Fertilizer going ballistic

I am learning about JADAM and am full on board about developing my own fertilizer and other. Do what nature does.

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Farmers spray the mix onto crops in the same way theyā€™d use synthetic fertilizer.

I think the writer made a mistake here- first he explains that they spray it on the crops themselves like a foliar, than explains the mechanism as ending up feeding the plants through the soil. They may spray the product on the fields, but apparently it only works when it reaches the soil.

Sounds like it could be a good investment if the company goes public. Of course it will depend on cost after it reaches full development.

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Could be a game changing product. Would be great if it worked, was a convenient replacement for synthetic nitrogen and was affordable. Hope this new productā€™s association with Harvard makes it different than the other bio products I have been hearing about over the last 40 years that did not hit the mark.

I agree completely that most things do better in the ground. (One reason green house tomatoes are not going to replace ones raised in the ground).

But, once you plant a tree, for the most part itā€™s planted. In a pot, you can plant later, you can move and take it, or you can easily sell themā€“
but, agreed, unless the care and attention are high,
the containers arenā€™t going to generally thrive
as the same plant might in fertile soil.

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Fertilizer cost up to $40 a bag 6 or 8 years agoā€¦so itā€™s never came back to the prices of 30 years ago even though crude oil and gas dropped to 1970ā€™s prices. So, thereā€™s a higher floor to beginā€¦
and at the current rates prices are inflating a 40 or 50 # bag of 33-0-0 may cost $60 by summer.

Arenā€™t these things just processed, packaged equivalents of a good compost tea? This is what much of the regenerative agriculture approaches are about, although in this case that is a company making a new commodity. Iā€™ve had incredible success building the biological life in my soil with a mix of cover crops followed by wood chip mulch - basically composting in place and never tilling. Last year I grew flowers and pepper plants in one bed without any added fertilizer and the peppers pumped out 100+ pods per plant. It would have been more if the deer didnā€™t eat the plants practically to the ground twice early in the season.

Here is an interesting presentation by Dr. David Johnson, one of the developers of the Johnson-Su bio reactor composters. This should link to a point where they talk about the possible productivity of soil with a healthy biome, particularly with healthy fungal growth.

I realize people may argue some of this, but it has certainly worked for me. It does require no till, making sure there are always something growing in the soil to sustain the biological life, etc.

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Does anybody remember government subsidized 25% of their farmland to green manure? You could plant rye, several other plants than till it under when they are about halfway grown.
Zendog great video btw.

If it gets too expensive we can start saving up our urine. :thinking: Iā€™m not sure if trace amounts of prescription drugs and multivitamins is certified organic, though.

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Donā€™t they already reuse waste? I swear my local city saves all of its solids///although i think the liquids go into the Mississippi (after being ā€œtreatā€) ā€¦

You might pickup some Covid stuff and come up with a new one. For me, p&p, are out of the question. I bought a gl of microā€™s, regular $50.00 for $19.00 made by one of the finest companies. It should last me at least 3 years.
I use a lot of this stuff. Convenience? Nothing better. My major fertilizers, has plenty, all good stuff. I have a 500 gl tank for rainwater, add a bag of alfalfa (no salt) got to work better than p&p.

Is that the ā€œconservation reserveā€ so many took money for and let nature take over their less productive fields? Yep, since you mentioned it.

Since fertilizer prices are going ballistic, I looked at the amount of nitrogen required for a field crop like corn to compare it with the amount of N that I use on fruit. Surprised to see it takes about 1# of N per bushel of corn so it could take 200#/N in order to get 200 bushels of corn per acre.

I only use about 25#/N per acre of peaches and 50#/N acre of Blackberries or Blueberries. Even after a big increase in cost my fertilizer bill will still be manageable this year.

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At least back in the 90sā€¦crop rotation was pretty common. My brother has about 10 acres of field that is mainly left for deer these days, but when he use to lease it they would go beans/corn and even alfalfa. Not sure how common that is anymore. Seems like now its all corn up in that area of the state.

I think there is always a desire to push the last possible yield out of a field, so the amount of N can be excessive, especially when prices for it were lower. I expect weā€™ll see a lot more testing to see how many more bushels of corn per acre people really get for a given amount of N. If you only get 5% more yield for the last 25% of N you dumped on a field is it worth it?

a lot of you tube vids on using pelletized alfalfa as a long-term fertilizer. i tried it as a mulch around my plantā€™s trees and as a fall soil amendment awhile back. works well. besides a NPK OF 2.5- 2.5- 2.5 it has some micros also. last time i bought some it was like $15 for 40lbs at T.S.C in the horse/ cattle feed section. thatā€™s a lot cheaper than buying alfalfa meal from these organic fertilizer companies. itā€™s chopped up small enough, it breaks down fairly quickly for an organic. i still add some occasionally in my raised beds in the fall. by spring theyā€™re all broke down.

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Question? Percent of previous year crop left over as next harvest arrives?
10%??

If so, then a 15% smaller harvest due to drought, flood, or lack of fertilizer as usualā€¦prices go up or food runs out!

So it is going to be noticed if everybody skimps on fertilizer this season due to price increases. Food prices rise even faster than already.

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That being said, if enough people advocate to friends and family to produce their own food, it will help to stabilize demand. So much free fertilizer (human waste via body as well as uneaten food) could be used to make more food, yet it ends up being flushed away or taken to the dump. We as a society have the capacity to be much more self sufficient if the necessity exists.

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Iā€™m not sure what you are asking. Most crop studies like I mentioned above would be done on adjoining acreage during the same growing season. That is the only way to really see if the higher levels of N are worth it. When N is cheap there might not be as much reason to see if using a little less actually made a significant difference. But if someone is farming 1000 acres and N goes up, suddenly it might be worth more research instead of just piling on more fertilizer.

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I apologize for being unclear. Our points are a little different. Mine is that going back to less yield per acre means food scarcity and higher prices for everything that has that grain in it.