which many other farmers are interested. Some of his clients have farms in the northeast – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts -- but also some are from the south, Canada, Asia and Australia. His natural curiosity and years of experience have given him a good foundation in soil biology and plant nutrition, even without credentials from a University, "I pick up information by attending agricultural seminars and conferences in the US and abroad with other agronomists," he says, "and I borrow from all the worlds where this stuff is being studied. Acres, USA is a great source for information. Their conferences and events are very helpful. ATTRA was also very good at looking at these issues. I’m not sure how active they are now. Some of the SARE research has been good. They are particularly good at getting farmers to try these ideas out in the field. All these places hold pieces to the puzzle. The more open-minded organizations are the ones least affiliated with institutions!

"There are good people working in the University system with the Extension," he continues, "but they are embedded in it and are not as flexible. Somebody working for an agency is receiving their check not based on results but because they simply check in and log hours, whether the crop passes or fails. A salesman makes his or her income by selling the product. A really good salesman spends a lot of time educating themselves in the farmer’s environment. New England is not like most of the world for organic farms. It’s not like we have an Earthbound Farm here. We don’t have a single organic fruit producer. On these big farms often the operations are contracted out – planting is one person’s contract, the crop spraying schedule is a whole different group of applicators coming in licensed for that. But here we have so many small, diverse ones. It is good for farmers and gardeners to get as much information on their table as they can, even if it looks like it is conflicting. Too many farmers abandon that responsibility to the Universities or the seed company or fertilizer company salesmen."

Fulford first got started doing stuff ‘outside the system’ (as he puts it) in 1984. He was frustrated by going to MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association), when it was young, or to the extension service, and trying to get answers to difficult problems. "You would get to a certain point," he recalls, "and they would say ‘use this poison’. But I wanted to know what in the system wasn’t working. In the wild things are working. Plants are in equilibrium – you don’t see huge waves of insects attacking plants that are naturalized in a region. If you go out to a field and take a weed inventory, you have a crop out there that is always suffering but the weeds are healthy. There is something going on which is favoring the weeds. Usually the weeds are growing by their own choice. They evolved in a place and they occupy it until something changes. Like goldenrod will dominate a burned out hayfield. A lot of the elements that make good grass or hay have been drained out of the soil and what is left is calling another plant to do repair work."

Fulford thinks most farmers have neglected investing in their soil. We take too much out and put too little back in. "People who are deep into the world of fertilizer," he says, "some of them know this. Very few people would think of going out of the house in the morning without their breakfast. They would run out of energy. Crops are the same way. If they run out of energy they just quit."

He has been investigating substances like biochar, paramagnetic rock, biological inoculants and various mineral compounds as ways to provide plants with all the materials they need to thrive. "The more ways we can put this energy and these attractive substances in the energy zone of a crop," he feels, "the more exciting the results are. If we can stack some of these biological, chemical and energy components into agriculture we are going to start solving more and more of our problems. When farmers use some of that physics to trap energy and store it to get a crop, interesting things start to happen. Biochar can store chemistry and biology, paramagnetic rock can store electromagnetic fields, and elements of different charge on the periodic table can attract each other. That is really at the heart of nutritional agriculture."

Garlic

Mark has come to many of his ideas about soil nutrition and crop management from experience on his own farm. One of Teltane’s major crops is garlic. They sell a lot of it as seed on the Internet and at the Common Ground Fair in the fall. They grow an acre of it in several fields. Mark doesn’t have a lot of growing space and is pretty happy with what he calls a ‘single year rotation’. It allows him to plant garlic in the same spot every year.

"We find it hard to find a weed free compost," he explains, "so we have become much more aggressive with cover crops. The initial tilling is done by machine. After that, the whole garlic operation is done by hand. We plant with a gang dibble. It allows us to punch 7 holes – one for each clove – in the row. So we have garlic 7 deep in the row.

"When we pull the garlic," he continues, "we sow a cover crop and spin on fertilizer at the same time. The act of pulling the garlic settles the seed down into the disturbed straw. In the beginning of November we plant garlic again right into the standing cover crop – usually oats and either clover or peas, sometimes buckwheat. During the growing time of the oats we will do everything we can to feed them as if they were the money-making crop. We want to store the nutritional capacity of the garlic in the bodies of the oat plants. Then they winter kill, provide straw for us, and nutrition for the garlic." Fulford figures they spend about $2000 an acre for soil fertility for the garlic. This year, because of all the wet weather in the beginning of the summer, that included drenching with biological inoculants so the garlic wouldn’t get diseases.

"We tried to coat the plant with a colony of biologicals on a regular basis," he explains, "so that diseases wouldn’t get the upper hand. The place disease spreads is in the field. The more we have been able to build soil quality the less disease we have. We used commonly available things such as Actinovate and Serenade, and nutrifoliar products. They are sprays or drenches, and some can be done both ways. Most pathogens in the garlic world are soil borne. Some are foliar borne. In the soil we have a couple strains of fusarium which attack the bulb, we also have botrytis which is an air borne fungus. It gets inside the bulb but comes from the leaf down. It has a soil phase, too. "The organisms in a really good drench," he points out, "can often be sprayed on with a lot of extra water and it will run down the stem into the soil by the base of the plant and give us a whole lot more protection and control. There have been a few times out here where I’ve sprayed two times a week with a 50-gallon sprayer. We’ve put an awful lot of material on!"

Mark and Paula cut the garlic heads off in the field and dry them in their greenhouse. There is just too much of a crop for them to try to bring all the green matter inside and hang it. Once they started cutting garlic in the field and leaving the stalks there, it improved everything. If it’s a diseased plant they’ll remove it and discard it in the woods.

The Teltane greenhouse is only 17 by 40 feet, but it is set up with two dehumidifiers for taking moisture out of the garlic and three circulating fans to keep the air moving, plus an inflator fan to keep air pumped into the skin. Fulford sprays the greenhouse down with peroxide in the spring and once again in the fall when they are all done. Between raising seedlings using the furnace in the late winter and spring, and then drying garlic with dehumidifiers and fans in the summer, the greenhouse gets quite a workout every year.

Fulford grew 18 garlic varieties this year; some years it’s 20. Mostly he likes hardneck varieties. He has several strains of German white, which he likes because it does well in the ground later than most garlic. "There is still a lot of green on the plant," he says, "and here it is July 30. It has way more energy than usual. Usually when people remove the scapes there are only 2 or 3 weeks of energy left in the plant. But if you can extend that you have that much more energy going to the bulb. I’m pretty happy with the German white’s level of disease control and the size of the bulbs. Most of these have a week to go. His most productive garlic variety is Old Russian Red. It has the largest bulb to seed ratio – about 10 to 1. But he doesn’t like to have too much of any variety planted as disease will just find it that much easier to get a start.

Diseases

Diseases are a constant worry for Mark, especially in a wet year like 2009. "This is the most fearful year we have ever had," he says. "Garlic and water don’t get along, especially late in the season. In wet years you have more fungal problems because you have lower light levels. Ultraviolet restricts fungal growth. Also the leaf surface is wet and cool – meeting the ideal temperature and moisture conditions of the fungi, and when the plants experience less sunlight their brix is lower, indicating their immune system is less active. All across the board the nutrition of the plant is compromised in a cloudy, wet year. That’s one of the reasons for putting so many more biological helpers in the picture. When these beds are sown in the fall I put in about 400 pounds of mineral mix per bed, in beds that are 225 feet long. The field is wet, but so far we are doing well. We haven’t found much disease."

Fulford in his hoophouse, where he has started to dry garlic.Fulford in his hoophouse, where he has started to dry garlic.
Holding back rot and spoilage in an acre of garlic is quite a trick. But garlic is Teltane’s single biggest crop and they depend on it for at least half of the farm income. Because they sell it as seed, a nursery inspector has to check the crop out at least once during the season. So that adds extra pressure to make sure there are no diseases passed along. The worst diseases are white mold, fusarium, and botrytis (the same air borne disease that attacks raspberries on a wet morning. In garlic it infects the cloves after harvest so that they go mushy in storage).

"We had fusarium in here," Fulford recalls, "and we treated it out with an inoculant. The stuff was expensive -- $38 -- but it took only about 4 ounces to treat these four beds. So we thought that was reasonable. We dipped the seed in inoculant and let it sprout a little before planting. We also dunk our garlic seed, and whatever floats we throw away. Anything that sinks is good. There are a couple varieties that float even when good, but we don’t have any of those."

Teltane has a small 50-gallon sprayer with a 12-volt pump that they take right down between the rows. Mark mixes inoculant, liquid fish, and whatever else he wants and sprays it out through a 30-foot hose. Keeping the pressure low helps to keep from damaging some of the more delicate microbes, he feels.

"To defend a plant against fungal disease," Fulford says, "you have to build an immune system, not put a poison on. You can hold back a disease organism only so long before there is nothing left of the crop to try to protect. Those folks who start out with a generous soil supply, with a full cupboard of all the trace elements, and lots of humus do great for a few years until they have mined it out. They’re not aware of replacing it. You have to have an eye for what malnutrition in the soil and the plant would look like before you see it – you can do sap testing with a refractometer, and read the amount of energy exchange in the soil with a conductivity meter.

"If you see signs of fungal diseases," he continues, "you need to go after them before you reuse the field for garlic. For white mold we will use Contans, which is a predatory fungus that eats the white mold. It will hunt down any pockets of sclerotia which are in the soil from the white mold. We will spray it in September, while the white mold is dormant.

Out of all the diseases of garlic, sclerotinia is the worst! It’s the most destructive, hardest to stop. It’s soil borne. But if a farm gets it, it’s the death knell unless they know how to control it. We’ve seen it from time to time, especially when we buy a new seed variety from someone else. We’ve gotten it in compost before, and seen it show up in field crops all across the state. You will see beans with a while mold on them – a cottony white mold. That’s sclerotia. Rather than go under I like to make sure the controls are available in case it shows up. Sometimes I think the companies are making a killing on us – they are so damn expensive.

Fulford squats by some of his peppers, which have just been transplanted after a very wet two monthsFulford squats by some of his peppers, which have just been transplanted after a very wet two months
"If you are worried about fungus on something like grapes, and don’t want to use copper, you can use hydrogen peroxide or oxidate, followed by something like Actinovate or Serenade -- which seems to challenge botrytis. But the effects of these only last an hour or two. Say you put hydrogen peroxide or oxidate on in the morning, to clean the crop up. Then, after a sunny day, in the evening you could inoculate with a biological which would defend the plant for a week in it’s new, clean state. More of that stuff is coming on the market. It is difficult enough to separate out one particular organism and patent it. But if you want to put together a range of organisms, the problem is compounded. Compost tea was wonderful if people knew how to make it. But the National Organic Program (NOP) doesn’t allow it now because of the pathogen fear from E. coli in the manure. There have been some bad batches, no question, but growers who knew how to make it could throw away their anti-fungal materials! Growers working outside the NOP system, of course, spread billions of tons of raw manure on agricultural land!" Late Blight My visit to Teltane is in late July, right after the spread of late blight throughout the northeast has become recognized as a major problem. Mark is in touch with a number of growers who are experiencing it.

"It’s been a terrible year for blight," he agrees. "A lot of farms have just given up -- all the tomatoes, all the potatoes have it. You can deal with blight, but you have to do it before you ever seen any evidence of it. The conventional growers I deal with are pretty much spraying 24/7, day and night. But they’re not keeping up with it."

I ask him about the idea that adequate plant nutrition can bring crops to such a state of health that their own immune resistance will protect them from blight.

"You can do something with drenches and foliar sprays," Fulford asserts, "but it takes a high bar of nutrition to deal with a disease which is that aggressive! You have to have that nutrition working and in order long before the disease gets in the landscape. It’s possible with high nutrition and resistant varieties of tomatoes or potatoes to avoid it. But it takes a lot of planning ahead to get the brix and sap pH in order."

He feels the National Organic Program does not give organic growers adequate options to deal with problems like late blight: "Unfortunately, the NOP doesn’t allow anything other than copper, peroxide, or oxidate. The potatoes can handle peroxide and oxidate, but the tomatoes turn all rusty brown from the oxidation. With copper, you have to have that on a week before the spores show up. It’s too late to catch it after you have the disease. The organic program is too much of a top down pyramid, and it’s the farmers who suffer because they don’t have enough tools to use in a tough year. So now everyone is dousing the landscape with copper, but there are a lot of people who can’t get within a hundred feet of a bag of copper. They’ll get sick. It’s very poisonous stuff."

Compost

Mark is a strong advocate of compost as the easiest way to get large amounts of carbon into your soil. Most farmers can’t make enough themselves, he feels, but at the same time they need to be wary of commercial operations that often are not fastidious about keeping out contaminants such as weed seeds. Also, the power of compost can dissipate rapidly if its nitrogen is not trapped in some form.

"When a compost is young and when it has heat," he says, "that is when the most valuable part of compost is plant available – ammonia. If you can trap that ammonia in some rock powders or old compost overtop of that newer pile, and wait out the 90 or 120 days (NOP waiting period before using compost on edible crops) you will have tremendous grow power. As it degrades from NH4 it goes to NO3, which is nitrate nitrogen. Nitrate is a lot more stable. But there is a phase in that transition that is fairly short during which there is a huge amount of energy released for crop growth. If a compost pile is turned too often you use up all that energy. Or if a compost is too sharp and stinky, it means there are not enough humus elements to trap and hold that ammonia as a fertilizer.

"Good composting practices build humus really fast," he continues, "as do good cover cropping practices. You might grow two or three cover crops back to back in one year. As long as each cover crop can fully decompose, instead of leaving dry residue on the surface – so you’re turning in a young, green compost – you can provide a lot of fresh nitrogen energy. When you get a tall, heavy, older cover crop like finish Sudan grass or almost milk stage oats or peas, then you are building a lot of carbon reserve in the soil. A winter rye crop that is flail mowed and turned into the ground has a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide stored in the mature plant. It takes more energy to break it down in the soil, but that is the role of a nice wide range of microbes that can digest cellulose. If it is more complex and ligneous like wood chips or sawdust, then it won’t be giving much back to the crop until that is broken down."

Soil Testing

Fulford finds that looking at what grows in an area is the best way to find out about the soil there. Lab-based soil tests are less reliable because they are limited to tiny portions of a field, and there are a variety of methods by which labs do soil analysis.

"You can inventory a whole field," he asserts, "and the plants are far more accurate than a conventional soil test about what is there. Most all the universities use the mining assay soil test. They use chemicals that are not natural to our environment to take the mineral and elemental components out of the soil sample. But those are usually extremely harsh acids – caustic materials that don’t exist in nature. That was borrowed from the mining industry where they are drilling oil or finding bedrock. Plants don’t experience the world that way. They experience it much more through soil biology, weak carbonic acids which are the exudates of microbes or plant root hairs. That’s what they call the old fashioned Morgan extract method of testing soil. It’s works similar to nature to evaluate your soil’s release rate.

"Both soil tests are valuable," he continues. "There are not a lot of labs that do the old fashioned availability tests. But International Ag Labs does, the folks at Lancaster Ag Products in Pennsylvania will do both kinds. It used to be that AgriEnergy in Illinois would do it, but they are no longer in the soil testing business. I think there are two or three others that will use the Morgan extract method using gentle acids. If you see on a soil test that it used Melik 3, that means it used the strongest extraction method you can find. The University of New Hampshire uses that. Also, if you go to the University of Maine or Massachusetts and you take a soil sample they will burn it, weighing it prior and post the burn just to tell you how much organic matter is in the soil. But it is not really a fair test because there is more than one form of organic matter."

Mark says a farmer can get three different answers, depending on whether the soil test is sent to U/Mass, U/Maine at Orono, or U/NH. If you are a farmer it is hard to make fertility decisions based on such diverse results looking at a small window of chemistry. It is wiser, he feels, to take into account what your plants think about your soil, what insects, diseases, and weeds think about the nutritional density of your crop. While it is certainly good for farmers and gardeners to get as much information on their table as they can, even if it looks like it is conflicting, too many farmers ultimately abandon that responsibility for analysis to the Universities or the seed company or fertilizer company salesmen.

Plant Nutrition

When thinking about how crop plants function and how growers can do a better job of bringing them what they need, Fulford says it helps to categorize them according to their appetites and needs, or the phase the crop is in.

"You have plants that are vegetative," he says, "from which you are harvesting the leaf or the stem. You have other plants that are reproductive where you are interested in the flower, fruit, or root. There are a few crops in between. Many crops need a period when they are vegetating and grow very strong, and then switch over to reproducing – a tomato or potato. In the world of fertilizers, whether liquid or dry, there are some components which are strictly feminine or reproductive: phosphorus, sulfur, manganese just to name a few. In their raw simple form they are not usually good so we use a phosphate form of phosphorus – it has an extra oxygen, is more reactive in the environment without burning something. Sulfur is in the sulfate form. Calcium is better as calcium carbonate with atoms of carbon attached, as well as oxygen. "Those things are key triggers to getting reproductive crops," he continues. "If it is manganese you only need a tiny bit, but manganese is necessary for the embryo of the seed to finish. So if you are a grain grower you want a high germination record. But if you are growing a grain type grass to feed livestock, you want the grass and don’t want it to go to seed. So you would have a very different recipe. It would be a nitrate form of nitrogen, rather than ammonia. Ammonia is reproductive, nitrate is growth." According to Mark, organic growers can do this analysis using composts and manures. But it is complicated.

Calcium, for instance, is both for growth and reproduction. It has an unusual role compared to everything else. He compares it to the plate on which you stack the food. It’s the most important element for all cell walls of plants. Silica gives you the webwork inside – sort of like rebar – and the calcium is the concrete. The silica has to be soluble enough, approachable enough by soil biology, that the plant can use it to build itself. You can have a beach of sand, for example, which is all silica -- but very few plants know how to access that.

"Say you have beds of lettuce, spinach, and chard," explains Fulford. "You want to always keep them in big, heavy leafy growth. You would want lots of calcium, a little magnesium because magnesium is the key to the chlorophyll molecule. You would use potassium. That builds bulk. But if you blast these leafy plants too early with sulfur or phosphorus the plant will bolt and be kaput for your use. It will think its mission is done – it has to do its reproductive work. If you had calcium, potassium, and nitrate nitrogen you would be a great hay grower, but you wouldn’t be growing hay seed. If you wanted to grow hay seed you would make darn sure there were sulfur, phosphorus, and manganese in your mix."

Soil Building

When it comes to organic matter, Mark says, there are important differences among the types you can add. There’s the organic matter that is not decomposed. It’s carbon, but it is not providing anything for the plant or the soil microbes at the time. It has to decompose and in the process often ties up plant growth nutrients like nitrogen. After it is fully decomposed it becomes like a storage battery. That’s humus. There are different levels of humus. At the very bottom of the decomposition strata you have humic acid, fulvic acid, olmic acid. These are the real powerhouse components of soil.

"When we are making a recipe for soil," he explains, "we talk about humic acid all the time. We are borrowing carbon from the dinosaur age to hold in place our fresh rock minerals like calcium, gypsums, and phosphates in a much more plant and microbe friendly fashion. Otherwise, if we don’t have that humus, every spring we have to go out and jumpstart it – put the paddles to the soil and give it a big jolt of energy with soluble salts like nitrogen or manures. But it doesn’t last very long unless we have the carbon component. Some of the organic stuff is very good at getting people to understand cover cropping, manuring, and composting to build that carbon reserve in a humus form. You must have that there to hold the energy. But a lot of soils have no digestive capacity left. They are over-tilled or materials that are put on for fertilizers (or even organically approved copper) will shut down the decomposition cycle very quickly and bring that soil building pattern to a halt."

Fulford points out how to judge the soil’s tendencies by doing a plant inventory in a place where you are not tilling and the weeds have taken over. If the weeds are broadleaf weeds, you can be certain that potassium is quite high and available phosphorus is quite low. And if among those broadleaf weeds you have a lot of wild grass pressure, especially annual grasses, the soil is probably also very short in calcium. When you have excessive amounts of iron and potassium, and a phosphorus deficiency, then you have your typical run down New England hayfield. If it is short of air or a little wet, you will see buttercups. If it is drier ground you see a lot of dandelions, then lots of goldenrod as you get up into drier and drier soils, with wiregrass as opposed to Timothy.

"Charles Walters wrote a good book about weeds," Mark points out. "It’s in the Acres catalog. There is also ‘Weeds: Why They Grow’ by J. McCaman. Acres also sells that. He’s an agronomist and farmer. He began compiling all the behaviors of weeds and plants and then getting the soil testing done. Lo and behold, there was a solid pattern. You can’t really fool the plants – they grow where they like to grow and can be nutritionally invited in to a field."

Calcium and Phosphorus

Two of the key elements we need to address in the Northeast are calcium and phosphorus. According to Fulford, New England soils have a dearth of both. He says soft or colloidal rock phosphate is a good source for adding phosphorus, especially in the company of humic acid or compost. If you can get soft rock phosphate, high calcium lime, carbon as compost or biochar or humates and sulfur in the gypsum form and put them together, almost in equal amounts, you will get a wonderful mix. The carbon keeps the peace – without it the calcium and phosphorus want to lock up and become a rock again. But it is the energy between them that makes them grow crops. The carbon holds that energy in check. Again, Mark stresses the crucial role of calcium. "Calcium, of all the elements, is the one most needed but least moveable. Other things like to bond to it, it likes to leach, it likes to sink down into the soil. A year like this is a great year to apply foliar calcium. I’d recommend Limestone F, which has extra magnesium. I don’t think it has been through the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) channels, however. [It is accepted by Baystate Organic. - ed] The company that makes it doesn’t care. Another could be coral calcium, made from dryland coral. It is usually processed for human nutritional use as supplements. They harvest it where they dig out a house site. You can use common calcium carbonate, which is high calcium limestone. If you have a reproductive problem you can use gypsum or especially colloidal phosphate will work. Gypsum is not a very good form of calcium, however. It works better in the company of a much richer calcium source. Gypsum’s claim to fame is that it is calcium sulfate, and sulfates are very important for soil bacteria."

Paramagnetism

Fulford has been conducting experiments to determine what effect materials that are strongly paramagnetic have on crop quality. Paramagnetism is a type of magnetism that occurs in substances with a positive magnetic susceptibility. It is caused by the presence of at least one unpaired electron orbital (i.e., an unpaired spin) in the atoms, molecules, or ions of the paramagnetic material, and results in these substances being weakly attracted by a strong magnet. Paramagnetic materials are normally more strongly attracted than diamagnetic ones, though far less so than ferromagnetic materials. Examples of paramagnetic materials at room temperature include aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn), platinum (Pt), oxygen (gas and liquid), and rare earth ions.

"Paramagnetism is not like ferromagnetism," Mark explains, "where you have a piece of iron and a magnet is attracted. Instead, with paramagnetism you have a piece of rock and a magnet is attracted anyway. There is very little iron at all in the rock. The magnet represents living organisms in the soil, which are diamagnetic, while the rock is paramagnetic, so the two are attracted to each other. That is just another form of energy, just like calcium and phosphorus have a chemical attraction for each other, which you can use to grow a plant.

"The only materials that are truly paramagnetic," he continues, "are ones that were volcanic in their last lifetime, so they were molten, liquid rock. Common limestone has never been exposed to heat. It is just a sedimentary stone so it has no paramagnetic charge. But if it is exposed to a tremendous amount of pressure and heat, it becomes marble. Marble can become paramagnetic simply through the act of heating it. Vitrification turns a sedimentary particle into a crystal. Common household clay, potters clay, has no charge at all. Once vitrified in the oven it becomes paramagnetic. So bricks and ceramics all have some paramagnetic charge. It’s not strong, but it is there. The rock recognizes a diamagnetic substance that could be a bunch of microbes in some soil, especially if high in humus. The more humus, the more the paramagnetic charge of the rock is released. What happens in cropping, however, is that soil microbes reproduce at a much much higher rate in the influence of that field. The paramagnetism in rock will diminish over time as it is given off to soil and organisms. When you get into a granite quarry, the oldest tailing pile will be weak if it is left for a few decades, but the newer stuff from deeper strata is higher in its paramagnetic field. New England’s basalt/granite formations are quite old, so you have to go very deep to find a good number." In his experiments, Mark is treating crops with paramagnetic basalt dust from New Brunswick to see how it affects various ones, each of which is in a separate row, identified with little sticks. The local soil has a paramagnetic reading of from 0 to 10, Fulford says, while the basalt comes in at about 4000! Trials One of the other things Fulford does besides consulting is run trials of new products which companies are interested in introducing. He’ll spray a swath of a product across a grain or hay field, or put it in the potato planter and plant certain rows with it. He also runs controls, where he doesn’t use the product. If a product is really functional, he says, the results are like night and day. But the best approach is not to rely on visible yield differences, but to measure the harvest itself. Then you have a real sense of whether the product worked for you. Sometimes he will match farmers he knows with companies interested in testing a product. But the matching has to be carefully done to be sure the farm has the right equipment to use the product. Mark will test products whether they are designed for organic systems or not, but he prefers to deal with nutritional or biological products, rather than ones that kill something. He deals a lot with humic acid or a fulvic acid combinations with fish or seaweed trace elements and micronutrients to feed a plant in distress to get its immune system back in order.

"Here we do rows of potatoes or greens or grain," he says, pointing to an area of his farm. "We will go halfway up the row with a 5 gallon bucket and a waphoto tering can and put on a drench. Then we stick a stick in the ground so we can see where the recipe begins and stops. We’ve learned more by doing that than by anything else we’ve ever done. Then there are products out there which are just junk. They either don’t work or you don’t have enough information to get them to work right.

"The carrots beyond those stakes had no basalt," he continues. "In the closer carrots, there is one pound of basalt powder every 50 feet. It’s a light dressing. This is a funded experiment where a company hired me as a third party to try a product. Even the wheat next to the carrots got a little of it, and you can see they look a little taller before the stakes. I’ll be measuring brix in the leaf and brix in the root to determine the difference this basalt makes. I’m looking for overall sugar content, as well as yield. I’ll apply beneficial nematodes to the whole thing, because we have a little bit of carrot worm in the area. I don’t want that to throw any of the numbers off. At harvest a 10 or 20 foot section of each row will be harvested and all the sizes and categories of carrots will be washed and weighed. We’ll do the brix reading then, before and after the sticks. Using rock dust you don’t sometimes see the difference the first year, but you certainly taste it."

Biochar

One of the ideas generating a lot of excitement right now among growers is that of using biochar to build soil fertility. Pre-Columbian Amazonian natives made biochar (European settlers called it Terra Preta de Indio or "black soil of the Indies") by smoldering agricultural waste in pits or trenches. The resulting high-carbon, fine-grained residue not only adds great productivity to the nearby soils, but it can sequester carbon in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years. Fulford is excited about it’s potential and uses it on at Teltane. "I like working with the biochar idea," he says. "Biochar is exciting because it is so old! It is such an old technology. It is all based on the terra preta of the Amazon and some little bit in the Congo area of West Africa. Usually the charcoal was made in pits underground, lit from one end like a cigar. For centuries multiple cultures were able to thrive and build those soils up to a maximum productive capacity. Obviously they understood something about building the soil’s carbon capacity. I know when we use char here in our potting soils at the rate of 5% or 10%, whether we make it ourselves or buy it as lump wood charcoal, the plants in those potting soils outgrow everything else hands down! They require almost no feeding throughout their greenhouse cycle. We feed them when we mix the potting soil. We mix in worm casting, fish and seaweed, a biological inoculant with many species, calcium for nutrition, and char which allows us to get a huge amount of grow power in that soil. When you lift a char amended potting soil out of its pot, you shake all the soil off, the root hairs are still clinging to little pieces of charcoal. They won’t let go of it! Why would they want it? When you examine the char in a microscope you find it is largely hollow, colonized by microrhyzzae and other freely associated organisms in a thick colony of microbes. "We’ll buy common lump wood charcoal," he continues. "It is made from lumber tailings from the hardwood flooring industry. Right now the market for activated charcoal is the brewing industry and the chemical filtration industry. But a backyard gardener could build a char or smoulder pit, throw in some junkwood trees, and make their own char."

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NOURISHMENT HOME GROWN

OVERVIEW: This the the only RBTI Garden Book of it kind. If you want to know the why and how of raising high brix and nutrient dense food in your home garden, this is the only book that tells you how it is done.

Take control of your health by taking control of your food and how it is grown. Go beyond organic using Reams Biological Theory of Ionization technology to grow real life giving and life maintaining food.

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Plus, you will also learn why the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization is the only dietary system to perfectly address the pandemic of disease.

—Author: Dr. A.F. Beddoe, D.D.S.

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BIOLOGICAL IONIZATION AS APPLIED TO FARMING AND SOIL MANAGEMENT

OVERVIEW: This book is the source text for all serious students of Reams's Biological Theory of Ionization as it applies to farming and soil chemistry. It is based totally on Dr. Carey Reams's technique of using his approach to mathematics and physics for ideally managing soil chemistry and energy to regulate plant growth and development in order to produce the highest quality food possible for human consumption. The only text of its kind.

—Author: Dr. A.F. Beddoe, D.D.S.

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Did You Ever Wonder How Forests Turn Themselves Green Every Spring

Without Adding Any Nitrogen Fertilizers?

Mother Nature and millions of years of evolution has produced a growing system that works in every corner of the world and does not need man or his inputs. Plants developed photosynthesis, a process of transforming sunlight into sugars, carbohydrates, and proteins. Some of this “food” is stored in the plant to help fund the plant’s growth, but 40-60% of what is produced this way is sent through the roots and into the soil (root exudates.) The plant does this to attract bacteria to the root zone to feed on the free munchies. Bacteria have a Carbon/Nitrogen ratio of 5-1 making them the most Nitrogen dense living organisms on the planet. So the plant is attracting Nitrogen to the root zone; but the Nitrogen in the bacteria is unavailable to the plant.

This is where the microscopic creatures called protozoa do their thing. Protozoa are predators of bacteria; however, they have a very different Carbon/Nitrogen ratio of 30-1. This means that in order to get 30 units of Carbon from the bacteria, a protozoa will need to eat 6 bacteria. This will leave him with 5 extra units of Nitrogen that he just doesn’t need. When the protozoa excrete the excess N, the Nitrogen has been transformed into a soluble form that is quickly taken up by the nearby root hair. Since each protozoa can consume about 10,000 bacteria per day, and there can be 50,000 protozoa in each gram of soil; there will be plenty of Nitrogen available for the plant.

Fungi…The Mineral Suppliers!

Bacteria consume and metabolize the minerals in the soil around them. Protozoa, nematodes, microarthropods, etc. eat the bacteria and poop out waste products containing small amounts of these minerals in soluble form for the plant roots nearby. These amounts are not near as great as the amount of Nitrogen released this way, because the bacteria themselves are about 20% Nitrogen. The primary movers of minerals from the sand, silt, and clay of the soil are the fungi.

Mycorrhizal fungi actually invade (grow into plant cell walls) of most plants and receive sugars, carbs, and proteins directly from the plant. In return, the plants receive the nutrition they need from the solubilized minerals that the fungi scour from their surroundings, effectively expanding the root zone for the plant. (Fungi can bring a plants missing mineral from hundreds of feet away!)

Other fungi that do not invade the root, do colonize around plant roots and partake of the plant’s root exudates provided for them. These fungi will exude some mineral compounds in the plant root area but when the fungal strands die off from time to time or are eaten by bacteria and nematodes, etc. they will release a lot of minerals around the roots. Since much of the cell wall structure of the miles and miles of fungal strands are made up of Calcium, having a good fungal biomass in the soil around plants will help ensure constant and adequate Calcium resources for the plant.

Today’s agricultural practice (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, tillage and GMOs) can disturb this natural system of nutrient cycling. Inorganic fertilizers are basically salts that dry out the bacteria that congregate around plant roots. Herbicides and pesticides kill much of the beneficial microbe population. Tillage rips apart the extensive fungal networks in the soil, and GMO plants can produce altered exudates that will not attract the soil life or feed them properly. With low populations and less diversity of “worker” microbes in the root zone, the crop needs the farmer’s input of soluble plant food. These salts further diminish the soil life creating an ever-growing chemical dependency.

We can use this knowledge of the importance of microbes to improve a field that is regularly running out of mineral nutrients. CSI recommends boosting the life in the soil with applications of Organic Fish, SeaCrop 16 (seaweed) and molasses that feed the microbes whom shuttle nutrients to the plants. We also recommend microbial packages that can perform specific functions such as Nitrogen-fixing or disease suppression to boost this year’s crop without adversely affecting the other life forms. These cultured microbes represent less than 1% of all the species that live in the soil and on the foliage. So in order to replenish the whole soil foodweb we now suggest inoculating the soil with high and diverse populations of microorganisms by way of compost and especially compost tea. This way we can re-establish the proper biological balance and achieve a self-sustaining crop year after year – just like in the forest.

WHY WE RECOMMEND THE PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS THAT WE DO:

We spend hours each day talking to growers that call in from all over US & Canada and a few from overseas. They usually have had a recent soil test and need some help understanding what the test is telling them and why we are making the recommendations that they have in front of them. Even though most of CSI’s theories of how to recover a soil are in the Non-Toxic Farming Handbook and on the internet at our website in years of back newsletters, we as humans can only retain so much. We need reminders of what concepts should guide our decisions concerning “recovering” our soils which is another way of saying that you are converting to more sustainable or organic practices.

Since minerals are the basis of life, it makes sense to deal with them first. It is amazing and perhaps disconcerting to see that nature is able to produce foodstuffs of all types even though the end product is not fit to eat because of the lack of minerals. Actually it is humans that allow this by using toxic rescue chemistry to bring sub-standard crops to harvest and then onto our plate. Dr. Albrecht’s CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) method of mineral balancing techniques has proven the concept all over the world. However, we also know that healthy food can be grown with reasonable balances at less than optimum levels or through the use of low level, immediate applications of minerals in starters, sidedresses or foliars.

We suggest you start out correcting the calcium first. Lime is the cheapest fertilizer available. A recent article is Graze, Vol. 19, No. 9, Nov. 12 stated the following, “A dollar invested in a calcium-based fertilizer program on the dairy grazing paddocks of a California research farm produced an estimated $1.55 in additional income with most of that additional profit coming from the improved forage quality”. Yet you still have beef graziers putting out articles to the affect that the manure, urine and hoof action is all you need to recover your soil, produce nutritious forage and raise nutrient dense meat. The other point I noticed in the article is that the cost of the fertilizer program seemed excessive. They used the term “calcium based fertilizer” which would indicate a blend based on lime. Blending base minerals is always more costly, which is why CSI asks you to spread basic unblended minerals such as lime, gypsum, TN Brown Phosphate, Sulfate of Potash (0-0-50), KS+, K-Mag, etc., which are already created by nature and just need a little help from man in grinding, shifting or pelletizing for easy use. The only place we recommend blending by another party is when trying to spread one of more trace minerals or using a starter. Blending trace minerals with pelletized gypsum to make enough volume for spreading justifies costs or, if you are buying some other amendment from your local elevator that they are going to spread anyway, such as ammonium sulfate, K-Mag or 0-0-50, have them blend in the trace elements before spreading.

But calcium has to have support! So you have to work right on through the N-P-K-Mg-S major minerals and on to the normal trace minerals, trying to bring each up to desired levels. If you can’t make the broadcast applications to replace large quantities of any of the major or trace minerals, or even if you do, we urge you to use our suspendable line of ground major minerals with microbes as starters, sidedresses and foliars along with Organo Fish and SeaCrop 16 to continue the crop support throughout the season. Use the 5-6 touch system we outlined in the Aug. 2012 newsletter. We were working on trying to get a liquid or dry organic trace mineral package that can be used the same way, but an observant dealer pointed out that an organic inspector might insist that you have a known soil deficiency of each of the minerals in the blend. That flies in the face of logic on the part of the inspector, since we know that heavy draw down of certain traces can occur at any stage of growth and normal soil content and transfer through the plant may not be enough at those specifics times. So we urge you to cover the bases with bold broadcast applications of the traces that you are short and maybe save some product to put in the row or use as a foliar later. Remember, about 95% of the samples you submit to CSI are seriously short of Boron (movement of calcium) and Zinc (growth factor) and most are short of Copper (anti-fungal and bark stretch) and Sulfur (utilization of N and heat stress reduction).

Sulfur is a negative ion (sulfate SO42−). The higher your humus level, the more sulfate you can store. Sulfur is critical for efficient use of N and the forming of the higher chain amino acids. Livestock need S in their forages to relieve heat stress. Use elemental Sulfur (S) as a last resort. Gypsum, 0-0-50, 21-0-0-23S, KS+, and sulfate based trace minerals are all better sources because the Sulfur is in the oxidized form that plants need for uptake. Excess Sulfur is rare, but I ran into it in Costa Rica in ornamentals. The plants started rotting in the container on the way to Europe. Found out that K-Mag worked well years back, so they just kept applying it. Tissue samples verified the overuse problem. Please test soils and tissue periodically. Because tissue testing is time limited, we suggest using the closest or fastest lab available. CSI will gladly do your soil testing.

Boron is a special situation. It has the potential to be toxic to seed if placed directly on the seed. We suggest trying to get it on in the fall or early spring. We suggest mixing it with a humic acid product such as Water Mineral (fulvic acid) to prevent it from leaching as it is prone to do. It is a negative borate ion, so it doesn’t stick to the clay colloids. If you are above 4 % organic matter, that may be enough humus content to hold the Boron without the additional humic acid. During droughts, when the top 6 inches of soil are dry, Boron uptake may be severely compromised. Foliar feed (include boron) prior to, during and after a drought if you can. Add it to your usual foliar spray mixture.

Sodium is essential to a complete CEC complex. Sodium can add to ERGS or soluble salts readings. That means it helps provides a push or flow of nutrients in the soil solution. Animals do much better with Sodium coming through plant material, even though they can & do digest raw salt. Vegetables with good Sodium and brix levels become good tasting foods instead of being rejected by kids and adults. When we recommend “mineral salt”, we mean you can use products like Redmond Salt, Sea Salt or plain old feed salt (sodium chloride) if that is all you can source.

Nitrogen is also a special situation. Excess nitrates are a major cause of reduced or diluted Brix, which can result in susceptibility to disease, insects, drought and weakened recovery response to weather damage. Why would anyone deliberately continue to use N sources that rapidly convert to excess nitrates? Nature will always give you some nitrate for early growth from your soil organic matter due to warming temperatures and increased microbial activity. Your chemical neighbor’s corn may jump out faster than yours in a nice warm season, but any future stress conditions will do his crop a lot more harm than yours. Also, in a lousy spring, his seed will sit there because nothing is being released, the standard seed is lacking in carbohydrates/energy while your seed is hopefully plumper and full of energy (buy high germination rate seed) and your row support (seed treatment and starter) is going to kick in, in spite of the lousy conditions.

Phosphorus is unique in that all other elements going into your plant, except Nitrogen, must be bio-frequency associated with phosphate in order for them to go to the right part of the plant. (You want Manganese going into your blossoms to make seeds which are then nurtured by the fruit that surrounds them, you also want the Magnesium going to form the chlorophyll molecules in the leaves and so forth.) Why would you short yourself of something that critical? Even if you appear to have lots of Phosphorus on a CEC test, it is usually tied up with Calcium, making it one of the most difficult major minerals to get into a plant. The LaMotte test usually shows a lot less available to the plant. That’s why we ask that you use NutriTech, (Phosphorus releasing microbes.) and the Living Stone starters that contain mycorrhizal fungi that greatly enhance the area and efficiency of Phosphorus scavenging by your roots. Mycorrhizal fungi also scavenge for moisture.

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c-ray said:

good points.. that is exactly why I read from lots of sources, to get the broadest perspective possible
it all comes down to Ca availability
I'm now using sea-crop as a Mg source in the res and sometimes as a foliar, no more dolomite or epsom salts for me / sea-crop works great, the myco love it too, great root fuzz.. next batch of compost I make is going to get a big blast of sea-crop

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VEGES® SOUND MACHINES

A low frequency audible sound machine for increasing foliar and root uptake of nutrients and for increased yield potential. One unit covers 50-100 acres. Sealed units are built to last a lifetime when properly cared for. Includes solar panel and timer. Works with or without foliar spraying. Aluminum stands sold separately. (Requires car battery and 3-five ft PVC additional pieces.)

Base Unit FPP
TRIPOD STAND - with battery shelf. FPP
CDs or Tapes for Home, Greenhouse or Garden

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Microbeman said:

C-ray; Why are you posting advertising from Nutritech?

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Microbeman said:

LaMotte test kits are not accurate. IME

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