Organic Fertilizers

Here’s a useful piece of research that we can each use, in helping to cut back on CO2 emissions. First, guidelines for home gardens and second what foods to purchase to support the use of this process.  Comments afterwards.

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Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated

only with organic fertilizers for decades: ‘[Will] help us to move forward’

 

Juliana Marino

Yahoo Tech

October 13, 2024

 

As more polluting carbon ends up in the atmosphere and global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are trying to find ways to increase carbon absorption. This will help decrease the carbon in the atmosphere, creating a healthier planet for everyone.

Researchers at Kansas State University have been studying how different farming practices impact the amount of carbon stored in the soil. After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

While previous studies on soil carbon capture have also found organic farming techniques increase carbon capture in soil, the researchers at KSU discovered something else: how the carbon gets stored in the soil.

According to their findings, the carbon is preserved in pores, and some of that carbon attaches to minerals in the soil. Ultrabright synchrotron light — a type of light that is more intense and brighter than an X-ray — enabled the researchers to see how the carbon connects to the soil particles.

KSU researchers used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, to analyze soil from a Kansas cornfield that had been farmed with no tilling and only manure/compost fertilizer for the past 22 years. 

The study underscores the benefits of sustainable farming. It highlights how organic compost and manure not only support the health of the soil but also directly fight rising global temperatures through carbon sequestration.

KSU professor of soil and environmental chemistry Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi said, according to Rowan Hollinger of Canadian Light Source

 

“Collectively, studies like this are

going to help us to move forward

to more sustainable, more regener-

ative agriculture practices that will

protect our soils and environment as

well as help feed growing populations.”

 

Hettiarachchi added …

 

“As well, understanding the role of

the different minerals, chemicals,

and microbes involved will help

im-prove models for predicting

how different farming practices

affect soil carbon storage.”

 

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For a long time, we’ve known the better health qualities of organic foods. However, supermarkets were reluctant to feature them, as they believed people would not pay more for the healthier food. Gradually, that marketing belief has proven wrong. At first, organics came from small grocers – mostly hippies. Then Whole Foods became a major grocery source that featured an array of organic foods. Their success led to other supermarkets providing large selections of organic foods.

What I was less aware of is the ability of the organic food-growing process leading to better sequestration of CO2. Adding D’s comments …

 

“Everyone has a choice. A simple choice is to use and purchase organic foods. This choice will help in absorbing CO2. In addition, it will help keep dangerous fertilizers out of the human body and the water sources. There are so many ways to purchase organic foods in this day and age. Let us name a few: CSAs, (Community supported agriculture); there are delivery services; there are farmers’ markets; there are grocery stores. And let us not forget … you can grow them yourselves. This may sound like a small choice, but if each person reading this report chooses mostly organic food, it can have a large impact on your planet.”

 

This blog is going out the week before elections, at many levels. Consider which candidates tend to be more supportive of measures that lead to greater sustainability, a move away from fossil fuels and a healthier Earth for all of us.

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