A tiered approach to rebuilding soil and reducing chemical dependence — an excerpt from Phil Wheeler and Ron Ward’s The Non-Toxic Farming Handbook
Justifying the need to make a transition toward biological, non-toxic farming and away from toxic chemicals should not even be necessary. The case is plain enough when viewed through environmental and moral considerations. A wealth of scientific data demonstrating the damage wrought by toxic chemicals, along with the potential for serious liability, ought to rouse the interest of even the most closed-minded observer.
We begin with the products commonly relied upon today—what may be termed acid, salt-elevator fertilizers, including anhydrous ammonia and dolomite lime. This entire program is the one from which you should be seeking to depart, because these materials create the very problems that later demand toxic chemical “rescues” for soil, plants, animals, and people. Discontinue the use of 0-0-60 (KCl), 0-46-0 (triple superphosphate), or any blended fertilizer incorporating these components. Likewise, cease using anhydrous ammonia and dolomite lime except in rare, truly necessary situations. These inputs must be replaced with materials that do not injure soils and, in time, with those that actively build and strengthen them.
The following discussion addresses seven levels of fertility concepts. You will find one, or some combination, that suits both your convictions and your budget. As with all meaningful transitions, the initial cost is often the least important variable. Making a decision to change your mind, to change your approach and management practices, is usually more important than out-of-pocket costs.
Level 1
The first level toward which you may move is what we’ll call selective elevator. At this level, you choose conventional materials like ammonium nitrate (33-0-0), ammonium phosphate (11-52-0 or 18-46-0), ammonium sulfate (21-0-0-24S), sulfate of potash (0-0-50), and 28 or 32 percent liquid nitrogen. The amounts used will be in the same range as the acid, salt-level use, 100 to 300 pounds per acre. This level would also include the standard trace minerals of sulfate derivation such as zinc sulfate. Farmers may also use a variety of products from various other programs. These could include enzymes, bacteria, carbohydrates, soil conditioners, and humic acids.
This first program level is certainly a transition, but can it be sustained? Will the soil biology revive? Will the brix (sugar) come up? Will the tilth return to the soil? You won’t know until you try it. Our main concern is that this program level may keep your nitrogen requirements at a level that will exceed future legal levels of application as dictated by the nitrate-leaching problem. We also consider the required nitrogen levels too high for maintaining a biologically active soil.
Level 2
Hot mix liquids will be the second level. (These are arbitrary levels and do not necessarily indicate rank or preference for one over another.) Hot mixes offer a chance to get away from dry salt problems. Nitrogen requirements may go down somewhat, but as with all levels, everything is relative to soil types, previous inputs, liming, soil testing, and additional products used. These are generally applied at 5 to 7 gallons per acre preplant or at planting, plus 3 gallons foliar.
Farmers using hot mixes have reported concerns such as price, limited availability of grades, excessive or insufficient liming recommendations, and, more recently, a loss of energy (“umph” or response) after several years of use on the same field. Hot mixes should not be used to correct CEC concepts, nor should their use lead to ignoring base saturations and soil pH. Their desirability over acid, salt products far exceeds any negative considerations. Transitions may involve passing through several of these levels as well as combining aspects of any of them.
Level 3
The third level will be called “quasi-organic” because manufacturers blend organic materials, such as colloidal phosphate and leather tankage, with non-organic materials such as 11-52-0, urea, and sometimes even the “no-no” KCl (0-0-60). They may also blend all-organic materials, but are usually known for pushing higher numbers such as 10-9-7 and 6-8-4, which typically cannot be reached with strictly organic dry materials.
Good progress can be achieved with Level 3 materials. Complaints usually center on cost or handling. Biological activation to an optimum level may be delayed if KCl or other biologically damaging materials are present in the blends.
Level 4
The fourth level consists of single-product mined or blended materials. This includes dry humates, clays, coals, leonardites, or other deposits that claim to stand alone as fertilizers and/or limes. These products are also used to increase soil paramagnetism. The varied composition of U.S. soils would seem to preclude reliance on a single product, but several have shown success in creating soil-fertility changes. However, you may need to add Ca-NPK-Mg-S-type products from Level 1 or Level 2 to make up for deficiencies.
One major farmer complaint is cost due to shipping. Farmers need to choose Level 4 materials from the closest possible geographic source.
Level 5
Fifth-level programs are truly organic, meeting qualifications for organic certification. One type consists of dry blended plant residues such as cocoa shells, peanut husks, and castor bean pumice, along with mined rock minerals such as colloidal phosphate, greensand, and ground granite meal or dust. Nitrogen may come from leather tankage, cottonseed, or dried chicken manure.
A similar type is a composted mixture of such materials. Both are good soil conditioners and compete with Level 4 single-product materials. They tend to lack the energy needed for a strong pop-up effect but usually perform well by harvest. Another limitation is their difficulty in fine-tuning or manipulating crops. A second aspect of this level includes products such as liquid fish, seaweed, humates (dry or liquid), bacteria, and a growing number of newer organic trace-mineral products.
Level 6
The sixth level is dry soluble fertilizers. This level naturally overlaps with others because it may require lime, colloidal phosphate, selected elevator fertilizers, manure, and local rock-mineral residues. Dry solubles provide the energy kick needed to make the entire system work. Some companies also incorporate a wide range of additional products, as mentioned earlier, to target and correct specific problems.
Dry solubles typically consist of clean, high-energy sources of nitrogen, potassium, potash, calcium, manganese, and sulfate sulfur. They may also contain trace minerals or other additives. They are dissolved in water and applied at low rates (5–25 pounds per acre). Reported problems include poor solubility in certain water sources and precipitation from oversaturated solutions. When used in technically precise programs, multiple grades may need to be mixed to achieve exact formulations.
Having multiple grades available is a strength of dry solubles. Lower transportation cost and lack of contaminants are further advantages. Their use usually entails “spoon-feeding” the crop. Additional field passes can be avoided with proper equipment and management.
Level 7
The seventh level is biodynamics. In this program, you generally bring little or nothing onto the farm from the outside. It functions best in closed systems with livestock and home-grown feed. It is intended as a spiritual undertaking, comparable to the traditional cultivation of ginseng in parts of East Asia.
Its central practice is the use of ruminant manures to capture cosmic energies or “information.” Manure is packed into cow horns and buried over winter, during which composting and energy absorption occur. In spring the horns are unearthed, the material is mixed into water in precise fashion, and the resulting preparation is applied to the land. Other preparations may be made in other containers for different agronomic aims.
Biodynamics is used on large acreages in Australia but has limited appeal in the United States. Its adoption may grow as biological and sustainable agriculture continue to expand. Homeopathic agricultural approaches also fall within this category.
Level 8
The eighth level has yet to be defined. It may involve materials or processes capable of gathering cosmic energies (information) without burying. It may involve technologies such as cosmic pipes, radionics, sound generation, or potentially liquid crystals. It will likely include specific bacterial species for root or leaf-surface colonization. We hope to participate in developing this level. Space programs may ultimately rely on such systems for long-duration travel.
Each level has its strengths and weaknesses. The higher you go, the more critical sound management becomes. Attempting to farm biologically or non-toxically while maintaining standard conventional management practices is simply courting failure.
If you have not already begun a transition, you will want to consider which level is appropriate for your starting point. The essential thing is to begin. Further delay may leave you on the outside looking in.
