Reply #9539
Then we put this mix into a 5 gal bucket and added water. We were areating it for an hour by mixing with a twig. Afterwards we went through the whole farm and sprikled the liquid around on the garden beds and compost heaps. It was not at my place so I couldn't see the results. Do you think this is an effective way to grow native organisms?

I also have another question. If I understood well, you prefer not to mix organic residues into the soil. I have made a couple of "hugelkultur" beds recently, where the point is to add a lot of organic matter (woody and green) into a trench and cover with soil. The OM would slowly decompose, release nutrients and store water. I would be interested if you have ever encountered such beds and what might be your experience. A drawing of such design:

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As in the previous reply, the rice and the molasses selected for some specific organisms froim the forest. As long as the material did not supply so much easy-to-use, simple foods such that the mix went anaerobic, there were likely some good organisms in the mix.

More food resources, and more care to make sure the material stayed aerobic would be good. I would want to look at the mix and make sure there were good fungi, and good protozoa (no ciliates which are the protozoa that do well only in anaerobic conditions) in the mix before spending the time to apply to the farm.

On the question of mixing soil, you are right that I would prefer to not disturb the beneficial organisms in soil. But, sometimes there aren't beneficial organisms and the dirt needs some help to become soil. In this case, fine, disturb the dirt, what harm could disturbing an already messed up place have? So, Hugel Culture is fine. The idea with making the trench is that water will tend to collect there, and maintain moisture for the organisms. Just make sure it isn't a already too wet area...... don't compact the bottom of the trench as you dig the trench. Try to leave beneficials intact, if you had benefical organisms in the soil.

The mound of mulch and wood is good ---- fungal foods, not going to have rapid growth on those foods, so little danger of going anaerobic when the dirt is placed on top. So, Hugel culture.....great! you just can't use it in the middle of your agricultural field. Around the edges, an alternate to a hedge row...... yep. So, very useful in the right place.

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Dr. Ingham,
thank you for all your time, energy and knowledge you shared with us!
It was an amazing week I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot again how soil in nature works.
I hope we'll have an opportunity to learn with you again someday!

On behalf of whole Permaforum community thanky you very much!!

Dear Elaine,
It was a true delight to have you here. You gave so much inspiration and so many AHA moments. As I was working on my farm today a question poped my mind, but since I got to the computer this evering I haven't been able to recall it. So I really hope that one way or another we will see you again and dive more into these topics.

I have two conflicting feelings. On one hand it feels now that everything is so simple. On the other hand I feel that there is so much more to this story. I am sure a million new questions will arise as I first peek into the microscope.

We really appreciate the time you took to answer our questions so thoughtfully and thoroughly. Beautiful and living soils will surely follow

I have enjoyed the questions that have been asked. All of you are trying to understand and comprehend, and thus this week has been very enjoyable to me. thank you for asking me to participate.

If you want to ask more questions, can we plan to do this again some time? Or have kovibali or ecovitka collect the questions and send those questions to me in a summary format? I'll answer and you can post to the forum?

It does seem simple to think about all we need to do is make certain the beneficial organisms that are supposed to be there are in fact in the soil. But then you start thinking about why aren't they there, what destroyed them, how can I get them all back, how does the system maintain those beneficials without needing to be constantly replaced? so, as those questions come to mind, chat and talk amoung yourselves. Then send me a question, and I'll let you know what I know.

Just remember -- I don't know everything either. How boring would like be if we had already answered all the important questions? Lots yet to be done, lots to be figured out!

Come along on the adventure with me, won't you?