Soil Replenishment in drought and high heat and high humidity

[Susan BBPM]

I need to have a little look into hydroponic gardening for clues. That takes soil out of the equation and relies completely on sunlight and fertilizer suspended in water. I wonder what's in the fertilizer?

 

[Meadowlark]

is iron an essential part of growing/gardening?

Yes, critical in the production of chlorophyll through photosynthesis. Tricky to detect deficiency. As mentioned by YumYum soil tests are the best way I know, but you know how those labs conspire to inflate fertilizer needs to help the fertilizer selling companies. Truth is, I have found labs here absolutely free of that supposed conspiracy.

How much iron is naturally in soil and how much comes out during a planting season?

It can vary significantly. There is also the ph factor which is ph above 7 tends to lock up iron even if present in soil. Also, levels of carbon, salt, phosphorus, calcium, and other elements can affect plants' ability to intake iron.

I have had Iron values as high as 14.5 ppm after soil replenishment and as low as 1.1 prior to soil replenishment. As you know, my soil replenishment routine generally includes composted cow manure, cover crop chop and drop, and green manure from cover crop turned into soil. I haven't isolated which of these has the most effect on Iron but that would be an interesting exercise to do. By the way, 3-10 ppm is considered optimal by my lab.

The soil for the HK container that I'm using in

"https://www.gardening-forums.com/th...ture-and-organic-gardening.29270/#post-251728"

has a beginning iron reading of 1.1 ppm. I think it will be interesting to watch that as that experiment progresses.

Blood meal is a good source of iron. Another can be composted cow manure. I feed my cows minerals including iron, all winter and that compost has to be rich in iron. I've never tested it specifically for iron however and that also would be interesting to do.

Yes, Iron is a vital element incredibly necessary for plants to grow and be healthy even if only required in small amounts in the soil.

 

[PaulZone8b]

All of this conversation is a mute point if none of us know what chemicals/materials they are spraying out of these planes!! We gardeners (especially NEW ones like me) are trying to learn the rules, standards and procedures...when they keep effecting the outcome by the crap they are spraying all over the country and world. Its a crime against humanity and evil. Then we can also talk about the patents that a many years old for affecting the weather....so "they" are also affecting the gardening by the changes in weather. These evil people really need to go !!

What does it matter is we are amending our soils then that same soil gets lots of chemicals added without our permission and many cases people aren't even aware... I pray for Jesus to take care of these bad folks asap. The clock is ticking.

 

[Susan BBPM]

All of this conversation is a mute point if none of us know what chemicals/materials they are spraying out of these planes!! We gardeners (especially NEW ones like me) are trying to learn the rules, standards and procedures...when they keep effecting the outcome by the crap they are spraying all over the country and world. Its a crime against humanity and evil. Then we can also talk about the patents that a many years old for affecting the weather....so "they" are also affecting the gardening by the changes in weather. These evil people really need to go !!

What does it matter is we are amending our soils then that same soil gets lots of chemicals added without our permission and many cases people aren't even aware... I pray for Jesus to take care of these bad folks asap. The clock is ticking.

That's fair comment.
All I can say in response is that every little bit people do to help the soil life or wild life survive, the greater the chances of restoring some kind of balance. You know the butterfly effect:

"In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state"

You could be the butterfly - the person that made that tiny change that altered the future of the world

On a positive note, as far as we know no chemicals or elements are being shipped in from foreign planets so everything being sprayed on the planet, comes from the planet.

 

[PaulZone8b]

Arsenic comes from earth too..... You are truly an optimist Susan.

 

[YumYum]

I need to have a little look into hydroponic gardening for clues. That takes soil out of the equation and relies completely on sunlight and fertilizer suspended in water. I wonder what's in the fertilizer?

Salts are the fertilizer, or synthetic fertilizer. What ever dissovles in water should be plant available. I don't do or really know hydroponics but I believe you need a pH meter and a TDS meter (or maybe EC meter?) to keep track of what is dissolved in the water. Seems like you need an air bubbler or something to provide oxygen.

 

[pepper]

That makes it worthwhile to me to continue posting here. Thank you.

I take a lot of stuff I read online with a grain of salt but I know when you say something it's from your own personal experience and not hear-say. So I don't usually comment because reading a lot of things you say is not anything I have experience with or much of, but please keep posting your knowledge, I and I think a lot of us are all ears and learning a lot from you.

 

[headfullofbees]

Don't think that if you mathematically get your iron requirements from plants, you'll be fine.
Iron is not easily absorbrd from plants by humans, whereas a nice big steak is far better.

 

[headfullofbees]

That's fair comment.
All I can say in response is that every little bit people do to help the soil life or wild life survive, the greater the chances of restoring some kind of balance. You know the butterfly effect:

"In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state"

You could be the butterfly - the person that made that tiny change that altered the future of the world

On a positive note, as far as we know no chemicals or elements are being shipped in from foreign planets so everything being sprayed on the planet, comes from the planet.

Chemicals & elements are being shipped in from our Sun, distant stars, distant galaxies all the time. Cosmic rays etc.
We are, right at this moment undergoing a Solar Proton storm due to a solar flare & plasma CME.
There is a very high possibility that life on Earth was seeded from Mars or a comet.

 

[Ruderunner]

Don't think that if you mathematically get your iron requirements from plants, you'll be fine.
Iron is not easily absorbrd from plants by humans, whereas a nice big steak is far better.

Or kishka.

 

[pepper]

Don't think that if you mathematically get your iron requirements from plants, you'll be fine.
Iron is not easily absorbrd from plants by humans, whereas a nice big steak is far better.

There is two kinds of iron according to health nutritionists, heme and non-heme. Plants only have non-heme and it's much harder for the body to absorb then heme, found in meats, especially oysters, one of the highest sources of iron with about 8mg of iron per 3 ounces. If someone doesn't eat meat they need to take a lot of vitamin c to help absorb the non heme iron that plants have.

 

[skinyea]

That makes it worthwhile to me to continue posting here. Thank

ok seeing your picks are extremely beneficial and reading what you say is as well But I am still shocked at how fast Sunn Hemp actually grows. You can look in the morning and see growth from the night before, and then come back that evening and see more growth. pretty amazing

 

[Meadowlark]

ok seeing your picks are extremely beneficial and reading what you say is as well But I am still shocked at how fast Sunn Hemp actually grows. You can look in the morning and see growth from the night before, and then come back that evening and see more growth. pretty amazing

I suspect many thought I was exaggerating when I said at least two to three inches per day of growth in Sunn Hemp....but I don't exaggerate.

You almost have to see it to believe it....and the great thing for us gardeners is that growth is full of nitrogen. Kudos to you for trying it.