How to Grow More Vegetables : And Fruits, Nuts ... - Shroomery

exchange for plants in the soil. The surfaces of humus particles
carry a negative electric charge. Many of the plant nutrients—
such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, and most
trace minerals—carry a positive electrical charge in the soil
solution and are thereby attracted to and adhere to the surface
of humus. Some of the plant nutrients—such as phosphorus,
sulfur, and the form of nitrogen that is available to plants—
are not positively charged. Fortunately, a good supply of these
nutrients becomes available to the plants through biological
transformation in the compost pile and soil.
As plant roots grow through the soil in search of nutrients,
they feed on the humus. Each plant root is surrounded by a
halo of hydrogen ions that are a by-product of the roots’ respiration.
These hydrogen ions also carry a positive electric charge.
The root actually “bargains” with the humus, exchanging some
of its positively charged hydrogen ions for positively charged
nutrient ions stuck onto the surface of the humus. An active
exchange is set up between humus and roots, the plants
“choosing” which nutrients they need to balance their own
inner chemistry.
Therefore, humus is the most reliable plant food, and plants
pull off whatever combinations of nutrients they choose from
its surface. GROW BIOINTENSIVE practices rely on this natural,
continual, slow-releasing biological process for nutrient release
to the plants, rather than making available all the season’s nutrients
chemically at one time.
The beauty of humus is that it feeds plants with nutrients
that the plants pick up on its surface and it also safely stores
nutrients in forms that are not readily leached. The humus
contains much of the remainder of the original nitrogen that
was put in the compost pile in the form of grass, kitchen
wastes, and so on. The humus was formed by the resynthesizing
activity of numerous species of microorganisms feeding
off that original “garbage.”
The microorganisms in the soil then continue to feed on the
humus after the finished compost is spread on the soil. As the
microorganisms feed, the core nutrients in the humus are
released in forms available to plant roots. Thus, the microorganisms
are an integral part of the humus, and one cannot be
found without the other. The only other component of the soil
that holds onto and exchanges nutrients with plant roots is clay,
but humus can hold onto and exchange a far greater amount of
these nutrients.
Soil and Other Materials in the Compost Pile
It is important to add soil to your compost pile. The soil contains
a good starter supply of microorganisms. The organisms
help in several ways. Some break down complex compounds
into simpler ones the plants can utilize. There are many species
“Give back to the soil as much
as you have taken—and a little
bit more—and Nature will
provide for you abundantly!”
—Alan Chadwick
COMPOST 37