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The goal of an organic program is to promote the development of beneficial organisms that enhance plant growth while lessening the negative environmental impact of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. A healthy population of organisms on and around plants maximizes the effects of nature’s system of checks and balances. This improves both nutrient recycling and bio-control of disease and harmful insects. Put another way, organic systems promote a natural cycle of events that synthetic systems tend to disrupt.
Promoting the beneficial organisms can be achieved by adding organic matter to the soil in the form of compost. Compost helps to inoculate beneficial species into existing soil; moreover, provides the organic matter those species need to thrive. In lawns or planting beds that are being built, new or total renovation is necessary. We recommend tilling in compost at a rate of 30% of soil volume in the top 6 inches. In existing lawns we recommend aerating then top-dressing with 1\2 inch of compost. In existing planting beds we recommend mulching with ground wood products, rather than chipped wood products. A less disruptive method for promoting beneficial organisms is the application of compost tea (a liquid made of water and compost organisms that is brewed much like tea). After the compost has been mixed with water and brewed, the ability of beneficials to inoculate soil becomes heightened as they are able to move more readily.
The organic system has the potential to become self-sustaining. Providing optimal soil conditions will allow development of a climax in soil microbe population. In this event all nutrients will be recycled, the need for further inputs is greatly reduced and possibly can be eliminated. Compost tea by itself will improve soil conditions; however, to accelerate soil microbe populations in soil, read on. The population climax of microbes may be accelerated by actually incorporating by tilling 30% compost; moreover, aerating and top-dressing are key to acceleration of soil microbe population. next, and least rapidly with only compost tea applications. This self sustaining situation can be interrupted if soil microbe populations decline due to extreme conditions such as cold, heat, wetness, dryness, etc. or by use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides which are toxic to some soil microbe species.
The addition of compost to soil improves soil health by increasing organic matter; therefore, creating a medium that is favorable to the development of soil microbes. Many soil microbes create a cementing agent that they use to cement themselves to soil particles. In doing so they also glue soil particles together forming macro-aggregates. This gluing together of soil particles results in more pore space which further enhances the environment for soil microbes by creating more air and water movement through the soil. The forming of soil macro-aggregates also creates more nooks and crannies for soil microbe development. This improvement of soil structure also benefits plants in many ways:
Increased aeration- Plant roots require air to survive. A lack of air is commonly the
major factor in limiting rooting depth. Increased aeration allows for better rooting
deeper into the soil and also allows for denser rooting at shallower depths.
Higher infiltration rates-with increased porosity the water that falls on the soil enters
the soil faster. This results in more water running into the soil and less running off during
a rain or irrigation event.
Increased water holding capacity- The soil having more organic matter and the
resulting increased pore spaces will hold more water for plant use. Also this held water
is held less tightly, making a greater percentage of held water available to the plant.
Improved nutrient recycling- Nutrients entering the soil system are quickly gobbled up
by soil microbes. These nutrients then become part of the bodies of the soil microbes.
These microbes are part of a microscopic food chain and the nutrients are passed from
one microbe to the next through the food chain until adsorbed by the plant. This greatly
reduces nutrient losses that occur from leaching. Leaching occurs when nutrients
suspended in water, wash through and out of the soil profile. This is prevented as
nutrients tied up in the soil biomass tend to stay in the biomass. The biomass doesn’t
wash away, carrying the nutrients with it, due to the cementing properties discussed
earlier.
Mycorrhiza- These improved soil properties also favor the development of mycorrhiza
which are fungi that live in symbiosis with plant roots. These fungi invade the plant root,
living off sugars produced by the plant. In exchange for this food the fungi bring nutrients
and water to the plant for food making. This trading of food for nutrients is beneficial to
the plant and the fungi. The fungi get their food and the plant gets water and nutrients
for food making in excess of the food consumed by the fungi. The hyphal spread of the
fungi serves as an extension of the plant’s root system.
Our soils are much more than a collection of particles, they are a complex ecosystem of living organisms that form a diverse food chain, or more appropriately, food web. This species diversity is as important below ground as it is above ground with our plant and animal populations as these below ground species are dependent on one another. Unfortunately our traditional agronomic practices tend to be detrimental to the diversity and disrupt the naturally occurring food web.
Tillage-The tilling of soils breaks the soil macro-aggregates down into smaller sized
aggregates. This creates less pore space which results in poorer aeration, diminished
water infiltration rates, and less water holding capacity. This also results in fewer sites
available for colonization by soil microbes. Tillage is also detrimental because it speeds
the oxidation of soil organic matter.
Pesticides-Pesticides kill not only the pests they are targeted for but also kill other
non-target organisms, including soil microbes. Pesticides don’t kill all soil microbes, just
certain species. Taking some species out of the food web disrupts the web since it is a
complex system where species are interdependent on one another.
Synthetic fertilizers-Synthetic fertilizers are nutrients in very high concentrations in a
salt form. They kill soil microbes because of their high salt toxicity. They suck the water
out of any living tissue in close proximity. Synthetic fertilizers don’t become beneficial
to plants until they are diluted with enough water to overcome this salt toxicity. Most
synthetic fertilizer nutrients are in a form that is not readily usable by plants.
These non-usable forms must be converted to usable forms by the soil microbes. It seems
a little ridiculous to initially set back the very organisms that we rely on to do the real
work.
With an organic program we are feeding the microbes instead of trying to feed the plant. The microbes then provide the plant with a more complete ration of nutrients instead of just nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and maybe a few others that are typically provided by synthetic programs.
Organic Information
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