From what I understand high brix soil is built with minerals in mind. High in Ca as well. Coots recipe calls for 4 cups of minerals/rock dust per cf, and upwards of 1 cup per cf of something high in calcium carbonate like oyster shell flower. People find that the soil gets better with time, so I suspect that due to the slow rate at which minerals are processed by soil microbes people are finding better results in successive generations. This is where the "no compost" thing makes me scratch my head. Wouldn't the microbes (and humus for other reasons) from compost be beneficial in this regard?
Also, why is potassium frowned upon? IMO kelp meal is one of the best amendments there is.
this is the little i have gleaned . i was really into albrecht soil and high brix in 2009 is started with the"brix mix" from peaceful valley organics.
potash has a complex role in the rizosphere but not a large one like we think . here is a quote that sums it up nicely.
FIRST STORY
International Ag Labs is a member of the Manure Analysis Proficiency Program (MAP) so naturally we test our fair share of manure. We also have a lot of customers who compost manure and so we also regularly test compost. It is interesting that when manure is tested for NPK the analysis, depending on the type of manure, averages somewhere around a 1-1-1. That is 1% Nitrogen, 1% phosphate, and 1% potash. When we test compost on average, we also find 1-1-1. This naturally leads me to an important question for which I have no answer. If manure starts out as a 1-1-1 analysis and it is composted somewhere between 50-60% of the volume of compost disappears during the composting process. If the resulting compost analyzes at 1-1-1 then where did all the P & K go?
It is easy to understand that a fair amount of the nitrogen can be lost to the atmosphere but what about the P and K? They don’t volatilize into the air and if the compost was not waterlogged and had some clay added at the beginning of the process very little would be lost through leaching. This is a puzzling question without a clear answer. Here is my speculation: The process of composting manure must radically change the intrinsic properties of compost such that an NPK (manure) analysis does not reflect the true P & K value of compost.
SECOND STORY
At the same time I was pondering this anomaly International Ag Labs had a dealer, Duane Headings, who was questioning the validity of a different lab’s potassium reading on their soil test. Consequently he began splitting soil samples and sending half to us. A lot of the soils he sampled were fields or gardens that had been receiving high levels of compost for several years. The other lab results were consistently coming back showing potassium on the high side of adequate but not excessive. Test results from International Ag Labs couldn’t be more striking: On the Morgan test the potassium levels were through the roof. In fact many samples showed more potassium available than calcium. This obvious discrepancy lead to a phone call from Duane and we began comparing notes.
The Bottom Line Is This
Compost, in spite of it’s seemingly low NPK analysis, is a very powerful supplier of potassium. We also learned that not all soil tests can pick up potassium equally—especially if it is being supplied through compost.
With this information in hand we began looking closely at gardens and market gardens that had high levels of compost applied over several years. We consistently found the same pattern: very high potassium, generally high levels of phosphorous and extremely low levels of available calcium. We then asked these same gardeners how their garden was doing. The answers were telling: A lot of bug pressure – It used to be much better – Really poor tasting food – Very low brix levels.
This research lead International Ag Labs to promulgate two new quality indicators based off our soil tests: the calcium-potassium ratio and the calcium-phosphorous ratio. Both should be around 18:1. I have found that if the calcium to potassium ratio is narrow, say at 3:1 or less it is a sure indicator that the garden will not be producing high brix foods until the ratio is widened. Gardens with narrow ratios can still produce abundantly but the food will not be nutrient-dense and the flavor will leave a lot to be desired. While Dr. Reams did not specifically give this ratio he did teach the principle and it is from his desired levels that these ratios are derived.
Interestingly, Dr. Albrecht was quite familiar with this concept and wrote about it. His insight can be found in volume 3 of the Albrecht Papers on page 20. I quote:
DR. ALBRECHT
The significant truth that brings soil fertility into control of the composition of our food, and therefore our health, comes out of the facts that in soils under construction by the limited climatic forces, or those with a wide calcium-potassium ratio, proteinaceous and mineral-rich crops and foods as well as carbonaceous ones are possible, and that in soils under destruction by excessive climate forces, or those with a narrow calcium-potassium ratio, protein production is not so common while production mainly of carbohydrates by crops is almost universal.
In the paragraphs following Dr. Albrecht goes on to show that soils with a richer supply of calcium also produce foods with greater minerals, more proteins, and ultimately much better health to the consumers.
.............very nice......... rabbit manure is cheating!ha
