Restore Fertility
With a biological system, fertility is restored to the soil, consequently enhancing plant and animal health. This process of restoring fertility can take up to two years and is not a “quick fix”. Throughout this period, you will observe incremental improvements that confirm you are on the right track.
Building a biological soil profile will increase soil biological activity and soil microbial population, thus increasing the organic matter in the soil, increasing soil carbon and therefore improving soil water retention. balancing soil nutrients, increasing natural sugars within the plant, buffering seasonal changes and growing better crops.
All these things plus many more have a great multiplying effect within the soil profile which results in reduced reliance on fungicides and insecticides and creates a more profitable enterprise.
Balance Your Soil
Firstly, contact us so we can come and take a soil sample. When you get your soil test results, you will also receive an Analysis of Sample plus an Action Plan. Our aim is to balance the soil chemical elements so that the transition to a biological system is much easier. The products recommended for this balancing are natural soil stimulants; some are registered organic products and all are soil building products.
The first action you need to undertake is to balance out the calcium/magnesium soil ratio. The easiest option is to review the results in the soil report under “Percentage” in the “Adjusted CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) column.
Understand your type of soil: For a clay-based soil, Calcium percentage needs to be 65-68% and Magnesium needs to be 12-15%. For a sand-based soil, Calcium percentage needs to be around 60% and Magnesium needs to be around 20%.
The soil profile needs to have the following elements where Calcium is in the greatest proportion followed by Phosphorus then Potassium, followed by Magnesium and then Sulphur, all in proportion.
Eliminate Use Of Fungicides and Insecticides
Building a soil biological system is the simplest and easiest way to eliminate the use of fungicides and insecticides. As discussed in Reducing Production Costs, it is about feeding the soil and the plant with biological products, and as a benefit, building natural sugars within a plant (Brix level) to produce as high as possible Brix level for that crop.
Each crop/plant has different readings, for example, potatoes usually have a Brix level of between 3 and 8, carrots 4 to 18 Brix, and pineapple 12 to 22 Brix. The standard for blueberries is 7 to 15 Brix. However, a number of our blueberry growers often obtain a reading of 23 Brix. Let’s examine the conditions for an insect attack. The chemistry of the plant determines insect attack as well as the plant’s Brix readings, therefore, a better-balanced soil (as discussed in Improve Crop yield and Crop Quality) will assist in insect repulsion, but a high natural sugar reading, or Brix, is the best deterrent and the natural way to protect your crop.
Reduce Production Costs
When a biological system is in existence in your soil profile, the need to fertilise with biological products still exists, but your input costs are much lower due to the fact that the symbiotic relationship with the plant roots and the soil biology is working to build the soil food web. You may ask: How does this happen?
The plant’s fine root hairs exude liquid exudates into the plant’s rhizosphere (the region of soil around the roots in which the plant’s chemistry and microbiology are influenced through growth, respiration, and nutrient exchange). Plant exudates are used by soil bacteria, fungi, plus many other soil micro-organisms as a food source. While feeding on these exudates, the soil micro-organisms excrete carbon. In exchanging exudates from the root hairs, the plant receives the minerals it requires from the soil to utilise in plant growth or reproduction by way of fruiting or flowering.
Improve Crop Yield & Crop Quality
Following on from our discussion about Reducing Production Costs: To understand crop yield and crop quality I believe that first, we need to understand what a plant consists of::A healthy plant is made up of 80% water and 20% dry material. 80% Water- is self-explanatory, but quality water is an issue we may all face in Australia. 20% Dry Material: break down of 47% carbon, 43% oxygen, 4% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen and 3% soil nutrients. Now the first four elements, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen all exist in the air.In fact, every breath we inhale is 78% nitrogen, so if the air consists of 78% of nitrogen, then WHY do I have to buy so much nitrogen? Good question!!! The simple answer is that the requirement to buy more nitrogen is because the soil is short of one or all of the three elements, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Why does the soil become deficient in carbon, oxygen and hydrogen? The initial answer is farming practices that have been used up to this point in time, and the second reason is: “that is the way nature operates”.
RESTORE FERTILITY
BALANCE YOUR SOIL
ELIMINATE USE OF FUNGICIDES AND INSECTICIDES
REDUCE PRODUCTION COSTS
IMPROVE CROP YIELD & CROP QUALITY