Organics, All or Nothing?

[phasthound]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilson

I can never really understand what it is that JD thinks he is arguing. It is almost as if he is arguing against himself. I do feel that many of his statements can be a little dangerous if taken as fact so hopefully everyone does their own research. I'm going to attempt to post a PDF of a chapter I ran across on the internet. I believe it is from the book The Rhizosphere An Ecological Perspective and authors of this chapter are Griffiths, Christensen and Bonkowski who are very respected researchers.

Thanks for that one Tim. The article is good enough to print out and read over & over.

[JDUtah]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilson

I can never really understand what it is that JD thinks he is arguing. It is almost as if he is arguing against himself. I do feel that many of his statements can be a little dangerous if taken as fact so hopefully everyone does their own research. I'm going to attempt to post a PDF of a chapter I ran across on the internet. I believe it is from the book The Rhizosphere An Ecological Perspective and authors of this chapter are Griffiths, Christensen and Bonkowski who are very respected researchers.

Again, a personal attack against me instead of discussion about the things I state.

Speaking of clarity in what you are arguing... why exactly did you post this Tim?

[phasthound]

Can someone please define is not an inaccurate statement to me?
Does it mean is an accurate statement? I'm confused.

[JDUtah]

Originally Posted by phasthound

Can someone please define is not an inaccurate statement to me?
Does it mean is an accurate statement? I'm confused.

It means that neither are completely true, but neither are completely false.

[Tim Wilson]

Originally Posted by phasthound

Can someone please define is not an inaccurate statement to me?
Does it mean is an accurate statement? I'm confused.

It is not impossible.

[aclane2000]

Boy, it was painful reading through all that. But thank you guys for caring enough to share from your knowledge.
Obviously synthetics don't nuke all the life in the soil, but they do hamper it's growth when overdone. So I guess the question for me is, whats
"overdoing it"?
If I put down one or two applications of slow release fertilizer on a yard during the year, am I working against my attempts to increase microbial life in the soil by putting down compost, compost tea, seaweed, etc?

[phasthound]

Aaahh, and there lies the crux of the problem when a reader assumes the writer is talking in absolutes. Realizing that all ideas are neither completely true or false would go a long way in creating more compassion and understanding.

[Tim Wilson]

Originally Posted by JDUtah

Again, a personal attack against me instead of discussion about the things I state.

Speaking of clarity in what you are arguing... why exactly did you post this Tim?

No attack JD. Sorry if you take it that way but I know, no other way to say it. Also when someone says that someone is speaking from ignorance, this is also not an attack. This phrasing is often used in academic discussions.

I am arguing nothing and I posted the chapter so that other's including you might use it to gain a better understanding of what little we know of what is going on in the microbial nutrient cycle.

Your points that the molecular structure of ions derived microbially or synthetically are the same or similar does not really illustrate anything unusual or profound. I have stated this many times, as has Kiril and in this thread (or the other one) Natty (Matt) has hinted to you that you should pay attention to this.

[phasthound]

Originally Posted by aclane2000

Boy, it was painful reading through all that. But thank you guys for caring enough to share from your knowledge.
Obviously synthetics don't nuke all the life in the soil, but they do hamper it's growth when overdone. So I guess the question for me is, whats
"overdoing it"?
If I put down one or two applications of slow release fertilizer on a yard during the year, am I working against my attempts to increase microbial life in the soil by putting down compost, compost tea, seaweed, etc?

You're new here, so you don't know it's common for these discussions to get painful.

I think you can safely improve your turf and microbial activity by using slow release fert that is high in organic matter along with applications of compost, tea, seaweed, ect.

[JDUtah]

Originally Posted by aclane2000

Boy, it was painful reading through all that. But thank you guys for caring enough to share from your knowledge.
Obviously synthetics don't nuke all the life in the soil, but they do hamper it's growth when overdone. So I guess the question for me is, whats
"overdoing it"?
If I put down one or two applications of slow release fertilizer on a yard during the year, am I working against my attempts to increase microbial life in the soil by putting down compost, compost tea, seaweed, etc?

Yes, like Barry said the heated discussions happen often. I usually get involved when the toxicity of salts is discussed. Mainly because some well published people have, in my view, spread inaccurate information.

As far as your two applications of slow release fertilizer, no, I do not believe you will be harming your little guys. Of course this is my opinion. But hey, my green lawns and even greener when i add organic matter seem to think so too.

In the end you need to ask yourself what is just enough to get it to work. Just enough organic fert, just enough synthetic fert if any, just enough pest control, just enough irrigation to satisfy moisture and leach requirements.

Just enough is the goal, otherwise you are wasting the stuff in your wallet, and potentially wasting mother nature.