Soil Amendment List And Their Properties

Hello fellow gardeners,

Recently I decided to try the "no-till" method of growing. I spent a lot of time researching different soil amendments. Unfortunately I could not find any one sight that had all of them listed. So I had to google each individual amendment to help give me a better understanding of its value to my soil. So I figured instead of leaving this info on a note pad in my computer I would share it with you folks.

By no means are the ones I have listed the only ones available but I thought this would be a good list for us to start with and add to as we go. This list is just the amendments I am currently using in the soil I have just built. Sort of a centralized place for a Gardener to come and learn a little bit about the different soil amendments available to us.

Let me make it clear I am in no way claiming to be any sort of botanist. I am just a Gardener whom tries his best to understand what is going on beneath my soil.

HTH some folks choose and source amendments. One last thing, don't feel like you need to use this many amendments. It is not necessary. I am just a freak that is looking for the most diversity I can find.

I do apologize if a list like this has been compiled here but me being an ignorant old man I could not find it.

All the best.

MGB

All the amendments below are certified by all or at least one of the following certifying agencies:

OMRI: Organic Materials Review Institute, an independent nonprofit organization
that evaluates brand-name products for organic use.

MOFGA: Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association. Reviewed by
MOFGA Certification Services LLC and allowed for use on MOFGA
Certification Services LLC–certified farms.

WSDA: The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Organic
Certifying division has approved these products for use in organic
agriculture in Washington State.

Fertilizers:

Alfalfa Meal (2.6-0-2.3 avg.) Excellent alternative to blood meal as a nitrogen source. Gives plants a noticeable quick boost and feeds soil organisms.

Bat Guanos- Provides both macro and micro nutrients along with active and dormant micro-organisms to soils. Beneficial organisms mobilize nutrients tied up in the soil, break down the compounds in the guano, and slowly release significant soluble nutrients to neighboring plant roots.

Mexican Bat guano (10-1-1) An excellent source of nitrogen and trace elements, it substantially boosts leaf growth and overall plant vigor.

Indonesian Bat Guano (0.5-13-0.2) The highest phosphorus rating available in a guano,

Blood Meal (12-0-0) Fastest release time of any organic nitrogen source. It is made of dried and powdered blood of animals (usually cattle), and is used as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for plants. It has been utilized by organic gardeners for years.

Bone Meal (4-12-0) An excellent source of phosphorous and it is easy for gardeners to use. It is also the oldest form of phosphorous fertilizer.

Cockadoodle Doo Organic Fertilizer (4-1-2) Pasteurized poultry manure. A slow release fertilizer and soil conditioner that will not burn plants. Contains no weed seeds or pathogens.

Crab Meal (5-2-0.5) The shells and offal from coastal water blue crabs. These crabs are harvested from Maine to Mexico. Crab Meal is a waste by-product of the crab meat industry. The crab remains are gathered, ground, and dried to stabilize decomposition. Crab Meal contains significant levels of a protein called chitin (pronounced ky'tin). This protein not only provides slow-release nitrogen, but also suppresses pest nematode activity. Crab Meal has a 5-2-0.5 analysis and also contains 15 percent calcium.

Feather Meal (13-0-0) Comprised of processed chicken feathers that have been thoroughly cleaned, heated with steam, and ground up into a powerful organic fertilizer mulch. With an extremely rich Nitrogen level, Feather Meal provides both quick nutrient enrichment and a constant, “slow feed” as plants metabolize the nitrogenic materials at their own pace. This allows for more consistent growth and provides the plant with a readily accessible growth supplement whenever the plant needs it most.

Fertrell Feed-n-Grow (3-2-3) Slow-release plant food made with blood meal, fish meal, feather meal, alfalfa, rock phosphate, sulfate of potash, green-sand, and kelp.

Fish Meal (8-12-2) A by-product of catfish farming in Mississippi, put through a hammer-mill to produce flow-able particles that pass easily through a drop spreader or planter. No stabilizers or additives. Doesn’t smell bad (for fish meal) and handles extremely well. Once in the ground it does not continue to smell. Excellent source of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Kelp Meal- Dried and ground seaweed contains trace minerals, enzymes and amino acids. An excellent source of naturally chelated elements.

Mustard Seed Meal- suppresses soil diseases and enriches your soil by releasing nitrogen to your plants over the course of the season.

Soybean Meal (7-0.5-2.3) High levels of nitrogen and potassium are released as the soybean meal breaks down,providing fertility over time.

Spread the Mustard Fertilizer (4-2-4) 35% mustard seed meal, 18% alfalfa, 14% rock phosphate, 7% crab meal, fish meal and potassium sulfate with kelp and seaweed binders. A well-balanced complete fertilizer.

Rock Powders and Soil Amendments:

Aragonite (94% CaCO3) A source of calcium that is very low in magnesium.

Azomite (0-0-2.5, 5% Ca) Named for its A-to-Z of Minerals including Trace Elements; contains over 67 minerals beneficial to plants.

Granite Meal (0-0-5) Contains potassium which plants need for sugar and starch production. Granite meal can be added to the soil in large amounts without altering the pH. Greatly enhances soil structure and promotes healthier plants.

Green-sand (0-1-7, 3% Mg, 20% Fe) An organic source of potassium from 70 to 80 million year old marine deposits. Contains marine potash plus silica, iron oxide, magnesia, lime, phosphoric acid and as many as 30 other trace minerals. Loosens clay soils and improves sandy soils. Provides a slow release of potassium.

Menefee Humates- Hundreds of millions of years ago the lush rainforest's and tropical swamplands of Precambrian New Mexico produced plant matter that, through millions of years of composting and burial under layers of water and sand, metamorphosed into the coal-like material of the Menefee formation. Tectonic and volcanic activity brought it back to the surface and exposed the layer for mining. Humates contain 65% humic acid in a carbon matrix to chelate minerals and nutrients making them more easily available to soil microorganisms and plant.

Planter’s II Trace Minerals Fertilizer (0-0-0.09, 5% Ca, 5% S) Mined in Colorado from the remains of the great inland sea. Crushed and then pelleted with the addition of brewer’s yeast, Planters II is 14% silicon, 5% calcium and 5% sulfur along with 28 other trace elements necessary to plant health.

K-Mag Sulfate of Potash Magnesium (0-0-22, 11% Mg,17% S) Langbeinite is a marine deposit of potassium sulfate and magnesium sulfate in soluble form. A good source of immediate potassium for depleted soil and of magnesium where calcium is abundant.

Black Rock Phosphate- is a high carbon rock phosphate that is very sustainable providing for an effective slow release of phosphorous. It is also rich in calcium and a host of trace nutrients, including carbon. It contains over 30% phosphate with about 3 - 7% instantly available.

Disclaimer: The NPK values I have listed above may vary depending on whom and where you source them.

 

Hello Sean,

Not busting your balls but just curious if you had any fact to back up your statement or if that was just something you have heard? If so could you please sight where you got it so I may investigate further so that I won't purchase "spiked" organic soil amendments. Maybe there are some types that are more likely to be "spiked". If this were the case it would help me to learn which ones to steer clear of. BTW the amendments I have selected were all sourced with in 50 miles from my home. This played a tremendous role in what I have selected.

I will take a look at the coral link. It has me curious as to how it is harvested. I know most coral reefs are protected. Last I knew marine biologists around the world were freaking because all the corral reefs are dieing.

Thanks

MGB

 

Sean, I am sorry that is how I am built. I like to learn the way learning should be done, by researching. Please forgive me but I have been burned passing along information I took as gospel only to find out I was passing incorrect information. It makes me feel like a fool. It is not you personally so please don't take it as such.

One thing I particularly liked about LD/CQ was he would give you a link to a study or a book or some other literature so that you would get the raw information. sometimes facts are lost in interpretation. I did not always agree with his tact but he generally backed his info up.

Next, the case you cited is for a bottled liquid nutrients. All amendments I cited were meals,dusts,minerals,guanos, etc. I listed no bottled liquid nutrients. I also edited my last post to explain why I was asking for reference but I edited and you posted at the same time.

I did go to the link and read their bio. Thank you. Very interesting. A great source for yourself. I lived in Oahu for almost 8 years. Beautiful place just to small for me to settle in. I am not sure what island your on and I am not asking. Thanks again. Have a good evening.

MGB

 

Hello WGG,

Great list. I wish I would have found this a couple months ago when I began my research. It was not so much the NPK I was interested in when researching each amendment but it was some of the hidden properties that fascinated me.

For example I had no idea Mustard Seed Meal acts as a soil disease suppressant. Kelp Meal has naturally chelated elements. I find these hidden properties fascinating. Hidden may be the wrong description but I find most folks look at the NPK values when some amendments are actually a great addition to your soil for entirely different reasons.

All the best

MGB


Sean,

No worries man that is one of the sucky things about the internet. No body language, no facial expression, no negative non verbs, no tels in general in whether a poster means well or not. I do assure you though I seldom mean ill will toward anyone these days. To old to be any different.

Mahalo

MGB

 

Heya Pearl,

The 3 sources I used were Fedco, Parris Farmers Union, and Agway. You should be just about set with Fedco, the more common ones you could easily source local. Still half a sleep sorry if I was not very helpful.

All the best.

MGB

 

 
 
Hello Tree,
 
First let me apologize for not answering these questions in a more prompt manner. I normally un-sub from my posts fairly quickly. I only saw you had bumped it because I was given a like on this thread from another member today.
 
Menefee Humates are a great organic chelate. Since using them I no longer use liguid humic acid. I have 2 bottles of 8% humic acid sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I can't factually back this up with research from a botanist, but I believe they also provide housing for my micro-heard as well as help provide aeration. They are very light and porous. I use them at a ratio of 1/2 cup per cubic ft. I myself will not make a mix w/o them.
 
As far as K-Mag Sulfate of Potash Magnesium (0-0-22, 11% Mg,17% S) goes it is just OGS's version of SulPoMag. Which many folks use here at the city. I have had no adverse effects on my garden using this product. You just need to make sure you have an abundant supply of calcium when using this product.
 
HTH
 
Have a great weekend Tree. 
 
MGB