“Carbon” is one of the buzziest words in the plant health care industry right now, and for good reason. The supply chain issues have caused traditional fertilizers prices to soar, making everyone look for alternatives. Turns out that carbon provides the long-term benefits plants – and soil – need for greater health.
Carbon is not only good for plants and their roots, but for microbes and other microorganisms that are part of a healthy and productive soil ecology. Carbon-based solutions also provide longer-term benefits, since the slower rate of the organic material breaking down provides a slow-release form of nutrition in the soil. Quick release or immediately available nitrogen sources found in many fertilizers are consumed quickly, meaning they must be added more regularly to the soil to see the long-term benefits. Carbon-based soil amendments have the ability to chelate nutrients to improve availability and uptake, resulting in a greater long-term impact.
Some traditional carbon-based soil supplements include compost and animal manure. These products are seeing a surge in use in 2022 as some landscapers and farmers get back to old-school ways of enhancing soil health. Compost utilizes the natural carbon, nutrients, carbohydrates, and protein found in yard clippings, manures, and food waste to provide a boost to soil. Although there are tools on the market that can accelerate the compost creation process, Arborjet|Ecologel have ready-to-go carbon soil amendments that don’t require any wait time.
Our Arbor Rx prescriptive fertilization and soil enhancement program focuses on different carbon-based amendments that can bolster the health of different soil conditions to create the best growing environment for your plants, trees, and shrubs. In addition to carbon, several products within the Arbor Rx line contain other plant and soil health promoters including: – plant hormones, sea minerals, amino acids, proteins, and carboxylic acids, each providing a different benefit. Whether you’re dealing with dry and sandy soils, compacted soils, or poor soils, there is a solution for you.
NutriRoot and BioMP are both complete fertilizers providing nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, primary nutrients crucial to plant growth. Bio MP is also formulated with molasses and other carbohydrate sources, which provide a great carbon source for soil microbes. NutriRoot is designed with the focus to enhance root growth by creating a more ideal growing condition. Along with the macronutrients discussed above, it also contains micronutrients, hygroscopic humectants (Hydretain) and carbon sources such as humates and seaweed extract. EnviroPlex is a highly concentrated soil conditioner produced from a proprietary humate extraction process. It contains 22% humic acids derived from leonardite ore. These humates have an extremely high cation exchange capacity (CEC) that is several times higher than other soil organic matter sources. Humic acids have the proven ability to hold positively charged ions such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. This effect allows EnviroPlex to increase the availability of these essential minerals to the plant. In addition, the high concentration of carbon helps stimulate and enhance microbial activity.
Together, this line of carbon-rich products can provide soil the boost it needs to be more productive. You can read more about these carbon-based products and the benefits they provide in this document, and share it to anyone who might need the information.