Its amazing what shredded newspaper & food waste do to concrete soil !!

[melani]

feeding terrible concrete soil & turning it into something plant friendly took me 2 weeks - its a miracle to find my 1st worm in this prevouis concret soil where not even a cactus would have survived.

 

[Marck]

Your soil probably wasn't very bad if you went from newspaper and food scraps to healthy soil in only two weeks, but in any case, by all means, do continue to compost (cold, hot, or worm), mulch and otherwise incorporate organic matter into your garden. Take note, some food scraps can attract pests, be sure to compost such material in a wire cage or other access-restricted space.

 

[DirtMechanic]

You will not believe what sugar water will do. Many use molasses. By the end of the first summer I used it, I could drop a 5 foot metal pole into the soil by hand. It took 2 years for me to learn why and how it worked for the biodome. To contrast it by testing outside the garden I could not get past 5 or 6 inches deep.

 

[Marck]

Elaborate on molasses. I'm sceptical, but I want to hear more about your experience and reasoning.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Sugar leads to bacteria which leads to hungry fungi which leads to hyphae drawing water and nutrients up to the oxidation zone. More or less anyway. The downside is too much sugar leads to an overly fertilized environment in which the further addition of organic fertilizers such as blood meal need to be cut back or the biodome uglies can grow rampantly. Less is more. 1 or 2 ounces of molasses per gallon water every 2 weeks is a reasonable idea here in this heat and on this clay. Cooler climes with more natural organics in the soil probably differ somewhat. Since water and oxygen are primary, I understand that consistently watering is a big part of this. But I came to understand that dead bacteria are an important and easy to induce fertilizer in the same way Milorganite consists of dead biological materials from their sewage treatment processes. This just lacks the heavy metals and hand sanitizer chemicals.

 

[Marck]

I'm just not convinced that molasses is what is doing that any more than any other organic matter, though in small amounts it probably does no harm... I presume the molasses is in addition to compost and other organic matter added to the soil.
Typically soil fungi and bacteria digest mostly cellulose. Any organic matter is food for them. It's good that there are also bacteria that will mop up any simple sugars spilled on the ground, but it seems like an unnecessary sideshow to the main event.

I did read a study that molasses was used to kill soil nematodes, which is interesting, but then want is it? a 'bioactivator'?, a fertilizer?, a pesticide? A perfect tonic that encourages every beneficial organism and reduces every undesirable ones?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I'm just not convinced that molasses is what is doing that any more than any other organic matter, though in small amounts it probably does no harm... I presume the molasses is in addition to compost and other organic matter added to the soil.
Typically soil fungi and bacteria digest mostly cellulose. Any organic matter is food for them. It's good that there are also bacteria that will mop up any simple sugars spilled on the ground, but it seems like an unnecessary sideshow to the main event.

I did read a study that molasses was used to kill soil nematodes, which is interesting, but then want is it? a 'bioactivator'?, a fertilizer?, a pesticide? A perfect tonic that encourages every beneficial organism and reduces every undesirable ones?

I suspect that it is more of an easy method of providing carbon than anything else. Cellulose is a sugar. Di-saccharide?

Definition of saccharide

: a monosaccharide sugar or combination of sugars

Again, in the oxidation layer, the water may be as important as anything. But it is enough to tip a balance into the direction you want to go I suppose, unless you were interested in succulents.

Hey whatever happened to the bacteria they were approving that could turn dead matter into alcohol? I have a friend that wants to know.

 

[Marck]

I suspect that it is more of an easy method of providing carbon than anything else. Cellulose is a sugar. Di-saccharide?

Definition of saccharide

: a monosaccharide sugar or combination of sugars

Again, in the oxidation layer, the water may be as important as anything. But it is enough to tip a balance into the direction you want to go I suppose, unless you were interested in succulents.

Hey whatever happened to the bacteria they were approving that could turn dead matter into alcohol? I have a friend that wants to know.

Yes, cellulose is a carbohydrate but its one that animals can't digest, but bacteria and fungi will break it down into simple sugars dfor digestion.. Do fungi and bacteria in soil prefer to have their carbs 'pre-chewed'? Probably some do, some don't... ThiOur diet will change the microflora in our guts, I suppose it would also change the microflora in soil, though soil usually already has a wider list of menu options.

What is this about bacteria making alcohol from dead matter? Is this a new pathway for manufacturing ethanol?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yes, cellulose is a carbohydrate but its one that animals can't digest, but bacteria and fungi will break it down into simple sugars dfor digestion.. Do fungi and bacteria in soil prefer to have their carbs 'pre-chewed'? Probably some do, some don't... ThiOur diet will change the microflora in our guts, I suppose it would also change the microflora in soil, though soil usually already has a wider list of menu options.

What is this about bacteria making alcohol from dead matter? Is this a new pathway for manufacturing ethanol?

Klebsiella Planticola. Whenever ago that I was reading about compost tea influence on the food soil web, there was an academic scrabble about it being released and killing all life on the planet.

Now I got curious and had to go answer my own question.

Did you hear the story about the GMO that nearly destroyed the world?

An old myth has resurfaced that a GMO almost destroyed all life on Earth — but what's the real story?

geneticliteracyproject.org

 

[Marck]

Another catastrophe not so narrowly avoided.