Albrecht Soil Dabate
Gregg Young (gyoung@pacific.net)
Fri, 18 Oct 1996 14:07:32 -0700
Came across the dabate on the internet - I'm one of those agronomists who
have been using Albrecht's recs (for last 20 years) in N Calif. This
approach solves a lot of soil problems; explains lots of fertility/pest &
disease relationships. Whenever I run across someone who states there is no
"perfect soil ratio" (Albrecht promoted a range of ratios); I ask if they
have personally tried the approach - answer is always no. Meanwhile, people
such as Ralph Jurgens, Kate Burroughs, Amico Cantisano, and myself have
been using these methods for years.Few argue that an optimum range of Ca:Na
ratio exists; it is easily demonstrated that Ca:Mg:K:Na ratios affect
uptake of those cations, plus soil texture/drainage (which affects
nutrients & bio-activity), etc. The problem lies in the true statement:
"crops perform adequately in a wide range of soil conditions & ratios" - I
could'nt imagine trying to talk a top winemaker in my area into growing
"adequate" quality grapes. When fine tuning a soil program - paying
attention to soil tilth, insect & disease resistance, taste & flavor,
storage quality, etc. the approach works well.
illegitimi non corborundum
Gregg Young, CPAg
Mendocino Co, CA