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Old March 3, 2016   #72
Dutch
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b
Posts: 1,831
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I think the confusion has come from the loss of bio activity in much of the soil cultivated today. Coming from farm country and having belonged to FFA (Future Farmers of America) as a youth, I understand what has happened. What was taught as scientific knowledge fifty years ago, regarding the fertilization of crops, simply was bad science! This bad science has been handed down and is perpetuated today.

The theory back then was to feed the plants with chemicals and the life in the soil (micros) was totally ignored. This I believe was a major fundamental error and has caused damage to much of today's crop lands. From what I have learned over the years is that we need to "feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants".

When plants are fed a life long diet of chemicals, they don't form a relationship with the microbes in soil and the microbes die off that need this relationship to live and multiply. With depleted numbers of microbes in the soil, we now have "junkie' plants that are dependent on an ever increasing amount of chemicals.

Soil lacking these microbes that have helped sustain plant life on this planet since their origin will not grow healthy crops. Crops in these dying soils will have to be force fed more and more chemicals to be productive and healthy.

Dutch
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I come from a long line of sod busters, spanning back several centuries.

Last edited by Dutch; March 3, 2016 at 03:21 PM. Reason: Grammar
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