betsy ross ross farm – granger, texas october 3, 2011 texas recycling & sustainability summit...
TRANSCRIPT
Betsy RossRoss Farm – Granger, Texas
October 3, 2011Texas Recycling & Sustainability Summit
Ross FarmRoss Farm
04/19/23 2
Ross Farm Goal: Nutrient Rich FoodsBetter Soil, Better Life
Healthy (alive) Soil =
Healthy (vigor) Plants =
Healthy (nutrients) Beef =
Healthy People!
Can’t Do This On Grass in Texas?www.rossfarm.com
No burning No synthetic fertilizers No herbicides No insecticides No hormones No corn – ever!
Real Hard Without Life in the Soil…
What is compost?• Aerobic decomposition of a mix of organic matter• Thermal compost:– Heat minimum 131 F (55C) for3 days to kill weed seed,
pathogens, pests– But NOT HIGHER than 155 – 160 F (70 C) so beneficials
NOT killed– Turned whenever too hot because too hot means lack of
oxygen, loss of N, S, P, build acidic conditions
• Worm or Vermi-compost (cold composting)– Worms turn the compost, kill pathogens, pests
• Static compost
Compost Standards• Measured in fresh compost, expressed per gram dry compost• 15 to 30 or more µg active bacteria /g dry weight compost • 150 µg (fungal compost) to 300 or more µg (bacterial compost) total
bacteria /g dry weight compost
• 2 to 10 µg or more active fungi /g dry weight compost• 150 (bacterial compost) to 500 or more (fungal compost) µg total
fungal biomass/g dry weight compost• Hyphal diameters on average 2.5 micrometers or greater
• 50,000 or more protozoa per gram dry weight compost 25,000 or more flagellates 25,000 or more amoebae 50 - 100 ciliates. Higher numbers indicate anaerobic conditions resulting from compaction, water-logging, discontinuities in soil
• 20 to 100 BENEFICIAL nematodes per gram dry weight of compost
Compost Tea Definitions• Actively-Aerated Compost Tea – brewed water extract– Active, total bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes (sp vs #s)– soluble nutrients from the compost– aerobic (O2 above 6 ppm) vs anaerobic (pathogen growth, loss of
nutrients, toxins)– with or without added foods to grow beneficials
• Non-aerated Compost Tea – variable results• Compost Extract – no brewing time• Compost Leachate – no brewing, few organisms removed• Plant tea – compost not involved– bacteria, fungi from plant surfaces, aerobic or anaerobic
• Manure tea – compost not involved– anaerobic (pathogens present, 90 to 120 day rule required)
•Put-to-sleep teas – loss of species, minimal activity
Must Have Good Compost!
©Sustainable Growth Texas LLC, design by Joyce Hankins
Life Below the Ground!
Life Above Ground!
An Overview of Managing Our Eco-Systems
Too Often We Manage the Trophic Levels Independently and Out of
Order…
©Sustainable Growth Texas LLC, design by Joyce Hankins
How We Add Life to Soils
Bio-Augmentation (Add Biology)• Hopefully Good Top Soil• Add Good Compost• SGTx Liquid Compost Extract
(LCE)– Good Compost– Good Vermicompost– Good Humus
• Brew Activated Compost Tea (ACT)– Good Compost– Good Vermicompost– Good Humus
• Selected Bio-Inoculants• Cover Crops…
www. soilsalive.comwww.sustainablegrowthtexas.com
Differences LCE & ACT
SGTX Liquid Compost Extract
Aerated Compost Tea
Make Larger QuantitiesLonger Response TimeActive & Dormant Organisms Extracted (lasts longer in the field)
Original Recyclers• Soil Food web insures fertility – they recycle the
elements and make them available to plants!– Nitrogen into nitrates– Phosphorus into phosphates– Boron into borate– etc
• Soil food web digests/breaks down wastes, then food building microbes begin to build living organic matter, store up nutrients in mass by growing plants, changing basic elements so they can be absorbed into plant roots.
Wow! Is this possible?
Let’s Go Check Out this Job Opportunity… before we spray.
More Clues: Hard Winter
Got a Earthworm – but…
Clue: Grubs
Clue: Fungi Present?
The Job – this acreage
Lets Make an Application… 5-24-10
• Put out 20 gallons/acre of LCE plus– dry micronized fish;
humic acid, kelp, molasses, biozome, SGTX probiotics, trace minerals, phosphorus, proprietary biological inoculants.
May 27, 2010
Lets Make another Application… 11-18-10
• Put out 20 gallons/acre of LCE plus– dry micronized fish;
humic acid, kelp, molasses, biozome,fulvic acid, trace minerals, phosphorus, proprietary biological inoculants.
– Used blend of composts from different suppliers
Which Soil Do You Want?
Let’s Take a Look Nov 2010
Cows Look Good
Dung Beetles & Micro Arthopods
Progress with Organic Matter
Six Months and a Little Rain…
• Bastrop County• Large Cattle Grazing
Operation• Sand Land?
Let’s Look at the Numbers
5-10-10 11-10-10
Total Exchange Capacity (CEC)
4.23 8.29
pH 5.90 7.40
Organic Matter (%) 1.27 2.53
Sulfur (ppm) 15 13
Mehlich III Phosphorous (lbs/a)
22 103
Calcium (lbs/a) 1064 (62.7%) 2250 (81.39%)
Magnesium (lbs/a) 84 (8.28%) 179 (10.79%)
Potassium (lbs/a) 82 (2.49%) 164 (4.00%)
Sodium (lbs/a) 53 (2.7%) 25 (0.79%)
Erosion ControlDetention Basins - Parks
6 Months LaterMUD 230 Houston, Tx
Bare Parent
Material
100% bacterial
CyanobacteriaTrue BacteriaProtozoaFungiNematodesMicroarthsF:B = 0.01
“Weeds”, Johnson Grass - high NO3 - lack of oxygen F:B = 0.1
Early Grasses Bromus, Bermuda F:B = 0.3
Mid-grasses, clovers,vegetables F:B = 0.75
Late successionalgrasses, row crops,Native plants F:B = 1:1
Shrubs, vines,bushes, cottonMore natives F:B = 2:1 to 5:1
Deciduous Trees F:B = 5:1 to 100:1
Conifer, old-growth forests F:B = 100:1 to 10000:1
Soil Foodweb SuccessionFungal : Bacteria Ratios
Match Below Ground with Above Ground
Soil Food Web, Inc.
Where Do Most of Invasives Fall on
this Chart?
The Right Microbes…
Here Is Our Paradigm• Nothing Bad in Mama
Nature• Everything Has a
Purpose/Reason• Everything out of ground
returns to ground• Mama Nature Moves
Energy Via Food Chain/Trophic Levels
• Air, Water, Food and Shelter All Necessary Below Ground as well as Above Ground
©Sustainable Growth Texas LLC, design by Joyce Hankins
Thanks. Betsy Ross and the teams from:
Soils AliveSustainable Growth Texas, LLCBetsy Ross Grass-Fed Beef
Recyclers… Give Us the Good Stuff So We Can DoA Better Job Everywhere. After-all, its About LIFE!