SIMPLE SOIL SCIENCE

Understanding the Soil we live on

To most people: understanding of the soil or the earth’s crust that we live on, is what it can provide for them.

Example : foundation for buildings, extraction for bricks, road bases, minerals for manufacture and for growing products. There are many uses of the earth’s crust and far to many to mention here.

The soil is really decomposed rocks metamorphosed through time, washed and blown, mixed and deposited in our ancient valleys and crevices by the shifting of the earth land masses. They have been cooked, boiled, blanched and bleached a longtime before we began to use them.

Through this process, the earth’s crust has delivered to us an amazing assortment of minerals for our use, of which we have utilised over the centuries. An interesting thing that came to notice some years ago in the form of a “window sticker” when the green peace movement were condemning the mining industry and the exploitation of minerals.
It read: “ NAME 5 ITEMS OF DAILY USE THAT IS NOT DERIVED FROM MINERALS. LONG LIVE THE MINING INDUSTRY.”
The statement is clear for us. To survive. we need minerals on a daily basis and so do the rest of the inhabitants of the earth.

“From the smallest micro-bacterium to the largest tree on the planet they need minerals to survive”

For broad-acre farming we need to know what type of minerals have decomposed to form the soil that is being used for crop production in your area.

How do we find out this? We can read up on the area in geological books or much simpler take a complete soil analysis which includes major elements, trace elements, soil ratios and balances. This will give you a guide to what minerals are in your soil also what ratio they are to each other.

Armed with this knowledge you can then select the nutrients required to grow the products suitable to your area.

Maddingley Minerals have based their conditioners and fertilisers on nutrients that are lowest available in the soil in the region, also balancing nutrients with pH to give a product that will interact with soil, give off nutrients and be beneficial to microbial life.

Maddingley Minerals products are blended and granulated to suit all types of broad acre farming, also are suitable to most farm machinery being used today.

Maddingley minerals would like you to browse through our products, select a product suitable for your area and contact our technical staff for further details.

Some common soil types that exist in Australia along the great divide that are used for broad acre farming production from cereals to cotton, oil crops and pulses.

The soils of the Mid Western of N.S.W. are made up of alluvial rock formations derived from decomposing  volcanic upheavals and shifting faults throughout the area, this combined with the metamorphic change over time have created decomposed  basalt’s along high silica sands blown in from the central districts cemented together with Kaolin clays and carboniferous deposits to create high alkaline soils and inert sandstone ridges. Over the passage of time alluvial flats are formed along existing creek beds providing good fertile soils for agricultural use. The rises and slopes contain strong mineral content but are calcreted together by heat which creates a nutrient lockup and little organic matter to decompose these soils, but when tilled and balanced, will provide good foundations for adaptable root stocks for cereals, cotton, oil crops and pulses various other agricultural pursuits. 

The  Queensland central plains soils vary greatly from acidic to alkaline depending on the location to the great dividing range and the alluvial wash from the gulf country that has moved over the sub structure to create blended mineral plains of brown red and black soils. The central plains contain acid sulphates and calcareous minerals that derived from salt water brines. These eroding minerals are deposited throughout the central plains in unbalanced forms which inhibit growth if the nutrients are not balanced.

The same can be said for the highland parts of N.S.W. the New England district and the granite belts of Queensland. These are mainly acidic with exposed granites needing high alkaline minerals for nutrient release with the soil turning to basalts across the Moree plains. In general the soils of the region are basically suitable for the production of many products that can be produced in a natural (organic) way. Climate and changing seasons will be the other issues to contend with along with balanced minerals.

What type of soil is yours? ACID or ALKALINE

Acid and Alkaline soils, what is the difference and values?

The difference between acid and alkaline soils is a chemical measurement, the pH level of the soil. The soil is declared acid if the pH reading is below 7 and alkaline if above.

The soil pH controls nutrient availability and biological activity, so if soils are extremely acidic, lock-up of nutrients occurs and on the other side of the scale  extreme alkalinity also locks up nutrients, so this indicator is a balance measurement to understand the soil level and awareness to neutrality.

Acid soils can be formed or man made, in each case the production of plants either have to be suited by biological nature of the species (e.g. natives ) or they require other nutrients to produce in these soils. N.P.K. fertilisers are usually required in large amounts to produce good production in these soil types, being acid or sulphate based these eventually add to the problem and slow nutrient and production down to  unsustainable levels. The same is for alkaline soils which is caused by nature when the soil is highly alkaline although acid type fertilisers are used, eventually the calcium and magnesium lock up vital elements, such as phosphorus and trace elements for plants, which again restricts certain species to grow.

The keys are:  understanding soil in its mineral structure and the values of nutrients and elements that are in the soil, this will form the basic knowledge and help to unlock these nutrients to produce products in a natural(organic) way.

The “Keys to your soil bank” lay with the understanding of the combination of elements that exist in your soil and how to use them for profitability and sustainability.

MADDINGLEY MINERALS HAVE INSTALLED “THE KEYS TO YOUR SOIL BANK”ON THIS WEB PAGE.

CHEMICALS IN SOILS

Why did we need Chemicals?

Since the mid-1940’s technology has been applied to agriculture in order that higher yielding crops,vegetables,grains and other produce could be achieved. The nutritional requirements and growing needs for crops were determined; programs were devised which reproduced artificially the various nutrients which plants require for growth.

The problem of pests, diseases and unwanted weeds were looked at, and powerful pesticides and herbicides were devised, which they could apply to the plants and to the soils to eradicate these. In such a manner man could contribute to controlling yield and quality using chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.

Agricultural departments around the world welcomed with enthusiasm this new era of chemical control, and how production could be boosted. However, there were serious consequences from the use of these chemicals which are still evident in agriculture today. These are declining soil fertility, soil acidification, salinity erosion, nutrient lock-up, soil imbalance, loss of soil structure, reduced organic matter levels, increased pest and disease incidence and decreasing crop health. In short ,such soil is devoid of minerals and essential nutrients.

What has happened in 55 years?

Under the new chemical regime developed since the war our soil has become dead or lifeless in areas where large concentrated production has taken place; the population of micro organisms has decreased dramatically or even been wiped out. Good and bad have all been killed by the pesticides, Herbicides and artificial fertilisers salts. Levels of pesticides/herbicides which are completely non-biodegradable, have built up and are in our soils and transferred to our produce.

The use of mineral fertiliser which result in soil mineralisation, are essential to increase soil fertility, begin the process of breaking down selected residue formulas by increased micro-activity and improve soil health. With  the result that produce grown on these mineral fertilisers have increased taste and texture, pastures are more palatable and nutritious, crops are healthier with increased resistance to both pests, diseases and frosts, and the mineral supplements are transferred to our animals and to ourselves.

Healthier soils: result in healthier crops, pastures, animals and ultimately healthier humans.

Remember we are like the smallest bacterium or the tallest tree.

Visit the “Keys to your Soil Bank” to find out how you can build healthier soils and plants.

A Guide to using Mineral supplements in Natural (Organic) or Chemical Broadacre farming practices.

Broadacre Farming

INTERSTATE ENERGY GROUP. PO Box 1039, Bacchus Marsh VIC 3340. Ph. (03) 5367 0725, Fax. (03) 5367 0726.
© 2002 Copyright Maddingley Minerals. HumusPlus4 and OCCA are registered business names of Maddingley Minerals.