TN_Jim
Omono
Fred, I think I just insinuated you are a pole cat, my apologies
I, for one, do not accept the idea that feeding with non-organics ruins the relationships of plants with beneficial microbes, fungi and/or other critters.
Perhaps we disagree with characterizations of what happens, but not the ultimate effect. Long ago, when I began getting serious about gardening I kept bumping into articles on this or that element which if absent, caused this or that growth problem. I began a list of these minors and it began to include elements that I used to think were deadly, like cadmium and lead and eventually when the list got to somewhere over 30, I got the message: almost every element is necessary in minute quantities to this or that plant, so I abandoned the list and assume now that the minors are just as important as the majors. I discovered Jersey Green Sand and Meneffe Humate and use it sparingly in all my growing. Too much of any element is just as bad as too little, or even worse, so when I discovered charcoal I bought sweepings from charcoal mills and added it my mix. Modern Bone Char is made even better and the C readily bonds with anything available. That ties up bad and good, but is especially helpful "cleansing" the soil. Plants and microbes don't use elements by themselves, they use elements as compounds. An element which is toxic by itself can be useful when bound somewhere in a chain like OHCNOCHPOHCOHCKHO, ad infinitum, and available if needed. The "cleansing" action doesn't remove the element, it binds it to C making it generally less available to be concentrated at toxic levels.Chemical ferts certainly do impede on the microbes. They can live with low amounts (those that they're used to), but the higher the concentrations the more it impacts on them. Fertilizers are salts and that has all kinds of negative impacts on them.
The same happens as with the micorrhizal fungi...when chemically fed, plants bypass the microbial assisted method of obtaining nutrients.
Chemicals and the soil food web don't go together.
If we think about it, the plants and microbes have evolved together for millions of years to get this perfect system that works for them. When the status quo is interfered with, that association is also interfered with.
Its a very intricate and fragile system down there and something as foreign as chemical salt poured into that mix disturbs the balance immediately.
I agree with you term much
Once again, a problem will be solved by people who will make money from the solution.
Well, it does need some biological material like grain or wood-like pulp as the matrix to infest and be bio-degradable. Should be able to plow it into farmer's fields to grow mother of matrix? Probably would be counter-productive in waterways as a alga food?True, and the fungi works for free...I just hope this will dissolve once it gets into the waterways...!
You know why you see really, really old wooden boats at port in fishing village photos? Fresh water eats wood boats pretty quick so they are maintenance hogs (a hole in the water into which one pours money). In salt water, the salt preserves wood, so they last a long, long time. Salt water increases electrolysis for aluminum boats, so for fresh water aluminum, and for salt water wood. Might be a market for drift ~wood~ objects for home decor...Nah i'm more thinking replacing plastics with it as a packing material. Would work wonderful if it desolves once it hits water. Those plastic islands floating out there in the sea can be illiminated long run.