Comments on: Rockdust, Glacial Milk, and Plant Nutrition http://sustainablesmallholding.org/rockdust-glacial-milk-plant-nutrition/ Permaculture, and Sustainable practices on a Lincolnshire Smallholding Sat, 11 Jul 2015 19:49:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.4 By: 5/3/2014 – 32nd of Middle Spring | Victory Re-education Center http://sustainablesmallholding.org/rockdust-glacial-milk-plant-nutrition/#comment-22569 Sun, 04 May 2014 22:58:29 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4208#comment-22569 […] an idea I am trying out to simplify adding lime to the garden. I was reading Rockdust, Glacial Milk, and Plant Nutrition and remembered stories of people putting limestone in cisterns to sweeten the water. So I dumped […]

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By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/rockdust-glacial-milk-plant-nutrition/#comment-22363 Tue, 25 Mar 2014 08:13:38 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4208#comment-22363 Hi Andy
Microbe food is also produced by plant roots secreting sugars to feed them, which gives them the energy to find and accumulate minerals. Mycorrhizal fungi are pretty key in the case of Phosphorus, but plants are less likely to make the connections if Phosphorus is abundantly avaialable to them.
Not sure about the feeding. For now I’m concentrating on observing, to see how the plants react. Adding a feed/not feed strand may just make it too complicated for simple observations, but I haven’t decided yet.
I guess that means that you’re studying with Neckie and Joe. Introduce yourself at the visit, and perhaps tell the rest of the course that it’s worth a visit. Sometimes people drop out, particularly if the weather forecast is grotty.
See you soon
Deano

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By: Andy P http://sustainablesmallholding.org/rockdust-glacial-milk-plant-nutrition/#comment-22362 Tue, 25 Mar 2014 07:07:07 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=4208#comment-22362 After reading about the importance of Phosphorus, and how important it is and how the microorganisms convert it to a soluble form for it to be used I think it depends on how much “very little organic matter” you mean. Plants need a readily available amount of this through their whole life cycle.

The microorganisms obviously need food to do this conversion. They also need phosphorus to convert nitrogen gas into a usable form.

There may be a lot of surface area for the microbes but too little organic matter and in theory that won’t help without food. As far as I can remember most of the usable phosphor is in the organic matter. The young plants may be able to find enough in the mixture but in a small pot they should use it up and need more.

Interesting to see if the effects match what I have read. A good test to try. I’m very interested.

Are you going to grow the plants to fruiting stage and not feed during their life cycle?

PS, I’ve just been informed that the permaculture course I am on is taking us to you later in the year :)

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