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We see fire damage above the ground far too
often, though unseen, the damage below the ground is equally
devastating. Often the soil life is destroyed or seriously damaged
with major losses of fungal and bacterial life. The loss of soil fungi
is very serious as it alters the soil fungal to bacterial ratio towards
the bacterial end which promotes weed and annual plant growth.
Extended droughts can also do the same thing and bacteria can create a
waxy, water resistant layer in the soil as a last ditch effort to hold
onto the last of the moisture. This results in a soil which is
difficult to wet and rehydrate.
To repair the damage and quickly return the soil to production or long
term stable systems we need to accelerate succession and push through
the weed stage by increasing the soil fungal mass and providing food for
it to grow. Of course this does require some water to make the soil
life happen, but if a water resistant, waxy hydrophobic layer exists,
how do we break through?
The secret is worms and calcium, that's how nature does it and we can
promote worm and fungal life with similar foods and liquid vermicast.
The calcium breaks through the waxy layers and the vermicast contains
proteins and microbes which activate the soil life required to remove
the wax and the bacteria that produce it. Adding long term soil life
food like fish hydrolysate, kelp, molasses and humic acid will ensure
the rebuilding process continues.
Nicole Masters from Integrity Soils
has produced the video above which goes into the process in much more
detail. It proposes a very good recipe for the recovery brew but it's
costs may restrict it's use. Where costs or area to be covered is
prohibitively expensive, then the following brew should be considered as
a minimum requirement.
7L Fish Hydrolysate
1kg Molasses or sugar
5L Liquid Vermicast
10L liquid lime
1L humic acid
Per hectare with sufficient water to broadcast.
Groundgrocer has a new liquid vermicast from Island Biologicals called BioCast+ which we have found to be very effective. It is a two part
system with an activator to kick start the biology.
This recovery system is also wonderful for stimulating soil biology on
non drought or fire effected areas and can be the basis for compost
teas, extracts and EM-1 fortified solutions.
This message was originally going to promote today as world soil day http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/en/.
I hope this information will be of more value for practical ways to
build and repair soil. My thoughts are with all those effected by the
current fires.
Mark Berndt
GroundGrocer.com