growing mediums? what is soil truly?

[redneckplanter]

yeah i know soil is that stuff in your backyard that you dig up and plant in.lol
but it differs wildly per locale...even in the same yard.
we ammend it...try to improve it...change it.....ect ect......
but what ultimately is soil?
bits and pieces of clay...rock...organic matter?
how many various types of soil are there truly?
and how many varients?
and where does water fit in?lol
ie water plants growing in muck...seaweeds hydroponics ect?
could one mix and match mediums?
grow seaweed in traditional soil?or trees like peaches in a water based medium?
its staggering to think of how many ways one could grow something and in what.lol
as an experiment i put hmk's charlie's pride mellon in a giant pot.
my ''soil''?????????
merely cowmanure and old corn silage...nothing else.....
so far so good.
what could be accomplished mixing mediums?
and to what benefit?
any takers?

[BalconyFarmer]

Soil provides the structure for roots to anchor and obtain moisture. Physically, healthy soil is about 45% mineral--weathered parent rock--and half air and/or water, depending on how recently it rained and the drainage of the soil. Organic matter is only about 5% in agricultural soil, although in a good organic garden the organic matter may reach 10%.

Soil is alive, with bacteria multiplying to create microaggregates between soil particles, and macropores between aggregates allowing drainage. Fungal hyphae thread through the macropores. Soil is the below-ground ecosystem that feeds and sustains plants.

See my Facts About Soil page if you're interested in details.

[TastyofHasty]

Nice to read your musings about soil, Red.

grow seaweed in traditional soil?or trees like peaches in a water based medium?

I think different plants are adapted over long years to a particular kind of soil. Trying to grow them in the wrong type of soil, as above, would just plain not be cost-effective, my opinion ... waste of time, money, energy. Quite a lot of "herbs" are adapted to "poor soils." Meaning, they can grow where other stuff can't ... gives them an edge.

SOMEbody on iDig posted a link a couple months ago, to an online book showing various vegetables and how their roots systems grow, quite different for different veggies. Wish I could find that link.

[redneckplanter]

Originally Posted by BalconyFarmer

Soil provides the structure for roots to anchor and obtain moisture. Physically, healthy soil is about 45% mineral--weathered parent rock--and half air and/or water, depending on how recently it rained and the drainage of the soil. Organic matter is only about 5% in agricultural soil, although in a good organic garden the organic matter may reach 10%.

Soil is alive, with bacteria multiplying to create microaggregates between soil particles, and macropores between aggregates allowing drainage. Fungal hyphae thread through the macropores. Soil is the below-ground ecosystem that feeds and sustains plants.

See my Facts About Soil page if you're interested in details.

thanks balconyfarmer.will take a look.
i'd love to get my og content into the 20's or 30's.lol

[VA Gardener]

If plants are grown in straight compost/manure, it will be 100% organic matter, right? Wouldn't this be the ideal soil?

[redneckplanter]

Originally Posted by TastyofHasty

Nice to read your musings about soil, Red.



I think different plants are adapted over long years to a particular kind of soil. Trying to grow them in the wrong type of soil, as above, would just plain not be cost-effective, my opinion ... waste of time, money, energy. Quite a lot of "herbs" are adapted to "poor soils." Meaning, they can grow where other stuff can't ... gives them an edge.

SOMEbody on iDig posted a link a couple months ago, to an online book showing various vegetables and how their roots systems grow, quite different for different veggies. Wish I could find that link.

herbs is resilient.smiles
the root systems makes sense.
some crops you mound others direct seed in flat ground or rows.
some do better in container culture some better in the patch.
thinking outside the box here...lol
a lotta stuff i am trying is suited for one area.i'm trying to get close as i can to native environment but in better soil.
the veldt stuff i can mimic climate partially.
dunno how the wild native trees ect will like ''better'' soil.
or say if you tried growing tropical plants or natives from the wrong zone?
and put them into a more nutritious soil or different soil if it might give them a growing edge/bump and perhaps they might climatize?
through selection you might acclimate it to your area?

[redneckplanter]

and as balcony farmer...desertrat and a host of others have mentioned...?
the micro herd.lol
do these various organisms differ by locale?
is bf's microheard different than mine?
i know there are several types of critters that can heat up a compost pile.or can munch on it as a cold pile.
would a colder area say zone 4?
have a different micro herd profile than my zone 9a?

[BalconyFarmer]

Originally Posted by VA Gardener

If plants are grown in straight compost/manure, it will be 100% organic matter, right? Wouldn't this be the ideal soil?

The problem with straight compost/manure is that the soil food web breaks it down rapidly into finer and finer particles, which compact down and create drainage issues down the road. Plants need air around their roots, not just water. In compacted soil, aerobic soil organisms give way to anaerobic plant pathogens, and plants suffer. Soil has particles of sand and silt that increase porosity and maintain good drainage; without them, soils go anaerobic.

[redneckplanter]

if you are doing what i am trying?
tons of manure branches leaves woody material in layers?
cold composting would theoreticly hold more nitrogen?
the woody stuff helps with compaction?
as it will hold moisture better as it rots in?
over years of application would it change my soil profile?

[redneckplanter]

just a quick ps to the group?
this is a fun discussion fer me.smiles