VitaSoil™ is a high carbon content formulation inoculated with a diverse range of beneficial microbes. The carbon sources used in this formulation is equally divided between “active” or microbial digestible and “stable” or non-digestible
forms of carbon.
Active or labile carbon is the carbon component from organic matter that can be digested by micro-organisms with the consequential removal of CO2 from soil organic pool.
Stable carbon is the carbon component from organic matter that resists further microbial decomposition; such as the carbon in the humic fraction and to a lesser degree the carbon in the lignin fraction. There is however another
carbon source known as active carbon which is extremely stable and completely microbially indigestible.
VitaSoil™ contains a balanced mix of active and stable carbon. The active portion is regarded as the microbial food source component and the stable portion as the habitat often compared to the reefs in the sea where fish can safely
survive. We acquire this component by using decomposed pine wood shavings (Elliotti) that have been decomposing for 6-25 years.
Stable Carbon
Adsorb manufactures a high purity carbon of typically 90% fixed carbon derived from sustainable FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified pine under the product name Stable Carbon.
Each granule of Stable Carbon comprises of a clump of hollow carbon capillaries of approximately 10 to 20 micrometres in diameter. These capillaries provide water holding capacity and provide an ideal space for beneficial
soil microbes to establish and thrive. The carbon walls making up these capillaries are approximately 1 to 2 micrometres thick and contain tiny pores. These pores have diameters in nanometres and have the ability to
attract and store organic nutrients by a phenomenon known as adsorption. Stable Carbon has a minimum pore surface area of 400 m2/g. The nutrients stored in these pores provide a convenient food source for the soil microbes
living inside the carbon capillaries. Furthermore, when the concentration of these nutrients in the soil lowers, the nutrients desorb and return to the soil, delivering a slow release mechanism.
Stable Carbon should not to be confused with braai charcoal. It is specifically manufactured at elevated temperatures above 800oC to deliver the required porosity and to drive out volatiles, including Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are known carcinogens, to safe levels. Research into the stability of fixed carbon in soil determined stability to be in excess of 99 years. This carries the definition of “forever” and eliminates
the need for replacement or repeat application. The elevated temperatures used during manufacturing also drive off acidic compounds within the wood (e.g. acetic acid) leaving behind an alkaline surface chemistry of
10 to 11 pH. Stable Carbon therefore delivers a “liming” function in the soil.
In summary, Stable Carbon offers the following four benefits to soil:
- It improves soil water retention and water balancing i.e. increases the water holding capacity of sandy soils and reduces water logging in clay soils.
- It improves soil heath through the support of beneficial soil microbes.
- It improves the availability of soil nutrients by storing nutrients during times of high concentration (e.g. when fertilising) and slow-releasing them later.
- It delivers a “liming” function in the soil.
Vermicast
The castings produced by worms act as a fertiliser. A proportion of minerals that pass through their gut are converted into a plant-available soluble form. This digestive process is carried out by enzyme producing bacteria
and, when the castings are excreted, the enzymes are excreted along with them. The bacteria continue, in the soil, the work they carried out in the worms gut, i.e. converting minerals into a plant-available soluble
form and breaking down cellulose to create humus.
Research has shown that the number of bacteria included with the ingested material increases by up to 1000 times while passing through the worms gut!
More benefits of Vermicast include:
- Cation exchange conversion of trace elements are attracted to Vermicast and readily bond to it in the same way that opposite poles of a magnet attract each other.
- Formations of aggregates assist in making the soil stable and resistant to water erosion and compaction.
- Water holding capacity of soil with a high organic matter doesn’t dry out as quickly.
In virgin soils, the described microbial host plant interaction and related processes as well as several others are allowed to function uninhibited; while in intensive mono culture crop production soils, these biological
processes are slowly denatured due to intense soil cultivation practices.
Such intensive soil cultivation practices allows the build-up of plant pathogenic organisms that ultimately dominate the soil due to the decline in the population of their natural predator microbe numbers making it impossible
for these to keep the pathogens in check.
VitaSoil™ contains a high inoculum, in a balanced form, and acts to increase the biota in suppressed soils leading to healthier and stronger plants.
Humic and Fulvic Acids
VitaSoil™ contains 7.5 % Humic acid and 3.9 % Fulvic acid that was naturally formed during the wood chip decomposition. These Humic and Fulvic Acids are different from the Leonordite base extracted variants as they are
from a natural plant source and known to be much more efficient.
VitaSoil™ is therefore an ideal product to not only improve the impoverished carbon levels of “over worked” soils but will also aid in restoring the natural microbial balance of the soil.
Our VitaSoil™ product is currently available in
- 50dm bags
- 3dm pouches
- Bulk bags of 1 ton can be supplied
Stable Carbon