Foliar Feeding Continued: Soil Microbiology Effect
During the same trial explained in Proper Foliar Feeding Practice and Benefits, our research team tested the soil the plants had grown in with a MicroBiometer. The results are shown in the chart here.
These numbers are of total microbiological biomass, or the amount of microbiological tissue present in the sample. The soil tested at 215 before having anything planted in it. As you can see, both regular GMS and GMS with no trace elements added have significantly better results than any other product. Molasses comes the closest, which is probably because of its high sugar content which soil microbes love to feast on. However, even that isn't enough to counter the balance of nutrients in GMS, or apparently the purity of the product, which is why even GMS with no trace elements performed so well. We believe these results area product of both the plants excreting more sugars into the root zone as a result of being healthier, and these plants excreting some of the fertility into the root zone as well.
Of interest to note is both the 28% and the 9-18-9 actually reduced the biomass in this test. While replicating this test may not produce the same result, it is consistent with our knowledge that impure fertilizers can hurt soil microbiology.
This is an excerpt from the Summer Growers Solution (2022).
Signup for our newsletter to stay in the loop
