Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
capacity and readily available in acid soils.An average analysis for this
amendment (reproduced in the appendix of this topic) lists 27 minerals.
Jersey Greensand : This famous slow release Potassium and Iron source is from
an ancient seabed in New Jersey. J. I. Rodale recommended it highly. It is also a
source of Calcium, Magnesium, and phosphate along with 30 or more micro
elements. Greensand, also called glauconite, is found in many parts of the world,
not just New Jersey. There may be a glauconite deposit close to you. The mineral
ratio in the glauconites can vary quite a bit.
Humate Ores and Humic Acid Sources
Whenever available, we recommend adding a source of humic and fulvic acids to
the soil. These amendments stimulate soil life, increase exchange capacity, and
bring life and oxygen to the lower levels of the root zone, which increases the
friability of tight soils and creates deeper topsoil. The most common sources are
humic shale, lignite coal (a soft peat coal also known as Leonardite), and humate
deposits. Humate deposits come from the remains of plant and animal life that
accumulated in an ancient freshwater sea in the western US and other similar
locations around the world. Humate ores are frequently good sources of micro
minerals and often contain high levels of Potassium.
Does your soil need micro minerals?
Whether or not you need to add a micro element source to your soil depends on
what type of soil you have and its past history.Adense tropical or subtropical clay
that has been leached and weathered for millions of years is unlikely to contain
many micro elements. Such a soil is very likely in need of all the help it can get.A
chernozem type prairie soil, such as found in the upper-central USA, may have
plenty of micro mineral reserves, especially if the area was glaciated and contains
jumbled rocks from many sources.Acoarse and undeveloped soil, the type found
in many arid regions, may or may not need additional micro minerals, depending
on the source rocks. In all cases, creating a biologically active soil and bringing the
humus level up to optimum will not only help to make whatever minerals are
present more available, but also help to retain them in the root zone.
Another consideration is what the soil has been used for in the past. Long-term
agricultural cropping of soils where the minerals have been taken up by the plants
and the crops harvested and taken away depletes all of the mineral reserves.
It is possible to assay all of the minerals in a sample of soil, including those that are
still in the form of sand, gravel, and rocks. This is done by grinding the soil to a very
fine powder and dissolving it completely in a heated solution ofAqua Regia, a
mixture of concentrated ntric and hydrochloric acids. From this assay one could
determine the total amount of, for example, Calcium that the root zone contained,
measure the amount of Calcium that the crops being grown took up each year, and
 
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