BASIC SOIL INFO

There are three types of soil we see mainly in the US.

Sandy soil - Loamy soil - Clay soil

Each is made up of three components, they are sand particles, clay particles, and the most important, ..Organic Matter.

Much like the fillers found in commercial fertilizer, sand holds ZERO value or exchange capacity. In other words, it doesn't move nutrients to the plant or assist in organic formation.

Clay does provide some minimal exchange capacity, but heavy clay soils present separate growing problems.

The amount of clay and organic matter content your soil has is what influences the nutrient exchange capacity in the soil.

Soils with Low organic matter but higher clay and sand particles will carry little to no exchange and are unable to fully transfer nutrients to the plants roots.

( plants struggle to feed )

Healthy Organic Soil

The need for high production along with years of using high salt fertilizers has drained the life out of many soils across the United States.

Our soils have been thrown off balance primarily because most commercial fertilizers in use today are not designed to aid the soil. No help maintaining organic matter.

Ever notice it takes MORE fertilizer to produce a profitable yield? How about the frequent use of herbicides, fungicides and insect controls.

THE NEED FOR ORGANIC MATTER

Repairing the soil and building organic matter

is what our products are designed to do.

Soil that contains just 4% organic matter in the top 7 inches will have an average of 80,000 pounds of organic matter per acre.

That 80,000 pounds of organic matter will contain approximately 5.25% nitrogen. That amounts to a minimum of 4,200 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

Assuming only 5% is used during the growing season, The soil could actually supply 210 llbs of FREE nitrogen per acre

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SOIL CARBON / BIO CYCLE

Healthly soil is the foundation that supports good protein rich hay & pasture grass. In order for the soil itself to be healthy and strong, it must contain carbon in order to feed the microbes that help breakdown and build up organic matter. This breakdown results in the formation of Humus ..ie Organic Matter

Humus holds up to 95% of the Nitrogen, 60% of the phosphorus and 98% of the Sulfur. Humus also holds moisture and air that are vital for root growth too. During the warm season when microbes are active, they encourage the humus to release more nutrients just when the roots need them most.

Using ONLY petroleum-based fertilizers such as UREA NITROGEN and others high in chloride, like muriate of Potash damage the carbon- bio-cycle and virtually eliminate the microbes needed for humus formation.

Aerobic bacteria ( micro organisms ).

They are also known as beneficial bacteria and prefer well-oxygenated soils. They are called aerobic bacteria because they use the oxygen to decompose most carbon/organic compounds.

These bacteria are also responsible for the nitrogen cycle becoming complete during the nitrification stage.

This is where the ammonia nitrogen changes to the nitrate nitrogen. NITRATE is the only form of nitrogen the plant can use. These bacteria must be present for nitrification to occur successfully.

Products like our Root Magic and Litter-Fix not only offer carbon to feed these microbes but they also add more NITRO FIXING bacteria to further help convert and feed nitrogen from the soil..

The soils ability to exchange

nutrients ( ions ) is measured by the CEC

** Cation Exchange Capacity **

THE CEC measures the total number of negative ions the soil can hold, and transfer like calcium, magnesium, potassium.

Exchange rates of clay & organic matter

Clay minerals range from a min of 10 to a max of 150 meg/100g

Organic matter ranges from a min of 200 to a max of 400 meg/100g.

You can see why building more organic matter is important and will

give you much better use of your fertilizer

The reference to pH defines the relative acidity or basicity of a substance. The pH scale ranges from 0–14, with 7.0 being neutral.

Values below 7.0 are (acidic). Values above 7.0 are (alkaline).

Acid is defined as a substance that releases hydrogen ions (H+).

All acids contain hydrogen ions, the more hydrogen ions held by the exchange capacity of the soil the greater the acidity of the soil. (In other words when a soil is low in organic matter it tends to bind thus raising the acid level and lowering the pH. ( see more info @ www.superlimeplus.com )

Most crops are grown in slightly acid soils ranging from 6.0–6.8 pH. The amount of organic matter in the soil can help buffer the pH changes that might occur throughout the growing season and beyond.

Buffering refers to processes that constrain or reduce the shift in pH when acid or base materials are added. In more general terms buffering refers to its ability to absorb toxic substances or to detoxify them from the soil.

The ROOT MAGIC line of formulas will act as a pH buffer in the soil

and help promote organic matter building to help raise the CEC level and

promote natural soil buffering!