Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Soils Need Available Calcium

Okay- this just in. I went to a two day seminar that was as low tech as these things come. Two overheads the first day - a few more the second. No outline - just free-form talking.  I did  learn something about "soil health" but only some focussed thinking about it will reveal how much I learned and the quality of information taken in. 

What is this electro-field you feel as you plant your garden? It is the natural flow of energy from west to east.... okay I am not sure what all the electricity talk means but this I do believe:

1. Conventional soil tests do not always give a clear understanding of what is actually available in the soil and therefore available to the plant. They simply give a mining report - possibly not ideal?.

2. Cracked carrots are deficient in copper. Narrow pears are not as high in food value as round heavy pears. Thin skinned heavy oranges are better for you than thick skinned light-weight oranges. 

3. The farmers I met are willing to learn new techniques and listen to knew ideas. Several have promised to phone or e-mail me when the results of their studies with this "calcium theory" fertilizer is underway. 

4. Calcium is "available" in our soil and in our water in Calgary but is often tied up with carbonate - ie the white scum (Calcium carbonate) inside the kettle. I think I heard colloidal calcium in our soils  will bring it into our bodies via food grown on these soils. This is the part I need to study more. 

5. Race horses as well as people have thinning bones from poor quality feed (ie low weight, low brix, low Calcium). More available calcium in the soil will mean heavier oats and stronger bones for horses. People eating heavier foods such as good quality pears or apples will get health benefits.

6. Get your best food by growing your own in soils that are high in good micro-nutrients.

7. Adding colloidal calcium will raise the "energy" of our food. Okay- I am not sure about this energy thing or if I even got it right because gardeners and cooks usually refer to energy as calories but this is not the energy that was discussed. Again, I need to study this further.

8. When fertilizing in response to a conventional soil test we tend to over-fertilize soil with Nitrogen and Potash. This pollutes our water and ruins our clay structure. Consequently everything falls apart.

More to follow as I sort this out. Who knew there was so much more to the soil than what I had already been teaching people for years?


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