Improving The Soil Aerobic Zone With Calcium
In this post I will teach you about the soil aerobic zone and how to improve and increase it with calcium.
The Aerobic Zone
The top layer of soil where plant feeder roots and microbes grow is called the Aerobic Zone. The aerobic zone can be anywhere from less than an inch to many inches deep. It is where the plants and microbes have access to air, water, and nutrients. The deeper the aerobic zone, the more space roots and microbes have to live and grow and the healthier they will all be. Microbes in the soil will be happiest in soil that is naturally and consistently loose, fluffy, and deep, not compacted and crusted. Soil that has texture like this is called “well flocculated.”
The Structure of Soil Particles
One of the main components of soil is clay. Clay particles are flat and when your soil is tight, the clay particles are layered lying flat on top of each other. Imagine a stacked deck of cards with each card representing a clay particle.
Now if you build a house of cards, you end up with a structure that has a lot of air in between the cards. This is what your soil is like after you rototill it. But just like a disturbed house of cards falls flat, your tilled soil settles down. After some time some rain, or you, or a machine presses down on the soil it is compacted and airless again. Wouldn’t it be great if your soil, could be pressed down but come back up again on its own? Well, it’s possible!
What your soil needs is calcium. Calcium mellows the soil by interacting with the clay particles. Clay particles have a positive (+) charge on their flat sides and many negative (-) charges on their edges. Calcium has a double positive charge (++). One of calcium’s positive charges hooks to one of the negative charges on a clay particle, then the second positive charge can grab onto a different clay particle. Additional calcium can grab onto these and other clay particles and set up a whole standing structure. Pressing down on this soil will not break the calcium bonds. The positive-negative connections are not easily broken. The soil will rise back up!
After applying calcium your clay particles will have a structure with air in it that your microbes and water can move into. This is your flocculated soil. It is a hospitable environment for your plant roots, and microbes because there is a lot of air to breathe. If your soil has no air there is no point in adding microbes to your soil with compost or compost tea as they cannot thrive in compacted airless soil.
What Kind Of Calcium Should I Use?
There are many kinds of calcium but most forms are bonded to other elements such as sulfur or carbon (i.e. calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, etc.). It takes a looong time for these forms of calcium to take effect in the soil because it requires microbes (which are not there yet) to break down those bonds to release calcium.
I recommend GSR Dormant Calcium from SoilWorks LLC. It is a de-ionized calcium that is not bonded to other elements. Because it is not bonded to other elements, it is available for immediate use, ready to bond to the clay particles in your soil. Not only that, it helps make the present calcium in your soil more available, too. The aerobic zones of our own garden and commercial fields have improved significantly in just a few years since we started applying this calcium.
Benefits of applying GSR Dormant Calcium
– Deeper aerobic zone
– Improved soil flocculation (texture)
– Less compaction
– Better water penetration
– More space for soil microbes
– Easier and cheaper tillage
– More calcium available to growing plant
– Less weed pressure (weeds don’t like calcium)
– It’s very affordable
– Drought tolerance increases because soil holds more water/nutrients
– Stands up to heavy rains better because deeper aerobic zones hold more water
Conclusion
Most soils compact easily because they are low in calcium. Calcium structures the soil, building a great environment for microbes to thrive in.
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