caveman4.20
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Will Diatomaceous earth still shred insects when wet?
Thanks space good-looking out
Will Diatomaceous earth still shred insects when wet?
What's the carbon do to ph
I'll leave the pH meters for the hydro growers. Soil food web takes care of my pH. ;)ill be totally honest .idk.lol.i dont test mt soil ph.just water etc.i know it doesnt hurt.
Oh no, carbon is not inert like perlite, though. It can ad- and absorb various molecular compounds, which is why it's used for chemical filtration of air, water, and whatever else you can push through it, and microbes can get to them. It's far more porous. It is renewable, unlike perlite, and it is due to these characteristics that carbon (bio-char) adds mineral density, fertility and friability to soils. That's what made the terra so preta! Bio-char and perlite aren't at all the same when compared in this manner.I think of biochar in much the same way as I think of perlite.
It takes up space, provides micro habitat that microbes like, and allows for good water drainage/retention.
As to direct nutrient contribution, it's inert.
Roots like it, so I like it.
Well ph only gets my attention because I reuse the soil and build it so eventually ph gets my attentionI'll leave the pH meters for the hydro growers. Soil food web takes care of my pH. ;)
It is my understanding DE does not kill when wet? I'll have to look for some more information on this. Either way, I don't know that I would look to it as a silica source. How about a little horsetail?
@oregonized how is kelp meal a replacement for greensand?
And who's the devil?
P-
I also reuse my soil. I'm still going to suggest leaving the pH pen to the hydro guys.Well ph only gets my attention because I reuse the soil and build it so eventually ph gets my attention
Just an alkaline mineral replacer, does not replace the physical properties of greensand.I'll leave the pH meters for the hydro growers. Soil food web takes care of my pH. ;)
It is my understanding DE does not kill when wet? I'll have to look for some more information on this. Either way, I don't know that I would look to it as a silica source. How about a little horsetail?
@oregonized how is kelp meal a replacement for greensand?
And who's the devil?
P-
Great read gracias!Soil Biology and pH by Jeff Lowenfels
The success of the AeroGarden, the first plug-and-grow aeroponic kitchen appliance, is testament to the fact that ordinary people do not understand the concept of pH and don't want to deal with it in their growing situations. Make it so you can practice hydroponics without this chemistry barrier and they will come, apparently.
Frankly, the concept of pH also confuses soil gardeners. Heck, the definition of pH was inadvertently reversed in my book "Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web." (Yes, some readers noticed; I received two "you made a mistake" notes. But that's not as many as I thought I'd receive.) Fortunately, the mistake was corrected in time for the second printing.
In any case, soil gardeners have been told certain plants require acidic conditions- for example, rhododendrons and azaleas- or else they won't grow. The solution advocated by most experienced gardeners is not dissimilar from what a hydroponics grower would do: adjust the pH with chemicals, such as agricultural lime, to make the soil more alkaline. To make alkaline soil more acid, we are told to add sulfur. Because they are chemical changes, these solutions work for a short time. But to me pH is a biological matter.
A bit of quick pH review is in order (if only to make amends for the mistake in my book). You may remember that pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 1 to 14; 1 being most acidic and 14 being most alkaline. A more technical description is that pH is the measurement of the concentration of hydrogen ions, H+. If you have lots of H+, the pH is low, or acidic. If you have few of them, the pH is high, or alkaline.
If you are adding fertilizers and using chemicals, you are stuck in the chemical realm. Organic gardeners, soil food webbies in particular, realize that pH has more to do with biology than it does with chemistry. That's because of the way plant roots take up nutrients. Root hair surfaces are covered with positive electrical hydrogen cations. Think of these charges as ping-pong balls. If soil particles are small enough, their surfaces are covered by these ping-pong ball charges, both positive (cation) charges and negative (anion) charges. These cations are not limited to hydrogen; they also include calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, and ammonium. All are important plant nutrients.
When a root encounters a clay or organic particle, it can exchange one of its hydrogen cation for another positive one from the particle. It can choose from calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, ammonium and hydrogen, as these are all cations carried by clay and silt and are all, as luck would have it, major plant nutrients.
This is known, incidentally, as cation exchange capacity, or CEC. Sand and silt have low CECs, because they comprised of particles that are too large to hold electrical charges. This is why humus and clay are needed to make soil good. They are extremely small particles and can carry cations.
So, back to pH. Every time a plant root exchanges a hydrogen ion for a nutrient ion, it increases the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution. Thus, the pH goes down and things should become more acidic.
Ah, but things usually balance out because the positive cations on the root surface also attract negative charges. Here, hydroxy ions (OH-) are the exchange ping-pong balls, and addition of hydroxy ions lowers the concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution, and pH goes up.
I know this still sounds like chemistry and not biology. However, each plant has an optimum pH requirement. What soil growers need to know (and hydroponics growers don't) is that the type of bacteria and fungi attracted to a plant's rhizosphere by the plant's exudates has a lot to do with setting this optimal pH. Bacteria produce a slim that raises the pH, and fungi produce acids that lower the pH. Since the plant is in control of the biology it attracts, in a natural system, it is the plant that determines the pH, and not some chemistry teacher.
So, while you may forget the chemistry of pH, at least remember there is a biological side. Do no harm to it, and you shouldn't have to worry much about pH when you grow plants in soil. Moreover, the nutrient exchanges that occur above also have a lot to do with what kind of bacteria and fungi are attracted to the root zone as some like higher pH and others lower pH.
I'll leave the pH meters for the hydro growers. Soil food web takes care of my pH. ;)
It is my understanding DE does not kill when wet? I'll have to look for some more information on this. Either way, I don't know that I would look to it as a silica source. How about a little horsetail?
@oregonized how is kelp meal a replacement for greensand?
And who's the devil?
P-
I'll leave the pH meters for the hydro growers. Soil food web takes care of my pH. ;) .lol whos the devil then?ive been called that o here:-)haha.+ if pat + sea say d.e dont work wet!id listen to em.ive had the same 100,l bag for years.lol.PUT A HAND FULL IN A TEA!makes that shit foam like crazy.
It is my understanding DE does not kill when wet? I'll have to look for some more information on this. Either way, I don't know that I would look to it as a silica source. How about a little horsetail?
@oregonized how is kelp meal a replacement for greensand?
And who's the devil?
P-
Not sure about plant uptake.id been using azomite for a bit now...but left it out last time for whatever reason...i guess i forgot to add it.
but i just found this...does this bother anyone else?
http://azomite.com/index.php?option...66:certificate-of-analysis&catid=38&Itemid=11
lead? arsenic? cadmium? strontium...? is this....as bad as it sounds? cuz it dont sound good...lol.
Anything with Guanos or Ureas (urine) will need to 'cook'.Yes for sure let it cook for at least 45 days. I store in 44 gallon trash cans and dump it out and stir it up once a week for the first three weeks.
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