According to YLAD Living Soils , foliar feeding crops can help to achieve the highest production potential and to preparing pastures for optimum spring growth. Foliar feeding is just one of the fertilising options suggested by YLAD Living Soils to promote healthy crop growth.
Foliar feeding is the practice of spraying a nutrient solution directly on the leaves of plants in order to boost their vigour so that they grow and produce better. Potentially this can improve the delivery of hard to access nutrients by factors ranging from ten-fold to more than a hundred-fold.
Cereal grains respond brilliantly if the inputs, techniques, timing and circumstances coincide to boost the growth of the crop in its early to mid vegetative stages.
Products at the top of the list are symbiotic cultures of beneficial microbes, such as nitrogen fixing and phosphorous solubilising bacteria and compost extracts rich in actinomycetes and protozoa.
Then as far as nutrients go, kelp leads the list in stimulating and feeding both plants and their microbial symbiotes, while compost extracts Bio TX 500 LP, fulvic acid, deep sea fish emulsions and sea minerals follow closely behind. As well, various soft mineral products may also be included, such as NTS Dia-Life, Phos-Life and Gyp-life, as well as traces of boron, zinc, manganese or moly—depending on soil and tissue test results.
Finally, surfactants can assure good coverage and penetration while wetter products tend to assure rain and dew do not turn a direct foliar feed into an indirect soil feed.
Creating the ideal mineral balance in soils and introducing a diverse microbial population will create loose, crumbly soil structure helping to produce high quality crops, pastures and animals.
Humus Compost is the single most indispensable input in ensuring good soil structure, healthy plant production, healthy root development, soil biological activity, nutrient retention, erosion control and moisture management.
Humus Compost has a powerful magnetic impact on particles of the soil, forcing soil particles to expand, creating a porous structure acting like a sponge, allowing both air and water to penetrate and allow aerobic microbes to breathe. When minerals are blended with Humus Compost nutrients are insulated against locking up and remain in a plant available form that resists leaching. Pastures respond to either feeding with compost mineral blends or foliar applications.