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To Till or Not To Till, that is the question? Part 1:


The concept of no-till is to favor the proliferation of mycorrhizal fungal roots on the roots of the crop.  The mycorrhizae produce a vast network of fungus roots called hyphae that are microscopic, however they are of critical importance in holding the soil structure together in what we call macro-aggregate structure.  They are also responsible for many other benefits to the host plant, but for now let’s stick to the soil structure benefit.  The slide below shows this soil fungal hyphae relationship. 


When we plow or till soil we clobber this relationship, making it difficult for mycorrhizal fungi to perpetuate in an agricultural setting for very long, resulting in most agriculture crops not being mycorrhizal.  This includes organic farms as well! 

Beyond the physical characteristic of the fungal hyphae gluing the soil macro-aggregate structure together, the hyphae also contain huge amounts of Nitrogen, which potentially is the single largest contributor of that element to the Soil Food Web.  How do we know this, because research has measured the fungal tissues at  10% Nitrogen, a big number when compared to the many approved organic fertilizers on the market.  For example, liquid fish is only 2% Nitrogen, a very expensive way to get Nitrogen into the system.  Protein Crumblies, a product of Soil Secrets is 8% Nitrogen and a much more affordable way of getting organic nitrogen into the system, when supplemental nitrogen is needed!    So if you inoculate your crop seed every year with a mycorrhizal product like Soil Secrets “White Lightning” you will most likely have an abundance of mycorrhizal tissues always cycling in the soil contributing Nitrogen while they are also gluing the soil together.  What a Great Idea!

Click on the following link to learn more about Soil Secrets “White Lightning” mycorrhizal inoculant: 
http://soilsecrets.co/white-lightning-charge-your-roots-to-power-your-plants/#more-1258



Michael Martin Meléndrez
Managing Member of Soil Secrets LLC
www.soilsecrets.com
michael@soilsecrets.com

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